Utgångspunkten för denna studie var att studera medarbetares upplevelser vid organisationsförändring då tidigare forskning visar att en stor del av alla förändringsinitiativ misslyckats. Därav är syftet med denna studie att identifiera faktorer som påverkar medarbetarnas upplevelse vid förändring samt hur dessa påverkar utfallet. Studien har genomförts på en avdelning i en stor koncern placerad i Sverige som vid tiden för studien nyligen infört IT-systemet Workplace. För att besvara studiens syfte och frågeställningar användes en kvalitativ metod där insamling av material skedde genom åtta semistrukturerade intervjuer. Två medarbetare ur projektgruppen intervjuades i syfte att få information kring hur införandet av systemet gått till samt att sex medarbetare på avdelningen intervjuades i syfte att få information kopplat till deras upplevelse av införandet av Workplace. Resultatet från intervjuerna analyserades med hjälp av den teoretiska referensramen och utifrån detta har vi identifierat betydelsefulla faktorer som påverkar medarbetares upplevelse vid förändringar och dess utfall, dessa faktorer blir således viktiga att ta hänsyn till för möjligheten till en lyckad förändring. De identifierade faktorerna innefattar medarbetares förståelse av förändringen samt möjligheten till delaktighet och information. En annan viktig faktor är ett gott förändringsledarskap som kommunicerar, stödjer och bistår medarbetarna med tillräckliga resurser under förändringen. Då studien visar att förståelse för förändringen är den viktigaste faktorn har en modell skapats i syfte att beskriva hur organisationer genom kommunikation kan skapa förståelse hos medarbetarna till varför förändringen sker och hur den gynnar organisationen samt medarbetaren för att på så vis skapa en mer framgångsrik förändring. / The starting point for this study was to study employee experiences during organizational change, as previous research shows that a large part of all change initiatives failed. Hence, the purpose of this study is to identify factors that affect the employees' experience during chang and how these affect the outcome. The study was conducted at a department in a organization located in Sweden, which at the time of the study recently implemented the IT system Workplace. In order to answer the study's purpose and questions, a qualitative method was used in which the collection of material took place through eight semi-structured interviews. Two employees from the project group were interviewed with the aim of getting information about the implementation process of the system and six employees in the department were interviewed in order to get information linked to their experience of the implementation of Workplace. The results of the interviews were analyzed using the theoretical frame of reference and on this basis we have identified important factors that affect employees' experience in the event of changes and their outcome, and these factors will thus be important to take into account for the possibility of a successful change. The identified factors include employees' understanding of the change and the possibility of participation and information. Another important factor is good change leadership that communicates, supports and assists employees with sufficient resources during the change. In conclusion, the study shows that understanding of the change is the most important factor, hence a model has been created in order to describe how organizations through communication can create an understanding among the employees for why change takes place and how it benefits the organization and the employee in order to create a more successful change.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Western Seminary, Portland, OR, 2006. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 199-207).

Thesis (Ph.D.)-- University of Western Sydney, 2005. / "A thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, College of Arts, Education and Social Sciences, School of Social Ecology and Lifelong Learning, University of Western Sydney." Includes bibliography.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1970. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.(Psychology))-University of Pretoria, 2006. / Abstract in English and Afrikaans. Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Western Seminary, Portland, OR, 2006. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 199-207).

The aim of the thesis was to facilitate the implementation of process change in the company KS-Europe, s.r.o. For this purpose, I conducted a survey in that enterprise through which I examined the feelings and opinions of employees for future change. On the basis of the survey was identified risk areas in preparation for the change about which I informed the director of the company that he could possibly take appropriate measures to alleviate the course of change. Approximately two months after the introduction of the change I conducted structured interviews with the director of the company, the chief of Heftshop and two employees. These interviews were analyzed by comparison to assess the overall course changes.

Agile methodologies have gained popularity for their ability to help companies respond quickly to changing environments and customer needs. However, organizations often struggle with adopting agile methodologies due to their focus on implementing specific frameworks rather than fostering an agile mindset in their organizational culture. Therefore, it is important to promote an agile mindset within organizations and gradually embed it into their culture. This thesis aims to explore how organizational leaders can support the agile mindset adoption. After a thorough review of the relevant literature, the study collected empirical data via interviews with leaders, agile experts and professionals with extensive experience in agile environments to identify practical approaches to support the adoption of an agile mindset that may require an organizational culture transformation. Overall, the outcome of this study contributed to increasing the chances to realize the benefits of agile transformations by fostering the agile mindset.

The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions of 244 school- and district-based administrators who were employed in a Florida school district from 2003- 2011 regarding superintendent second-order change leadership decisions and events to achieve equity and access to excellence for all students in the school district. Interviews were also conducted with 11 active and retired school-based and district-based administrators to specifically address any factors that led to equity and access to excellence as well as any challenges the school district faced when implementing those actions and decisions. Quantitative data were used for a historical comparison of the targeted school district prior to and after 2003 to further understand the impact of equity and access to excellence within the school district. Two superintendent decisions were believed to be extremely educationally significant by respondents: High school reading centerpiece and International Baccalaureate program launch at Seminole High School. Respondents were least familiar with Central Florida Public School Boards Coalition established and Established Principal Forum. Three events were largely believed to be extremely educationally significant by respondents: District rated A each year of accountability, District designated academically high- performing, and Unitary status achieved. Respondents were least familiar with Florida Center for Reading Research project in high schools and Superintendent Leadership transition. iv Responses to open-ended questions indicated that equity and access to excellence were achieved in the school district between 2003 to 2011. The decision to attain unitary status led to other actions and decisions to achieve equity and access to excellence, e.g., the creation of magnet schools, the introduction of open access to Advanced Placement courses. The superintendent’s greatest challenge was perceived by respondents as lack of funding. Interviewees cited poverty as a limiting factor in achievement of equity and excellence. All respondents agreed that working with the lowest achieving 25% of students to improve performance on the Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test was key to achieving equity and excellence in the school district. Most of the interviewees believed that all students have access to equity and excellence. In offering advice to other districts, most of the interviewees stressed the importance of focusing on data, demographics, and academic programs, stating that leaders should be committed to achieving equity and excellence and there needs to be total buy-in from the whole district. Further, superintendent success depended on a clear focus, a set of core values and the willingness and courage to implement second-order change.

The corporate world today is highly competitive and in order for organizations to survive and remain competitive, they must constantly evolve through change. However, the majority of organizational changes neither result in successful implementation or foster sustained change. It is suggested that the success of changes are highly contingent on employees’ responses towards them. To this end, Islamic Work Ethic (IWE) has become a subject of growing interest amongst academia and human resource literature attempting to understand and predict employees’ responses towards organizational change, particularly in Muslim societies. Despite this, studies attempting to uncover IWE’s influence on characteristics of employees’ responses towards change have revealed varying outcomes. Thus, the nature of the relationship remains ambiguous. To tackle this gap, this study contributes to knowledge by developing a conceptual model that assists in identifying the influence of IWE on employees’ responses towards change in the shape of their commitment to change and organizational deviance behaviors. The testing of these relationships was carried out in the ever changing and developing Islamic banking industry within the Middle Eastern context of Kuwait. Through a quantitative case-study approach, data was collected from 398 branch-level employees via questionnaires. The outcomes revealed that the extent of IWE’s influence on employee commitment to change varied greatly across different components (affective, normative and continuance). On the other hand, IWE was found to negatively influence employee engagement in organizational deviance towards change. Due to such findings, several theoretical implications, practical recommendations and future research directions are put forward.