Managing Change Initiatives: Fantasy or Reality?

The Case of Public Sector Organisations Ebrahim Soltani

University of Kent Business School, Canterbury, UK

Pei-chun Lai
University of Strathclyde Business School, Glasgo , UK

Abstract !t is becoming a common"lace statement that change initiative "rogrammes are #ey tools to organisational long-term success$ %o this end, the last t o decades have itnessed a surge of interest in the ta#e-u" of various change initiative "rogrammes$ &rganisational change initiatives, e are told by many commentators, can ma'imise shareholder value (i$e$ economic value theory) and develo" organisational ca"abilities (i$e$ organisational ca"ability theory)$ S"ecifically, in recent years, as com"anies have been confronted by the conditions of heightened com"etition, globalisation, advancements in communications and information technologies, economic recession and simultaneously search for e'cellence, so the desire to ta#e u" change initiatives has interested the ma*ority of leading organisations$ +t the same time, ho ever, the analysis of the "ros"ects for the ma*ority of change management tools reveals so many dee"-seated barriers to change ith the conse,uence of little success in "ractice$ %his "a"er e'"lores this a""arent contradiction, arguing that, des"ite a heightened interest in the ta#e-u" of change initiatives, very fe change "rogrammes "roduce an im"rovement in bottom-line, e'ceed the com"any-s cost of ca"ital, or even im"rove service delivery$ !t also offers an e'"lanation of hy this is the case$ %o "rovide em"irical verification for this, the "a"er "resents the results of . case studies conducted at "ublic sector organisations in the UK$ %he findings continue to "oint to the ineffective nature of the to" management-s contribution to managing organisational change "rogrammes$ /inally, using the case evidence, combined ith "revious research findings, the "a"er e'"lores the im"lications for senior management of attem"ts to move from, as 0int1berg (233342.5) "ut it, 6direction and su"ervision to ards "rotection and su""ort7$ Key or!s4 Change !nitiatives8 Success 9 /ailure8 UK Public Sector8 Case Study$ "# Intro!uction !t seems hard to deny that the conditions of heightened com"etition have forced many organi1ations to ado"t more congruent and fle'ible strategies that focus on organi1ation- ide change "rogrammes (see Gehani, 233:8 Ellinger et al$, 23334:;<)$ =ere identifying the need for a "articular organisation- ide change, and leading organisations through that change is idely recognised as one the most critical and challenging res"onsibilities of the management of "rivate sector organisations$ +t the same time, the ta#e-u" of such initiatives are also notable in non-for-"rofit organisations$ Previous research (e$g$ =o" ood, 23;.8 Chun > ?egeling, 23328 Covales#i et al$ 233:8 Comerford > +bernethy, 23334 3:) does indeed reveal that, the "ublic sector in most @estern economies has been sub*ect to increasing demands for greater financial accountability, efficiency and effectiveness over the last decade$ %he result of such demands and the necessity to match services more closely to "eo"le-s lives (0odernising Government, 2333), have been to convince the management of "ublic sector organi1ations of the need to lay far greater stress u"on "ractical issues of various a""roaches and tools of change (Kee", 233A422:)$ Beflecting the sustained interest in and heavy em"hasis on the a""lication of change "rogrammes, a ide variety of tools have been develo"ed to, first, initiate and manage organi1ational change and, second, to control and direct change caused by un"lanned disru"tions (see Branch, CDDC)$ Clearly, the 2

underlying im"etus for many of these tools and a""roaches has a lot to do ith a desire to achieve ,uality im"rovement8 to address or#force concerns8 and to enhance fle'ibility by changing the organi1ational structure, "rocesses, "eo"le, and9or culture$ !n conse,uence, there is "rima facie evidence that in res"onse to conditions of heightened com"etition, and hence the necessity to continue to gro or at least to survive, such initiatives are no a "art of the life cycle of any organisation, hether for-"rofit or non-for"rofit one (Storey, 233A)$ %he common ground that su""orts a ide array of change initiatives is based on the notion that they focus, at least in theory, simultaneously on the hard (structure and systems) and the soft (cor"orate culture) systems ith the conse,uence of im"roving both organi1ation and em"loyee ell-being (Beer > Eohria CDDD42::)$ ?es"ite the attention "aid by the "olicy ma#ers in various governmental levels (e$g$ @hitehouse et al$, 23338 0odernised Government, 2333) as ell as other organi1ational s"ecialists (e$g$ ?ruc#er, 23338 @illiams, 233.8 Bur#e > %rahant, CDDD) in the "o"ular organi1ational change literature, relatively little or# has been devoted to cast light on the ta#e-u" of various organi1ational change initiatives in "ublic sector organi1ations (see Lovell, 233.)$ %he "ur"ose of the "a"er is to revie the relevant literature in the light of four case studies of UK-based "ublic sector organisations$ %he "a"er reflects on a number of significant challenges facing the ta#e-u" of any change initiative and suggests some recommendations for future research and "ractice ali#e$ %he remainder of this "a"er is organi1ed as follo s$ Section C of the "a"er outlines the nature of change initiatives, a""roaches and tools of change initiatives, and its effectiveness over the last decade$ Section : describes the research methods used in this study$ %he "rofiles of the cases studied are e'"lained in section .$ !n section A, the collected data is analysed$ /inally, in section 5, the "a"er concludes ith the main lessons and im"lications for future research and the im"lementation of change initiatives in "ublic sector organisations$ $# Change initiatives literature &n the one hand, managing change initiatives, hich falls ithin the broader theoretical frame or# of social change (23A;), has been a "erennially "o"ular to"ic in the organisational effectiveness and management literature (Branch, CDDC)$ &n the other hand, the last several decades have itnessed a tremendous interest in initiating changes of one sort or another ith the su""ort of to" management$ S"ecifically, in recent years, as com"anies have been confronted by the conditions of heightened com"etition, globalisation, advancements in communications and information technologies, recession and simultaneously search for e'cellence, so the desire to im"lement at least one change "rogramme (Pascale et al$, 233<42:3) has interested the ma*ority of leading organisations (Legge, 233A8 Christensen > &verdorf, CDDD)$ /aced ith such catalogue of a""lications, the effectiveness of any organisational change initiative, it is argued, is a reflection of its to" management (=ambric# > 0ason, 23;.)$ %o" management commitment and su""ort, for e'am"le, has remained the first category in the ma*ority of organisational change initiatives (e$g$ US ?e"artment of Commerce and %echnology4 0BEF+, 233:8 E/F0, 2333)$ 0oreover, it has been designated as the "rime factor to ards business e'cellence in a number of fre,uently cited te'ts (e$g$ ?ale > Coo"er, 233.8 Po ell, 233A8 Blac# > Porter, 23358 Geit1 et al$,233<8 Kan*i, 233;, Car"enter et al$, CDD.)$ &rganisational change initiatives, ho ever, have long been dogged by the "roblem of mismanagement$ Some even raise the #ey ,uestion concerning hether to" management is a threat or an o""ortunity to change initiatives (?eming, 23;58 Sch inn, CDDC8 ?algleish, CDD:8 Soltani, (in "ress))$ !n the literature "ertinent to change initiatives, t o levels of organisational change are ty"ically discussed (Bur#e > %rahant, CDDD)4 (i) fundamental or transformational Hi$e$ C

addressing 6big "icture7 issues such as mission, strategy, culture, leadershi", e'ternal environment H and (ii) transitional or transactional Hi$e$ the everyday, ho things get done, issues such as structure, management "ractices, systems, motivation, needs, *ob fit, and or# unit climate$ Change initiatives advocates (e$g$ Beer > Eohria, CDDD8 +brahamson, CDDD8 Eadler > %ushman, 233<8 Kotter, 233;) see such intentional changes as universally beneficial, ma#ing ra"id im"rovements in economic value$ +t the same time, they create an organisation hose structure, "rocesses, "eo"le, and culture are tailored a""ro"riately for its current mission and environment and "ositioned to ma#e the ne't round of needed change$ !n their 1eal, the core "hiloso"hy of change management is to use of organi1ation- ide change "rogrammes, not least in terms of change in both structure and cor"orate culture simultaneously$ %he clear im"lication of the ta#e-u" of such initiatives, at least in theory, is the ra"id im"rovements in economic value hile at the same time im"roving their viability (Beer > Eohria, CDDD)$ %o this end, a close e'amination of the commentators- (e$g$ 0ohrman > 0ohrman, 233:8 Iacobs, 233.8 0iles, 233<8 Eadler > %ushman, 233<) choice of tools and a""roaches of change management suggests the follo ings to be the most common organisational change "rogrammes4 Bac# ard 0a""ing, Balanced Scorecard, Benchmar#ing, Business Process Beengineering, Continuous !m"rovement, Cultural Change, Em"loyee !nvolvement, !S&3DDD, Kno ledge 0anagement, Learning &rganisation, 0anagement-By-&b*ectives, &rganisational ?esign, &utcome-Based Evaluation, and %otal Fuality 0anagement (Branch et al$, 23;.)$ /urther reflection, ho ever, suggests that there have been three fundamental fla s in the thin#ing associated ith the idea of Jorganisational change initiatives-$ /irst, it has failed to document and clarify the results of change initiative "rogrammes8 second, it has been unable to measure their cost effectiveness8 and third, it has failed to ac#no ledge the difficulty and com"le'ity of their management (0ac?onald, 233;8 Kotter, 233;8 +brahamson, CDDD)$ !ndeed, the value of "lanned change has been challenged, ith some studies indicating that most change management initiatives fail hile e'erting heavy economic and human tolls on the organisation (Beer > Eohria, CDDD42::)$ %he =arvard Business School, for e'am"le, trac#ed the im"act of change efforts among the /ortune 2DD and found that all com"anies had im"lemented at least one change "rogramme bet een 23;D and 233A, but only :D "er cent "roduced an im"rovement in bottom-line results that e'ceeded the com"any-s cost of ca"ital (Pascale et al$, 233<42:3 cited in Branch, CDDC)$ !n a similar vein, a "revious research in a sam"le of over 2DD of the /ortune ADD firms found that nearly one-half of ma*or change efforts ere falling short of e'"ectations, as re"orted by their managers and e'ecutives (Schiemann, 233C)$ +rguably, hile there is increasing evidence at the level of rhetoric of a gro ing enthusiasm for organi1ational change initiatives, the analysis of the "ros"ects for the ma*ority of change management tools reveals so many dee"-seated barriers to change (Storey, 233A4 2A)$ Senge and colleagues (2333), for e'am"le, argue that substantively there is little success in the "ractice of change initiatives mainly due to the difficulty of changing the basic ays of thin#ing ithin the organi1ation$ Even hen an organi1ation achieves such a""roach (i$e$ changing the basic ays of thin#ing), it is also, they note, much more difficult to sustain8 or in 0artin-s (233;4 22.) ords, 6com"anies resist ne truths ith a great deal of emotion7$ Such resistance as re"orted not only in the de"ths of the organi1ation but, notably, at the to" as ell (Schiemann, 233C)$ Goodstein and Bur#e (23324 <) attribute the failure of change initiatives to the "oor handling of both "ersonal and organi1ational stresses and challenges$ !n this light, 0artin (233;4 2:<) notes that even hen an organi1ation can figure out hat to do, it still has to figure out ho to ma#e goals and methods trans"arent enough that em"loyees :

are illing to ta#e some calculated ris#s$ Eor are Senge and colleagues (2333), Goodstein and Bur#e (2332) and 0artin (233;) alone in articulating the barriers to change initiatives$ Kotter (233;4C) "oints out that organi1ations need to "lan for ten years of effort to accom"lish a ma*or transformational change$ S#i""ing any ste", Kotter argues, creates only an illusion of s"eed ith the conse,uence of no satisfying results$ ?es"ite the ides"read im"act of and the sustained interest in change initiatives as a means to ards ma'imising shareholder value and develo"ing organisational ca"abilities (see Beer > Eohria, CDDD) in "rofit-oriented organisations, it is sur"rising that very fe studies of change initiatives ere targeted at non-for-"rofit organisations$ %hat is, em"irical evidence demonstrating the a""lication of organisational change initiatives in "ublic-funded organisations, ho ever, has not been forthcoming$ + conse,uence of the "roliferation of the change initiatives studies in "rofit-oriented organisations, combined ith the non-for-"rofit nature of "ublic-funded organisations has resulted in a large body of literature that lac# im"lications for "ublic management and "olicy ma#ers ali#e$ %he similarities in the need for change in the "ublic sector, ho ever, are a""arent$ !n fact much of the evidence that is available tends to indicate that "ublic sector services are under "ressure to im"rove in ,uality to benefit the user but also not to increase the burden on ta'"ayers (@illiams, 233.4 C25)$ %o meet these "arameters, as @illiams suggests, the only solution is to increase the efficiency of the conversion of ta'"ayers money into ,uality "ublic services (233.4 C25)$ !n res"onse to these demands, governments are left ith no alternative but to im"lement various mar#etbased business-oriented reforms$ Clearly, lac# of such evidence ma#es the association bet een any change "rogramme and its contribution to cost-reduction and at the same time to im"roving services hard and vague$ !t is against this bac#dro" that the authors underta#e the current study$ %he aim is to em"irically e'amine the ta#e-u" of change initiatives in four "ublic sector organisations in the UK, their management, the ma*or inroads that the initiatives are facing$ !n more elaborate language and based on the above discussion, the follo ing ,uestions are aimed to be ans ered4 Besearch Fuestion K2$ @hat is the "lace of change initiatives in the "ublic sector organisationsL Besearch Fuestion KC$ %o hat e'tent the change initiatives in "ublic sector organisations contribute to the bottom line (cost reduction)L Besearch Fuestion K:$ @hat are the most common tools of change management in the "ublic sector organisationsL Besearch Fuestion K.$ @hat are the factors that ham"er change initiatives in "ublic sector organisationsL %he ho"e is that this effort ill, to "ara"hrase Ketchen (CDDC4 A;5), hel" to close the ga" bet een hat 6 e #no 7 and hat 6 e need to #no 7 about the /antasy or Beality of managing organisational change initiatives (Car"enter et al$, CDD.4<AC)$ %# Research Metho! ?ata for this research ere dra n from four case studies of organisations o"erating in the UK$ %hese organisations ere members of one of the Eational Partner &rgani1ations (EP&s) of the Euro"ean /oundation for Fuality 0anagement (E/F0) in the UK$ %his EP& has a membershi" in e'cess of CDD organi1ations, the ma*ority of hich feature among the to" com"anies in the UK$ !t should be noted that the issues raised in this "a"er are based on follo -u" case studies of a "reviously conducted survey research designed to e'"lore the a""ro"riateness of .

"erformance management systems in organi1ational environments ith a total ,uality management (%F0) orientation during CDDC-CDD:$ =ence the "resent "a"er deals strictly ith the ta#e-u" of various organisational change initiatives ithin a sam"le of four "ublic sector organi1ations$ !n the initial survey, a total of over CDD UK-based organi1ations ere surveyed by mail ,uestionnaire$ %he goal as to have diverse re"resentations of both "ublic and "rivate organi1ations ith various si1es, thus allo ing generalisable conclusions$ %he survey generated a res"onse rate of .A "er cent hich com"ares very favourably ith similar "ostal ,uestionnaire surveys across various regions of the UK (e$g$ !P0, 233:)$ %he surveyed organisations re"resented both small-and medium-si1ed (23M) and large organisations (<2M)$ !n res"ect of the o nershi" of the surveyed organisations, ;. "er cent ere UKo ned$ @ithin the UK-o ned re"lies, 5D "er cent ere from "ublicly-o ned, and C. "er cent form "rivately-o ned organisations$ US-o ned organisations and continental-Euro"e o ned accounted for 2C and . "er cent of the res"ondents, res"ectively (/or a descri"tion of the sam"le and the com"lete findings of the ,uestionnaire survey, see Soltani, CDD.)$ + statistical com"arison of the res"ondents to the ,uestionnaires indicated that they have had various change initiatives in "lace$ +n une'"ected findings as, ho ever, that less than onethird of the res"ondents ere satisfied ith the outcome of their change initiatives, in "articular, %F0 "rogrammes$ S"ecifically, the study revealed the very strong association bet een to" management commitment and the effectiveness of change initiative "rogrammes$ Put sim"ly, the data highlighted the inade,uacies of the current management to ada"t effectively to the re,uirements of various change initiatives$ +s al ays the case, the ,uestionnaire survey is limited in its sco"e and in-de"th em"irical definitiveness (=ambric# et al$, 233:)$ %o this end, ta#ing a case study a""roach, the current research aims to focus more attention on managing change initiatives in the conte't of "ublic-funded organisations$ &ur goal is to shed ne em"irical light on state of the art change "rogrammes in "lace, and the su""ort H if any H of to" management to effectively managing such change initiative "rogrammes $ Since a case study is an account of situations and events dra n from real life ith a conse,uence of "roviding a basis u"on hich learning can ta#e "lace (Simmons, 23<A), the aim here as to call for the solution of the failure of various organi1ational change initiatives (see Sadler, 233D)$ !n vie of our aim, and in accordance ith Nin (233.) and a recent or# by @aldman et al$ (233;4 2;C), the research a""roach ta#en here sounds a""ro"riate given the fact that the research ,uestions are e'"loratory in nature, is contem"orary, and significant events or variables cannot be mani"ulated e'"erimentally$ 0oreover, case studies allo the researcher to obtain a better and more in-de"th understanding of com"le' social "henomena (Nin, 233.) such as initiating various organi1ational change "rogrammes (=ansson et al$, CDD:)$ Sam"led cases re"resented a diversity of organi1ational ty"es in terms of establishment si1e (from ;D to 2DDDO) and the ty"e of service$ !n the light of Bryman-s (23;34 2AC) classification scheme of ,ualitative research based on the degree of "artici"ation in organi1ational events on the "art of the researcher, this study falls into ty"e :, intervie based$ %hat is, data collection relied heavily on semi- and un-structured intervie s ith senior and middle managers$ !ntervie data ere then su""lemented by documentary evidence on change initiative "olicies, related training courses, its im"lementation as ell as its outcomes (see @aldman, 233;4 2;C)$ Given the 0odernised UK Government @hite Pa"er (2333), hich has been encouraging all "ublic sector organisations to ma#e use of various change initiative "rogrammes, e ho"e that the results of the case studies ould, first, allo some useful actions for "rogress8 second, enhance the benefits derived from the A

ta#e-u" of any change initiative8 and third, highlight its usefulness to the "olicy ma#ers and "racticing managers ali#e$ &# 'escri(tion of the cases stu!ie! City Council Case City Council is com"osed of several de"artments, namely education, housing, city develo"ment, social or#, environmental services, culture liaison and cor"orate services unit$ !t em"loys nearly 2<DDD em"loyees, of hom 2ADD are em"loyed in the de"artment e studied$ %o ards im"roving the ,uality of service to the "ublic, there has been a significant number of change initiatives going on in the council$ %his, in turn, has given an added em"hasis to the need to re-structure the council$ @ithin the de"artment e studied, for e'am"le, there has been a various change "rogrammes H although some are not labelled as organisational change initiatives H not least in terms of im"roving customer service ith the conse,uence of meeting their needs$ %o this end, and in line ith the UK Government-s drive to modernise "ublic services, the de"artment as a arded the Charter 0ar#$ !t is uni,ue amongst ,uality schemes since organisations are *udged on their results H i$e$ the service the customer actually receives (see Chartermar#4 online)$ &ther initiatives in the council aim at minimising the e'"enses, ensuring that the best value is obtained from "ublic finance$ Put sim"ly, in the City Council in "articular, and in the "ublic sector in general, the ma*ority of change initiative "rogrammes are aimed at minimising the costs and hence driven by effectiveness and efficiency$ %he change initiatives hich are being used in the Council, are not one-si1e-fits-all, but instead they are tailored to the re,uirements of each de"artment to meet various needs of the customers$ ?es"ite the tendency to the ta#e-u" of various change initiatives H in "articular those introduced by the @hite Pa"er H there has been a general ac#no ledgement that organisation- ide change initiatives related to ,uality management are not ell-develo"ed ithin the council$ Put sim"ly, such organisation- ide initiatives as %F0, BSC are not going to be regarded H at least in foreseeable future H as a means to meeting and e'ceeding "ublic needs and minimising "ublic e'"enses$ Local Enterprise Case %he case of Local Enter"rise Com"any (LEC) is one of the 2C LECs hich aims to develo" and deliver "ro*ects and "rogrammes ithin the region$ %here are 2<D em"loyees at this com"any$ %he com"any also or#s to ma#e a ider im"act, through investment in infrastructure, training and regeneration initiatives$ %his, in turn, contributes to the three themes of gro ing businesses, global connections, and s#ill and learning across the region$ !t first embar#ed various change initiatives such as %F0 in 233<$ %o this end, the com"any started to a""ly for E/F0 Business E'cellence 0odel t o years later$ =aving had an economic develo"ment a""roach, it has been member of many other "rofessional bodies related to various business communities$ !t is, for e'am"le, !S&2.DDD accredited, and also recognised by E'cellence in Euro"e$ !n CDDC, the com"any has started to develo" a Balanced Scorecard (BSC) at a cor"orate level$ ?ue to the nature of role and res"onsibility of the com"any and its contributions to ards Jgro ing businesses, global connections, and s#ills and learning-, there has been more sco"e for managements in these organisations to out"erform the region economy$ ?irect intervention in the economy this com"any and its "artners can be met through initiating various organisational changes$ Such initiatives, it is argued, offer far greater benefits to the "ublic sector organisations$ +s ell as securing an ade,uate return on their investment in such initiatives, it "romotes both com"etitiveness and cohesion by "rom"ting further economic gro th$ Several organisational change initiatives namely E/F0, BSC, !nvestors in Peo"le (!iP) are in "lace in the com"any$ !n addition, there is a commitment to im"lementing ne a""roaches to assist businesses, u"grade or#force 5

s#ills and "roductivity$ /or e'am"le, the com"any-s Lean 0anagement %hin#ing Programme is s"ecifically focused on im"roving "roductivity by facilitating culture change and innovation amongst businesses$ Police Force Case +s one of the eight divisions of the "olice in the region, it as formed in 23<Ds$ %he organisation em"loys around :<DD em"loyees, hich ma#es it one of the largest organisations of similar #ind in the region$ %he senior management team is com"osed of chief e'ecutive, a de"uty, and a team of si' other senior managers$ %he organisation has five stated goals ithin a three-year time "lan$ ?ue to the "articular nature of the organisation and the ty"e of service they "rovide, they cannot be members of any trade union or of any association having as its ob*ect, or one of its ob*ects, to control or influence "ay, "ensions or conditions of service of any member$ %he "ressure on the government for "roviding better service to the "ublic has made the organisation to ta#e u" various de"artmental or organisation- ide changes$ %o this end, the organi1ation has been in the "rocess of some ,uality-focused initiatives such as E/F0, Charter 0ar#, !iP and Best Palue for several years$ Some units of the organi1ation are accredited against the !nternational Fuality Standard !S& 3DD24 CDDD, hich is maintained through regular internal audits of or#ing "ractices and continual monitoring by an inde"endent assessment com"any$ +ccording to the management, these "rocesses enhance both management and "ublic confidence in the out"ut of the units$ !n terms of the em"loyees, the commitment of staff to delivering a ,uality service as recogni1ed under the Government-s Charter 0ar# initiative H the scheme for encouraging e'cellence in "ublic service$ Higher Education (HE) Case %he =E case is one the largest further education in the country ith a""ro'imately CADDD students of all ages and bac#ground$ %he =E em"loys in e'cess of <DD em"loyees$ !t is a fully integrated =E, "roviding com"rehensive and innovative educational "rogrammes of business and organi1ation, o"en learning, community learning and e-learning courses H to name *ust a fe $ %he aforementioned sub*ects are "rovided on a "art- or full-time basis$ %he interaction of both academic and non-academic staff and students follo ed by a full su""ort from the to", ith an e'citing range of theoretical and "ractical courses to suit the needs of community have resulted in the =E to be one of the best in the UK and Euro"e$ %he longterm aim of the =E is to "romote e'cellence in the delivery of a high ,uality education and learning e'"erience$ %o this end, the =E continues to im"rove ,uality management systems, "rofessional develo"ment for all staff, the teaching "rocess and the student su""ort services to ensure that ,uality standards are maintained$ !n "articular, it also aims to ensure that the ma*or educational "olicy ob*ectives of the government and national agenda are met$ !n 233C, it has started to focus on ,uality to im"rove service delivery$ =aving had such "riority on its to" management agenda, ithin fe years, the =E has H for several years in succession H secured a number of "restigious a ards mar#ing e'cellence in many activities$ !n 233., the =E as a arded the Charter 0ar# by the Prime 0inister, in recognition of its "rovision of "ublic services$ %he =E as a Charter 0ar# re- inner in 233< and CDDD$ %he =E has met the re,uirements of various ,uality standards, in "articular, it as recognised as a Centre for E'cellence for the second year by the Euro"ean /oundation for Fuality 0anagement (E/F0)$ !n short, the many e'ternal ,uality, safety and financial audits have demonstrated that the =E has a ell run and effective organisation and ill continue to have$

<

Descriptions of the participants and data collection !n total, 2; em"loyees "artici"ated in the intervie s$ &f these, ; ere senior and the remaining ere middle-level managers$ %he intervie ees ere selected on the basis of their consensus to be intervie ed$ 0oreover, a number of intervie ees ere res"ondents to the earlier ,uestionnaire survey$ @ith regard to the level of ,ualification of the intervie ees, 2D intervie ees had com"leted a master-s degree, and the remaining ; "ossessed a bachelor-s degree$ /urthermore, all of the intervie ees had com"leted various "rofessional and training courses$ =aving said that, they ere #ey informants about the change initiatives and related issues in their organisations$ !n an attem"t to increase the accuracy and reliability of the data collected during the intervie s, a number of ste"s ere ta#en (@aldman et al$, 233;42;:)$ +mong them ere neutral "robing of ans ers, "romises of anonymity, and the "romise to submit a study re"ort at the com"letion of the research (see Bryman, 23;3)$ %he main ob*ectives here ere t o-fold4 first, to motivate their current involvement in the research and any "ossible follo -u" study as ell as to ensure gaining access to the relevant documents8 and second, to a are them of the im"lications of the research findings$ !t should be noted that all these efforts are in line ith and similar to the ones utilised by /leisher and Eic#el (233A) and @aldman et al$ (233;)$ %o analyse the intervie and other collected data, a ,ualitative content analysis a""roach as ta#en$ By definition, content analysis is a class of techni,ues for ma""ing symbolic data into a data matri' suitable for statistical analysis (Boberts, CDD24 C53<)$ + central idea in content analysis, summarised by @eber (233D) - ada"ted from Kri""endorff (23;D) - is that many ords of the te't are classified into much fe er content categories$ Bec#er and Lissmann (23<:) offered a classification of different levels of content and argue that content analysis analy1es not only the manifest content of the material but also it clarifies the themes and main ideas of the te't as "rimary content as ell as conte't information as latent content$ Put sim"ly, it is used to analyse all sort of recorded communication (e$g$ transcri"ts of intervie s, discourses, "rotocols of observations, video ta"es, documents) and hence te'ts and transcri"ts have been by far the most common ob*ects of content analysis (Boberts, CDD24 C53<8 0ayring, CDDD)$ %o do so, the ,ualitative data analysis "ac#age, EPivo C$D, as used$ EPivo is a soft are tool for e'"loring and inter"reting te't data and analysing fine details$ !ntervie s included ,uestions about nature and e'tent of the ta#e-u" of various organisational change initiatives, effectiveness of the change "rogrammes, factors that ham"er organi1ational change initiatives in the conte't of "ublic sector organi1ations$ %hese ,uestions, in turn, ere intended to enable the researchers to assess the fantasy or reality of change initiatives in the conte't of "ublic-funded organisations$ )# Results an! 'iscussion The place of change initiatives @ith an ambitious vision for UK "ublic sector organitations to consider the economic, social and the environmental im"acts of their activities, the 0odernised Government @hite Pa"er as "ublished in 0arch 2333$ 0odernising Government, it is claimed, aims at im"roving value for money and ,uality in the ay services are delivered by organisations$ %o this end, it has been encouraging all "ublic sector organisations to ma#e use of one of the four main change initiatives "rogrammes (also called ,uality schemes)$ %hese are E/F0 E'cellence 0odel, !iP, Charter 0ar#, and !S& 3DDD$ +ll these schemes are useful tools hich could be em"loyed for a local authority-s best value strategy (see, for further details, 0odenising Government, 2333)$ !n more elaborate language, the @hite Pa"er sets out a long-term "rogramme of change in the government ma#es "olicy, in the ay services are delivered, in the ay government uses technology and in the ay "ublic service is valued$ %o achieve this ;

the government advocates that, in the "eriod ahead, it ill set milestones to chart its course and success criteria so that the users of "ublic services can *udge hether the modernisation "rogramme is or#ing (see %he UK Government Gate ay to Cor"orate Social Bes"onsibility, CDDA)$ !n res"onse to the modernising government agenda set out in the @hite Pa"er, "ublic sector organisations have been underta#ing a large range of activities and initiatives$ %he management of the organisations studied, claimed that a significant number of change initiatives are going on in their organi1ations$ ?riven by @est 0inister Government, they argued, the initiatives in "lace focus on service delivery in a more effective and customeroriented manner$ !n terms of the e'act nature of the change initiatives, it as clear that the "ublic sector organisations did not have a one-si1e-fits-all initiative to meet the needs of all "ublic sector customers$ %his means that they have to customi1e any change initiative for various interest grou"s of their services$ !t as very clear from the intervie s that, although there have been a number of initiatives in "lace, the management e s"o#e to believed that those initiatives have not been elldevelo"ed$ !n this light, one "artici"ant from City Council noted that, 6! do not thin# that anyone at this stage is considering hether to a""ly for an organi1ation- ide change initiative7$ /or e'am"le, ith regard to the most "o erful of all the change initiative ideas Hi$e$ total ,uality management H to influence service delivery (Slac# et al$ 233;4:5), a senior manager argued that they have not had a ,uality management system in "lace$ +""lication of E/F0 and other ,uality-related schemes, ho ever, has been set out in the @hite Pa"er in the late 233Ds$ But running ,uite se"arately from all of this as the case of =E$ !n addition to insistence on an e'ternal customer orientation, the "lace of internal customers H i$e$ em"loyees H as center-stage$ +ccording to the management e s"o#e to, a ,uality or#force is a "rere,uisite for a change initiative success$ %he reason for this finding may reside in the fact Jthe organi1ation received accreditation for both high ,uality service and leadershi"-$ @ith res"ect to ,uality-related schemes, the nature of the ta#e-u" of initiatives did vary among the cases studied$ %he ma*ority of managers e intervie ed noted that the variation in the demand for their services and the necessity to be fle'ible to the "ublic-s needs and ants, forced them to follo a "articular ,uality-related methodology$ %his methodology, they argued, is to ma#e sure that "ublic service users, not "roviders, are the focus, by matching services more closely to "eo"le-s lives (0odernising Government, 2333)$ +chieving this goal, ho ever, re,uires a number of im"ortant initiatives follo ed by a long-term "rogramme of reform (0odernising Government, 2333)$ %o this end, the management in the "ublic sector organi1ations tal#ed about registration ith various "rofessional bodies related to ,uality$ =ere hat is notable is the variation in the range of initiatives$ Com"ared to the =E case, ho had launched a sur"rising number of initiatives of the modern #ind, City Council, Local Enter"rise and Police /orce launched fe er initiatives and even for these the degree of coherence and "ersistence as ea# (see Storey, 233A)$ %he current case study evidence also say little about the outcomes of their organisationsinitiatives$ +"art from the =E case, the ma*ority of managers e intervie ed noted that there have been initiatives in "lace ith no real im"lementation$ % o issues are relevant to this res"onse$ /irst, it might be a sign of the government-s short-lived reform initiatives, o ning in "art to the attention s"ans of "oliticians (0arch > &lsen, 23;:)$ Second, it is consistent ith hat ?eming (23;5) called Jmobility of management-, meaning that senior management ill not be in the *ob long enough to #no about the change "rogramme, understand ho to 3

ma#e a significant im"act, and hat to do in terms of "ositive actions (Sch inn, CDDC8 ?algleish, CDD:)$ %he "o erful im"lication of the intervie ees- comment is that to be meaningful and to ma#e any difference, the longevity of any reinvention movement H i$e$ any change initiative, its im"lementers, and its agent H is vital (see Len#o s#y > Perry, CDDD4 C3;)$ !n sum, in line ith "revious research (0iracle, CDD.4 .A2) strong evidence suggests that successful "lanning and im"lementation of change initiatives ould hinge on management-s commitment and its first im"ressions of the "rocess (0iracle, CDD.4 .A2)$ +lthough the ma*ority of managers e intervie ed do seem to "erceive various individual and organi1ational benefits from ta#e-u" of change initiatives, it is not clear hether they act as the change agent or not$ %hus it is vital to evaluate the outcome of any "articular change "rogramme against the e'tent of senior management commitment (@il#inson et al$, 233<4;D5)$ The impact of change initiatives on cost reduction Closer ins"ection of the "ractice of organisational change initiatives suggests that the ta#e-u" of any change initiative must be treated ith the greatest caution$ +lthough not enough is #no n about the detailed "ractice of change initiatives in the "ublic sector organisations, there is little reason to ,uarrel ith the general thrust of "rivate organisations- e'"eriences (see Sisson, 233.4CD)$ !n the cases studied, although the management ere inclined to ards the ta#e-u" of organisational change "rogrammes, the evidence have attested to the less tangible outcomes of their change "rogrammes$ %hese findings also su""ort the "revious or# (e$g$ Claret, 233:8 Cottrel, 233C8 Eeely > Bourne, CDDD) that measurement H an integral "art of any change initiative H is the ea# lin# in the ma*ority of cases studied$ @ith regard to the Police /orce, City Council and Local Enter"rise, although efforts to ta#e u" various organisational change "rogrammes have seen to be high on the management-s agenda, such change "rogrammes have hardly been "laced centre-stage, meaning that they have not been in "lace in an integrated manner and their cost effectiveness have not been e'amined (see +brahamson et al$, CDDD8 Kotter, 233;)$ Such a""roach to the ta#e-u" of change initiatives gives even greater cause for concern$ &ne concern that has already been touched u"on in "ublic sector organisations (as ell as "rivately-o ned organisations) is the lac# of a "ro"er "erformance measurement of organisational change "rogrammes$ %hat is, using an integrated com"any- ide a""roach to measuring the outcome of change initiative seems to be ignored$ Clearly, there seems little difference bet een the current and "revious findings on the effectiveness of "erformance management tools$ %o elaborate on this "oint, hile there is "lenty of evidence (e$g$ Eeely > Bourne, CDDD) to suggest a fairly increased use of various organi1ational measurement frame or#s (e$g$ BSC), it is claimed that <DM of such initiatives ould fail$ Even, over a decade ago, Cottrell (233C) and Claret (233:), on the basis of their findings come to the same conclusion, arguing that ithout this factual foundation, the initial enthusiasm of any change initiative ill lac# direction and fail to achieve results$ !n addition to the "roblem ith measuring the outcomes of change initiatives, the element of Jtime- as found to influence the effectiveness of organi1ational change initiatives$ !n effect, the ma*ority of intervie ees at both senior and middle levels noted that they have still been involved in develo"ing some initiatives since several years ago$ %hey therefore ere unable in their attem"t to fully im"lement such "rogrammes, as sho n in this ,uote4 6 e are not in a stage to measure the outcomes of the initiatives in "lace7$ + middle manager also commented4

2D

6 e started to im"lement BSC several years a go$ !t too# us a lot of time to "ut it in "lace$ !t has been only from the start of this year that it has been a fully develo"ed tool in our organisation7$ Eonetheless, there is a great value in investing time and money in the ta#e-u" of change initiatives of the #inds ta#en u" by the =E case$ @hat clearly emerges is that the =E case-s res"onse is to stic# close to the underlying ethos of change initiatives4 to focus simultaneously on structures and systems and cor"orate culture (see Beer > Eohria, CDDD)$ +nalysing the intervie ees- res"onses and other related evidence, some other factors ere found to influence the differential "attern of ta#e-u" of initiatives among the case organisations$ 0anagers at different levels, for e'am"le, tal#ed in terms of4 the lac# of resources to o"erationalise the change initiative strategy8 of less tangible evidence on the ta#e-u" of the change initiatives on the ell-being of the organisation H mainly due to the lac# of an integrated "erformance management system$ %hese findings are further su""orted by a =arvard Business School-s"onsored survey of the im"act of change initiatives among the /ortune 2DD organisations4 only :D "er cent "roduced an im"rovement in bottom-line (Pascale et al$, 233<4 2:3)$ Later, Beer and Eohria (CDDD4 2::) observed the "ractice of change initiatives by concluding that a""ro'imately <D "er cent of change initiatives fail$ @hat clearly emerges is that the organi1ation studied seem to be active in relation to change initiatives in recent years$ @hat is less clear, ho ever, is the ability of the initiatives ta#en to deliver their aims (Storey, 233A4 25)$ !t remains the case, for e'am"le, that 6the "ublic sector has a history of management Jfads-9flavour of the change initiatives, namely E/F0, !iP, Chartermar# etc H so over or#ed and overburden staff and manager are inevitably cynical about the latest such initiatives hen none of the others have been su""orted on a long-term basis7 (@isnie s#i, CDDA)$ %he above analysis of the "ractice of change initiatives sho s that its reality can be in conflict ith its rhetoric$ !n conse,uence, a ma*or and gro ing concern hich has develo"ed out of the ta#e-u" of various change initiatives in the cases studied is that there is a ma*or discre"ancy bet een the rhetoric of change initiative and the reality of its "ractice$ /urther reflection on the cases studied as ell as "revious "ractice, suggests that there are a number of ma*or fla s in the theory and "ractice of change initiatives hich hel" to account for this state of affairs (Sisson, 233.43)$ /urther insights on each of the factors that ham"er effective im"lementation of organi1ational change initiatives are to be gained in subse,uent sections Barriers to effective implementation of change initiatives Fundamental flaws in the philosophy of change initiatives + ell #no n finding in the literature on organi1ational change initiatives is the e'istence of fundamental fla s in the "hiloso"hy of such initiatives$ %he conflicting e"istemological "rece"ts and im"lications for action embedded in the ma*ority of change initiatives give an air of insubstantiality to the conce"t of change management generally (see Legge, 233A)$ Put sim"ly, one e"istemological "roblem is concerned ith the change initiative Jbureaucracy-$ %he im"lication of such "roblem, it is argued, is that it shifts too much res"onsibility do n to the sho" floor$ %hat is, hile the ma*ority of change initiatives ould argue a "eo"le-based management, their "ractice ould argue a system-driven a""roach to the ta#e-u" of the initiatives (see Sna"e et al$, 233A4.:)$ &ther "roblem stems from ambiguities in the (in)com"atibility of various change initiatives$ /or e'am"le, ,uality initiatives, it is argued, are incom"atible ith more radical im"rovement a""roaches such as business "rocess reengineering (Slac#, 233;4<;C-:)$ +nother com"lication inherent in the "hiloso"hy of change 22

initiatives is concerned ith the conte't and its influence on im"lementation of any change initiatives thus lending su""ort for a contingency a""roach to their im"lementation H as o""osed to a universal orientation$ %his, in turn, raises the ,uestion of hether the disa""ointment and dissatisfaction ith the outcomes of change initiatives are due to conce"tual fla s in the "hiloso"hy of change initiatives or im"lementation deficiencies$ @hat it can be said is the fact that, some #ind of balance is re,uired bet een the change initiative and the organisational conte't$ !n short, the "icture that the conflicting e"istemological assum"tions of various change initiatives "resent reveals a serious danger4 confusion in understanding the real meaning of any change initiative may result in an ina""ro"riate use of the change initiative that serves only to e'"loit or#force rather than to change the basic ays of thin#ing ithin the organi1ation (Senge et al$, 2333)$ +s a result, the change initiative then might be seen as dysfunctional in that it can then detract from favourable outcomes for hole organisation$ Ineffective Communication + close e'amination of the cases studied indicate that there are more im"ortant issues that ham"er the change initiatives in the long-term$ + usual barrier to change initiatives in the cases studied as the "oor vertical and hori1ontal communication across the organisation$ @hat it can be said is the fact that the ability of any change initiative to im"rove an organisation-s viability can be *udged by e'isting an effective communication system throughout the organi1ation$ %he im"lication of initiating organi1ational changes of any #ind is very significant$ !t means that it "resents both a management challenge and an infrastructure challenge to the organi1ation$ Similar em"irical evidence across the UK also confirms that "oor communication follo ed by an overload of information are ma#ing em"loyees less efficient than their counter"arts in Euro"e$ %his, in turn, ill lead to lo "roductivity (%homas, CDDA)$ +s &a#land (233;4 :D<) has "ointed out, an effective communication method for any change initiative should have t o essential com"onents4 one is general information about the change "rogramme8 and the other is regular meetings bet een em"loyees and managers9su"ervisors$ Such communication system, &a#land argues, should include all conventional communication methods, namely seminars, de"artmental meetings, "osters and ne sletters$ Eor is &a#land alone in suggesting the vital role of an effective communication system to the success of any change initiative$ Schiemann (23;3), for e'am"le, s"ea#s of communication as an integral "art of an effective organisational change "rogramme$ Crosby (23<3) has addressed the Jsu"ervisor training- as the Jste" eightof his fourteen ste"s of ,uality "rogramme and states that 6all managers must understand each ste" ell enough to e'"lain it to their "eo"le$ %he "roof of understanding is the ability to e'"lain Qor communicateR it7 ("$ 2:<)$ %he essence of changing attitudes and conse,uently achieving "ersonnel commitment is to gain acce"tance through e'cellent communication "rocesses (&a#land, 233;4:2;)$ %he real benefit of such communication system is that it gets su"ervisors and em"loyees in the habit of tal#ing "ositively about the change "rogramme8 it aids the "rocess of changing8 it hel"s clarifying e'isting attitudes to ard the change initiative8 and it sets the basis for the corrective-action and error-cause-removal ste"s (see Crosby, 23<34 2:A)$ &a#land (23;3), ho ever, argues that this is "ossibly the most neglected "art of many organisationso"erations, yet failure to communicate effectively creates unnecessary "roblems, resulting in confusion, loss of interest and eventually decline in the change initiative through a""arent lac# of guidance and stimulus ("$ :D<)$ !ndeed more organi1ation- ide and holistic a""roach to change management can be effective as long as em"loyees at any organi1ational level

2C

understand the nature of the change initiative "rogramme, its aims, and its benefits$ +ll these can be fulfilled through an effective communication system$ Perha"s less sur"risingly, the em"hasis given to communicating the aims of change initiatives from the to" management to all staff and em"loyees as less observed in the ma*ority of cases (see &a#land, 233;4:D<)$ &ne of the chief messages that emerged from the intervie s ith middle level managers, as the fact that that senior management team ere uncertain about the strategic im"ortance of the change initiatives in "lace$ E'ce"t the case of =E, this as evidenced across the other three cases$ !t is orth ,uoting directly from the City Council case as one middle manager noted4 6the reasons hy these change initiatives are increasingly said to be dysfunctional relate to the lo a areness of senior management of the nature of change "rogramme, its contribution and hat the outcome ould be7$ Such lac# of direct communication from the to", in turn, has resulted in resistance to change and failure to gain acce"tance for the need to change$ +ssuming this to be the case, the im"lication, as &a#land "ut it, is clear4 6instead of order there is confusion, instead of "rogress there is stagnation, instead of success there is failure, resulting in frustration and a belief that change initiative "rogramme is not the ay for ard to the cultural change necessary for continuous im"rovement7 (233;4 C32)$ The lack of continuous training +s a conse,uence of "oor communication of any change initiative strategy, several other factors li#ely to "rove "articularly "roblematic ith regard to ado"tion of organi1ational change "rogrammes$ %he very clear e'am"le and a conse,uence of "oor communication is the lac# of continuous training to meet the re,uirements of a "articular change "rogramme$ !n generally all the "ublished case studies of com"anies that have embar#ed u"on any change initiative, training and develo"ment have been seen as an integral "art of ider strategies aimed at the creation of ne or#ing "ractices and a better motivated, more self-reliant or#force (Ballin, 23;54 C. cited in Kee", 233A4 225) &a#land (233;4 :D3) refers to training as the single most im"ortant factor in actually im"roving the organi1ational change "rogrammes (e$g$ %F0) and argues that it must be "erformed ob*ectively, systematically and continuously in the form of a cycle of im"rovement$ Central to this cycle of im"rovement is the fact that training must be "art of the change initiative "olicy ("$:2D)$ + revie of the UK and US ritings on %F0 initiatives, for e'am"le, gives the im"ression of a generally acce"ted vie on *em"loyee training and develo"ment- to be critical for its success ( e$g$ Ballin, 23;54 C.8 Kee", 233A4 2258 &a#land, 233;8 Kan*i, > +sher, 233:8 ?eming, 23;58 Iuran, 23;38 Crosby, 23<38 Sara"h et al$, 23;38 +hire et al$, 23358 Po ell, 233A)$ ?es"ite the heavy em"hasis "laced on the training, recent research (e$g$ Patton > 0arlo , CDDC8 Go"al, CDDA8 Kee" > 0ayhe , 233<8 Gallu" 0anagement Iournal, 233;8 Ioyce et al$, 233A) has served to underline the e'treme "overty of both "rivate and "ublic sector organi1ations in this area, ith levels of education of training that are very "oor by international standards (Kee", 233A422;)$ Put sim"ly, a revie of literature on various organi1ational change initiatives gives the im"ression of a idening rift bet een the theory and "ractice of training4 the organi1ations ho ta#e u" changes of various #inds ith less attention "aid to education and training, and the academics ho endlessly dissect the minutiae of the training and education "rogrammes$ Eeither of any change initiative "rogrammes, it is argued, can "rovide a com"etitive advantage to any organi1ation unless training for ,uality is "art of change initiative "olicy (&a#land, 233;)$ 2:

!n the a#e u" of the above evidence there has been a flurry of activity in this area, mainly centred on senior management ith less attention to em"loyees$ !n the cases studied, although a number of managers referred to or#sho"s, disseminating the results and related documents to the lo er and sho"-floor em"loyees, ho ever, the "resence of a elldevelo"ed training "rogramme as not a""arent$ +ccording to one senior manager, 6the nature of our organi1ation H as o""osed to manufacturing organi1ations H does not re,uire a huge amount of investment in training7$ &r, 6there is no any s"ecific training course related to change initiatives in our organi1ation7$ &ther middle manager stated, 6in our organi1ation, the training is delivered through "ersonal develo"ment "lanning hich focuses on more *ob- rather than change-related issues7$ @ith res"ect to the =E case, there as clearly an e'tremely high mention by the intervie ees of e'isting various training "rogrammes in relation to both change initiatives and individual-s develo"ment$ 0ore detailed analysis of the cases studied reveals a number of characteristics of the current state of training in the "ublic sector organi1ations$ + number of intervie ees argued that they have got most of their training during their "revious em"loyment in other organi1ations8 a lot of training courses ere self-generated rather than being a re,uirements of initiating change "rogrammes8 some "ursues academic education to reach the re,uirements for being a senior manager8 due to the ide range of res"onsibilities, some "ublic sector organisations invest a huge amount of money for *ob-related training H as o""osed to a "rere,uisite of the ta#e-u" of change initiative "rogrammes$ !n line ith "revious research on the lin# bet een the ta#e Hu" of change initiatives and the organisation si1e (see Storey, 233A4 CD), the evidence in the cases studied indicates that, although it has been generally assumed that an effective communication system as ell as a continuous training "rogramme are mainly "roblems of larger organi1ations, such "roblems, ho ever, ere evident in the case of small si1e organi1ations$ %here are also some final very significant "oints arising out of the intervie ees- res"onses of em"loyee training course for change initiatives4 they confirm hat an increasing number of commentators have recognised, namely that staff training tends to de"end on the manager ho decides on the amount and ty"e of training for staff8 lo er-level and sho"-floor em"loyees are loo#ing for ard to learning and develo"ing rather than bigger room si1e or other facilities8 the ma*ority of training courses aim at organisational develo"ment H as o""osed to "eo"le develo"ment8 em"loyees are su""osed to have training since this is "art of staff a""raisal system (see Sisson, 233.)$ !t is clear from the cases studied and other sources (Patton > 0arlo , CDDC) that education and training "rogrammes for organi1ational change initiatives are not o"timistic$ %here is an im"ortant im"lication here$ /inally, there has been a general ac#no ledgement across all four cases that training could act as an im"ortant lever in "rom"ting cultural changes$ !n fact, as evidence (e$g$ Kee"$ 233A4 225) suggests, this has been the case ithin those com"anies that have been attem"ting to u"grade the im"ortance attached to the or#force-s contribution to change initiative success$$ Lack of top management commitment Under"inning the "hiloso"hy of change initiatives are the t in ideas that senior management commitment is a "rere,uisite for their success, and so is the em"loyee commitment and 2.

su""ort$ %his "erce"tion of any change initiative conce"t a""ears to underline the ma*ority of commentators- (e$g$ ?eimng, 23;58 Iuran, 23;38 @il#inson et al$, 233<8 ?ale > Coo"er, 233.8 Kan*i Fuality Culture, CDDA8 =ambric# et al$, 233:8 Car"enter et al$, CDD.8 Kotter, 23338 Iac#son, CDD.8 Lohr#e et al$, CDD.) discussion of change initiatives, ith their em"hasis on a com"any- ide commitment to the change "rogramme ranging from to" to sho"-floor em"loyees$ + close e'amination of the theory of change management sho s that hile it highlights the role of senior management, the reality is different$ !n terms of theory, change "rogramme is being essentially a more central means of com"etitive advantage in that it is run by senior management8 it concerns management in the achievement of business e'cellence8 it e'"resses senior management-s "referred organisational values$ /rom this "ers"ective, it is not sur"rising that some commentators (e$g$ ?eming, 23;58 Iuran, 23;38 0int1berg, 23338 Scholtes, 233;8 Bennis, 23;3, 233<8 Bennis > &-%oole, CDDD8 Kan*i, 233;8 ?ale > Coo"er, 233.8 ?ale, 2333) identify the real difference bet een an organisation- ide change initiative (e$g$ %F0) and other change "rogrammes as Jnot hat it is but ho is managing it-$ +ccording to Kan*i-s leadershi" e'cellence model (KLE0), ado"tion of an organisation- ide change initiative such as %F0 re,uires the to" management (Kanji quality culture, 2005)4 6%o define a mission, vision and goals that "romote a ,uality culture, to establish a set of shared values, to define a Fuality strategy, to better coordinate the use of resources in order to im"rove financial "erformance, to establish goals and systems to enhance customer satisfaction, to establish effective information systems and to use ob*ective data in the decision "rocess, to "romote the develo"ment of the human resources, investing on training and education and to recognise ,uality achievements, and to communicate, define and motivate continuous im"rovement7$ ?es"ite such em"hasis on the managing change initiatives in theory, a significant "ro"ortion of middle-level managers, has been concerned ith lo "artici"ation and commitment of senior management team$ %he analysis of the cases studied indicates generally lo attention to organisational change "rogrammes by the senior management (Kee", 233A)$ !n the ma*ority of intervie s ith senior management, they failed to "rovide strong evidence of their blan# commitment to organi1ational change initiatives$ +s a middle-level manager commented4 6/rom my e'"erience of change initiatives in "ublic sector organisations ! should say that the senior management team have not been through and visibly involved7$ %his, cou"led ith concerns about very defensive a""roach of some managers to delegate authority to lo er-level managers and em"loyees, and to their o n budget and staff H as o""osed to release control to allo the resources to be managed in a cross-functional ay H has raised another concern4 there may be a tendency that the current management try to bac# u" the ell-being of their o n de"artment or division rather than organisational ell-being (Sisson, 233.4 <)$ !n the case of Police /orce, for e'am"le, a senior manager re"lied this ay4 6although in the case of some "ublic sector organisations there is a very command-and-control a""roach management, but ideally to trust "eo"le could lead to higher and better service delivery7$ %he =E case sho s that hile the organisation has ta#en u" various initiatives, they also tried to introduce innovative techni,ues to allo the em"loyees to ta#e u" the o nershi" of 2A

the change "rogramme$ !n fact, the =E case evidence reveals some association bet een the effectiveness of any change "rogramme and the incidence of such techni,ue as em"loyee "artici"ation$ %he analysis of the remaining cases, ho ever, sho s that the current management seem to be unconcerned about rece"tiveness to change, illingness to enable "eo"le to do things right the first time, embracing change initiatives, and identifying trust$ %hey are, moreover, concerned ith tac#ling financial and "olitical barriers$ %here is an im"ortant im"lication here$ %he "ublic sector organisations of any si1e might ta#e u" organisational change initiatives that carry ith them no o""ortunity for better service delivery$ %he fact that such situations to ards the ta#e-u" of change initiatives held by a significant "ro"ortion of "ublic sector organisations, it can be argued, reflects a number of dee"-seated factors that im"ede the ides"read ado"tion of change initiatives$ %his issue ell summed u" by one of the senior managers from City Council in the follo ing comment4 6+ change initiative hich you thin# has been the best in "rivate sector organisations might come u" against a "olitical organisation$ Because it is not something that the "arty and its administration are see#ing to achieve or are interested in "ursuing$7 +dded to these barriers, there has been a general ac#no ledgement that, in the senior manager, ords of one

60y general im"ression of the management of "ublic sector organisations is that there has been a very traditional a""roach to managing organisation$ %hat is, once you get to the to" you do not ant to lose the "osition7$ !n the vie of the im"ortance of many of these barriers to change initiatives, it is "erha"s sur"rising that the management of =E case - also consistent ith a "artici"ant from City Council H believed that an effective manager ill overcome such "roblems$ 6?es"ite insufficient resources and other associated barriers, it is the to" management, ho can ma#e most use of them7$ %his is "artly due to the management res"onsibility for the availability of resources and funds and s"ecifically the overall im"lementation a""roach (see, Latino, 23338 Shin et al$, 233;8 =ansson et al$, CDD:)$ Significantly change initiatives "rogrammes are all aimed not at sho"floor em"loyees but at the to" e'ecutives as the drive to ards business e'cellence$ ?es"ite the immense interest of the ta#e-u" of various organisational change "rogrammes on the "art of the government (see 0odernising Government, 2333), a great deal of evidence suggests that senior management team may not yet have acce"ted the vital im"ortance of organi1ation- ide changes to "roviding high ,uality "ublic services (see Kee", 233A)$ %his, in turn, may be contrasted ith the #ey commitment of the moderni1ing government4 6@e ill deliver efficient, high ,uality "ublic services and ill not tolerate mediocrity7 (E'ecutive Summary, "$C)$ Lack of employee commitment Em"loyee commitment in the cases studied as seen to be a function of senior management commitment$ %he overall vie of the managers e intervie ed a""ears to be o"timistic, indicating that the staff commitment is high$ S"ecifically, a number of middle-level managers have advocated that to achieve em"loyee commitment re,uires sufficient number of cham"ions among senior management team$ !n the case of =E, for e'am"le, a senior manager argued that4

25

6%he ta#e-u" of any change initiative is only the beginning of the *ourney to ards business e'cellence$ Later, it re,uires a full su""ort through an organisation- ide commitment7$ %he evidence by =E case in "articular and the remaining cases in general might hel" to confirm the assum"tion that the organisational researchers have so far made about the correlation bet een organisational commitment and organisational ell-being$ %hat is, the variability in the outcomes of various organisational change initiatives can be e'"lained by the e'tent to hich an organisation- ide commitment is "resent (see Kinnie, 233A)$ !ndeed, in the cases studied, the management teams e intervie ed agreed that the success of organisational change "rogramme is re,uired not only the su""ort of senior management but also the su""ort of em"loyees$ %his is referred to Jmutual commitment-$ Such em"loyee-s su""ortive role, it is argued, could be fulfilled by human resource management (=B0) techni,ues such training and develo"ment "rogrammes and remuneration and re ards (Kinnie, 233A42.5)$ %he lac# of such su""ort, ho ever, could be seen as a sign of "oor management hich in turn could lead to disillusioned and demotivated em"loyees$ %here also a""ears to be a conflict bet een the vie s of senior and middle managers to ards each other$ %he vie s of the t o managerial levels "ut for ard in the cases studied H e'ce"t the case of =E H a""ear to be "essimistic$ @hile middle managers- criticism of senior management as concerned on their Jlo commitment and involvement-, the ma*ority of senior management e intervie ed believed that middle-level management might negatively affect em"loyee commitment either$ Ee all and ?ale (2332), for e'am"le, confirmed that the ma*ority of "roblems are usually ithin the middle strata, and cited one cause as the erroneous belief that nothing is rong ith the current system and management$ !n a similar vein, Co' (233D) has "ointed out that a middle management Jmafia- often sabotages a large "ortion of genuine or#er initiative and innovation because it is not convinced that %F0 is orth hile "ursuit (cited in @halen > Bahim, 233.4C2-C)$ %he "icture these evidence "resent reveals a contradiction bet een middle and senior managers$ %he findings "lace value on an organisation- ide commitment among various managerial levels$ %his, in turn, ill allo us to suggest not only that there ought to be a lin# bet een to" management and em"loyee commitment, but that bet een to" and middle management (see Purcell, 233A4 5.)$ %o this end, there is clear, unambiguous evidence from "revious surveys that the "resence of a "ro"er training "rogramme for each individual em"loyee H to" to sho" floor H ma#es a considerable difference to resolving the tension among different organisational beneficiaries$ Such training system ould hel" management to allo users to im"lement any change initiatives, to inter"ret and analyse the information "roduced by these systems, to enable them to co"e ith their change relationshi"s ith their su"eriors and subordinates (Kinnie, 233A42.<)$ But at the same time there is a "arallel em"hasis on em"loyee commitment to organisational change initiatives as an organic entity that actually e'ecute the activities during the im"lementation$ +s already discussed, ho ever, hile the change initiatives- advocates see them Jem"o ering- the em"loyees by delegating res"onsibility to those actually carrying out the *ob, em"loyees- illingness to ado"t the initiatives can be affected negatively for various reasons4 fear of losing *obs (=ard ic# > @insor, CDD2), status affected (0c+dam > 0cGeough, CDDD), negative e'"eriences of earlier "roblematic change "ro*ects (Bardoel > Sohal, 23338 ?ale et al$, 233<8 =ard ic# > @insor, CDDC), stressful or# conditions and lac# of in-de"th #no ledge of the change initiative im"lementation and its associated techni,ues (Shin et al$, 233;8 Bardoel > Sohal, 2333)$ %he clear im"lication from this is (Sna"e et al$, 233A4.C)4 2<

6the notion of reci"rocal commitment, ith the organisation meeting the individual-s needs for *ob satisfaction and self-actualisation, and receiving commitment to organisational goals in return7 $ +# Su,,ary an! Conclusions %he research has hel"ed to case light on the "lace of organisational change initiatives in "ublic sector organisations$ + case study a""roach as chosen, given that there is a relative dearth of evidence regarding the ta#e-u" of change initiatives is governmental-funded organisations as ell as their outcomes$ &verall, the findings su""ort the "rior research, in "articular earlier findings in "rivate sector organisations (Eeely > Bourne, CDDD8 Beer > Eohria, CDDD42::8 Pascale et al$, 233<42:38 Soltani, CDD.8 Schiemann, 233C) H that change initiatives seem to have had little or no im"act on the cost reduction of the "ublic sector organisations in the decade or so in hich the thin#ing associated ith the conce"t of change management has been so "ervasive$ +t the same time and similar to the @aldman et al$-s (233;) study, these findings suggest an ine'tricable lin# bet een the effectiveness of change initiatives and to" management commitment$ Put sim"ly, to" management commitment is central to the effectiveness of change initiatives for several reasons, namely it "romises H as in the case of =E H higher "erformance (Guest, 233A) ith the "ossible conse,uence of lo mobility of management team (see ?eming, 23;5)$ !n short, Pro(osition "# =igh and continuous commitment of to" management effectiveness of change initiative "rogrammes$ ill lead to higher

&ther related argument here highlights the "ro"osition made by Beichers et al$ (233<) that individual have gro n cynical about organisational change strategies for a variety of reasons$ %o elaborate on this "oint, hile there is "lenty of evidence to suggest initial enthusiasm of management to the ta#e-u" of various organisational change strategies, such initial e'citement ill soon be re"laced by other "riorities or day-to-day "ressures, ith the conse,uence of avering commitment ith little return on investment$ =ere the im"lications are clear4 a #nee-*er# reaction is underta#en by management hereby the initiative is cancelled or "ut on hold8 the current management team are re"laced8 the ne team either disa""rove the original change strategy or the ne team desire to initiate their o n 6"et7 initiative(s) (@aldman et al$, 233;4 2358 Shadur, 233A)$ @aldman and colleagues, on the basis of this argument, comes to the conclusion that 4 a "essimistic vie "oint accrues ith regard to ne initiatives because leaders are seen as either lac#ing "ersonal commitment, incom"etent, or both7 (233;4235)$ Put sim"ly, Pro(osition $# %he e'tent to hich non-managers em"loyees are committed and su""ortive to the ne change initiatives ill be closely correlated to the degree of- to" management commitment Hi$e$ the notion of reci"rocal commitment$ Continuing mutual commitment does not im"ly that if it e'its, it ill result in a successful im"lementation of change initiatives ith the conse,uence of meeting the needs of both organisation and em"loyees$ Perha"s of e,ual im"ortance is that if the change initiative is seen to be effective, covers both levels of individual and organi1ation, one final ,uestion remains and this relates to the degree of Jintegration- of the change "rogramme to ards addressing all as"ects of the organisational conte't$ ?es"ite the host of e'am"les of the ta#eu" of various organi1ational change "rogrammes, ho ever, there is still almost no hard evidence available about the e'tent to hich organi1ations have in fact managed to interlin# these in a mutually su""ortive ay H though many organi1ations have certainly embraced the idea as a "riority as"iration (Storey, 233A43-2D)$ +s a result it can be "ro"osed that, 2;

Pro(osition %# %he higher the integration of a change "rogramme to ards fulfilling various organisational beneficiaries, the stronger the reci"rocal commitment of management and em"loyees devoted to the change "rogramme$ E'ce"t the case of =E, as sho n in the remaining cases, the lo commitment of senior management team may ultimately lead to roadbloc#s in the ay of sho"-floor em"loyees$ %his as also evident in the case of =E in that managers found their commitment central to the highly motivated or#force$ !n contrast and in line ith "revious research (see ?eming, 23;58 0archington et al$, 233C8 @il#inson et al$, 233:8 Schuler > =arris, 233C), at the other three cases, the evidence highlighted the difficulties of inning em"loyee commitment to change initiatives$ &ne reason for such difficulty is that traditional or#ing "ractices and management styles may be inconsistent ith the ne initiatives, ith the conse,uence of em"loyees- resistance (see Sna"e et al$,233A)$ /or e'am"le, in the case of City Council there as a "essimistic vie ith regard to the "ractice of current management in "ublic-funded organisations because of management-s traditional a""roach to managing ne change initiatives$ &verall, the evidence here revealed that the "ractice of management as largely inconsistent ith the re,uirements of the change initiatives$ !n sum, it can be "ro"osed that, Pro(osition &# %he effectiveness of change initiatives ill be higher in organisation hich their management "ractices are consistent ith the re,uirements of the change "rogrammes$ @hile the im"ortance of to" management commitment to the success of any change "rogramme has been considered "reviously in the literature, the headline finding as the lesser e'tent to hich the cases studied had ta#en u" the modern change initiatives Hi$e$ Balanced Scorecard, Benchmar#ing, Continuous !m"rovement, Cultural Change, Em"loyee !nvolvement H to name *ust a fe $ @ith the e'ce"tion of =E case, this as evidenced across the remaining three cases$ +lthough, in some cases the intervie ees claimed that they have had a number of ne change initiatives in "lace (e$g$ the City Council case), such initiatives, ho ever, a""eared to be under develo"ed$ +s a conse,uence, the evidence "rovided little information about their real im"act on the im"rovement of service delivery$ %o a greater e'tent, this could confirm the rhetoric nature H as o""osed to its reality H of change initiatives in the "ublic sector organisations$ Clearly, the limited evidence on this issue and hence the outcomes of change initiatives in other "ublic sector organi1ations is therefore o"en to ,uestion$ +s e have seen in the case of =E, it ould be in the interest of "ublic sector organisations to ta#e-u" organisation- ide change initiatives as a coherent means of ma'imising "ublic satisfaction and develo"ing organisational ca"abilities (Beer > Eohria, CDDD) that "aves the ays to achieving com"etitive advantage (Legge, 233A)$ !n formal terms, Pro(osition )# %he more organisation- ide the change initiatives, the higher ,uality service of "ublic sector organisations ill be$ + significant "ro"ortion of the literature on organisational change initiatives has been highlighted the centrality of training to the "ractice of change "rogrammes$ !n the case of =E, for e'am"le, training has been regarded as an investment$ S"ecifically, the =E case a""eared to have "rogressed some ay to ards successfully im"lementing its change initiatives through a ell-designed training system$ %his training system, in turn, as integrated into the organisational change strategies (see Kee", 233A4 22:)$ =o ever, hat as found to be ha""ening in the remaining cases as that the ta#e-u" of change initiatives has rarely involved intensive training courses to ards radical s#ill enhancement of both managers and em"loyees (see Legge, 233A)$ Some organisations- (e$g$ City Council) 23

attem"ted moves to ards running training courses "articularly and change initiatives generally have a""arently come unstuc# through internal resistance from the to" H referred to as "olitical barriers by the intervie ees$ %he findings are also consistent ith "revious evidence (e$g$ 0an"o er Services Commission, 23;A8 &-0ahony > de Boer, CDDC) that indicate generally lo average "er ca"ita s"ending on training develo"ment by British com"anies (see Kee", 233A4 22<)$ %herefore, Pro(osition +# Continuous training "rogrammes ill lead to effective communication of change initiatives- aims and "hiloso"hy, es"ecially hen they are integrated into ider organisational change strategy$ @ith regard to the im"lications for future research H and one that might be a limitation of this research, longitudinal ould be a more fruitful research a""roach$ @hat, then, is re,uired is a detailed study of the effects and effectiveness of various change "rogrammes ta#en u" by the "ublic sector organi1ations ithin the last t o decades$ 0uch more im"ortantly, there is also a need to e'amine and com"are the "resent government change initiatives ith those introduced by the "revious government to see their similarities, differences, effectiveness and their im"act on the "ublic satisfaction$ ?ifferences and similarities that ere found in this research among the various managerial levels, suggest that an additional avenue for future research ould be to focus on "olicy ma#ers to see the degree of their commitment to follo u" the "ractice of change initiatives that they introduced$ Put sim"ly, factors that a""ear to ham"er change initiatives in the cases studied may have no *ustification from "olicy 0a#ers- vie "oints$ @e believe that the results of the study highlighted the "otential contribution H as in the case of =E H that the ta#e u" of change initiatives might ma#e to ards the achievements of longterm "rogramme of reform of the government$ =o ever, as the evidence sho ed, these o""ortunities ill not al ays been ta#en u", largely because of inade,uate su""ort from to" management, "oor communication systems, lac# of continuous training "rogrammes H to name *ust a fe $ +s a result of such findings, one im"lication for "ractice is that managers and non-manager em"loyees need to be trained, motivated if they are to ta#e on fully their ne res"onsibilities and accountabilities$ +s Kinnie "ut it, 6in the absence of this it is highly li#ely that these ne change initiatives ill not be fully realised7 (233A42AC)$ Ac-no.le!g,ents: %he em"irical research u"on ESBC a ard number P%+-DC5-C<-D5CC$ hich this "a"er is based as funded by

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E/F04 Euro"ean /oundation for Fuality 0anagement (2333), %otal Fuality 0anagement4 %he Euro"ean 0odel for self-a""raisal, Guidelines for !dentifying and addressing total ,uality !ssues, E/F0, Eindhoven$ Ellinger, +$ ?$, @at#ins, K$ E$ and Barnas, C$ 0$ (2333), Bes"onding to ne roles4 + ,ualitative study of managers as instructor, &anagement Learning, Pol$ :D, Eo$., ""$ :;<-.2C$ /leisher, C$ S$ and Eic#el, I$ B$ (233A), +ttem"ting %F0 in organisational staff areas4 %F0 as managerial innovation in cor"orate "ublic affairs, Canadian Iournal of +dministrative Sciences, Pol$ 2C, ""$ 225-2C<$ Gallu" 0anagement Iournal (233;), !nvest in your em"loyees ith e-training, +allup &anagement "ournal, Q&nlineR$ +vailable4 htt"499gmi$gallu"$com$ Q+ccess4 +"ril CDDAR$ Gehani, B$ B$ (233:), Fuality value-chain4 + meta-synthesis of frontiers of ,uality movement, 'cademy of &anagement ,-ecutive, Pol$ <, Eo$ C, ""$ C3-.C$ Goodstein, L$ ?$ and Bur#e, @, @$ (2332), Creating successful organisation change, (rgani*ational Dynamics, Pol$ 23 , Eo$ ., ""$ A-2<$ Go"al, +$ (CDDA), %he limits of em"loyee training, +allup &anagement "ournal, Q&nlineR$ +vailable4 htt"499gmi$gallu"$com$ Q+ccess4 +"ril CDDAR$ Guest, ?$ E$ (233A), =uman resource management4 !ts im"lications for industrial relations and trade unions, !n Storey, I$ (Ed$), Ee Pers"ectives in =uman Besource 0anagement (""$ .2-AA), London4 Boutledge$ =ambric#, ?$ C$ and 0ason, P$ (23;.), U""er echelons4 %he organisation as a reflection of its to" management, 'cademy of &anagement Review, Pol$ 3, ""$ 23:-CD5$ =ambric#, ?$ C$, Gelet#anyc1, 0$ +$, /redric#son, I$ @$ (233:), %o" e'ecutive commitment to the status ,uo4 Some tests of its determinants, trategic &anagement "ournal, Pol$ 2., Eo$ 5, ""$ .D2-.2;$ =ansson, I$, Bac#lund, /$, Lyc#e, L$ (CDD:), 0anaging commitment4 !ncreasing the odds for successful im"lementation of %F0, %P0 or BC0, International "ournal of #uality $ Relia%ility &anagement, Pol$ CD, Eo$ 3, ""$ 33:-2DD;$ =ard ic#, I$ and @insor, G$ (CDD2), BC0 H 0a#ing the "rocess more cost-effective, )roceedings of International Conference on &aintenance ocieties (!C&0S), 0elbourne, +ustralia, ""$ 2-<$ =ard ic#, I$ and @insor, G$ (CDDC), BC0 H 0a#ing the "rocess more cost-effective H &ne year later, )roceedings of International Conference on &aintenance ocieties (!C&0S), Brisbane, +ustralia, ""$ 2-5$ =o" ood, +$ (23;.), +ccounting and the "ursuit of efficiency, !n =o" ood, +$ and %om#ins, C$ (Eds$), !ssues in "ublic sector accounting (""$ 25<-2;<), &'ford, England4 Phili" +llan$ !P0 (233:), Fuality4 Peo"le 0anagement 0atters, !P0 (!nstitute of Personnel 0anagement) Besearch Series, UK4 Short Bun Press Ltd, E'ter$ Iac#son, P$ B$ (CDD.), Em"loyee Commitment to ,uality4 !ts conce"tualisation and measurement, International "ournal of #uality $ Relia%ility &anagement, Pol$ C2, Eo$ <, ""$ <2.-<:D$ Iacobs, B$ @$ (233.), Beam time strategic change, San /rancisco4 Berrett-Koehler Publishers$ Ioyce, P$, 0cEulty, %$ and @oods, +$ (233A), @or#force training4 +re small firms differentL, "ournal of ,uropean Industrial Training, Pol$ 23, Eo$ A, ""$ 23-CA$ Iuran, I$ 0$ (23;3), Iuran on Leadershi" for Fuality, Ee Nor#4 /ree Press$ CC

Kan*i Fuality Culture (CDDA), 0easuring Business E'cellence, Q&nlineR$ +vailable4 $go"al-#an*i$com$ Q+ccess4 +"ril CDDAR$ Kan*i, G$ K$ (233;), 0easurement of Business E'cellence, Total #uality &anagement, Pol$ 3, Eo$ <, ""$ 5::-5.:$ Kan*i, G$ K$ and +sher, 0$ (233:), %otal ,uality management "rocess H a systematic a""roach, +dvances in %otal Fuality 0anagement Series, Carfa' Publishing Co$, +bingdon$ Kee", E$ (233A), Cor"orate training strategies4 %he vital com"onent, !n Storey, I$ (ed$), Ee Pers"ectives on =uman Besource 0anagement (""$ 2D3-2CA), London4 Boutledge$ Kee", E$ and 0ayhe , K$ (233<), Pocational and educational training and economic "erformance, , RC eminar )resentation )aper, Cranfield university$ Ketchen, ?$ (CDDC), Some candid thoughts on the "ublication "rocess, "ournal of &anagement, Pol$ C;, ""$ AD<-AC.$ Kinnie, E$ (233A), =uman resource management and changes in management control systems, !n Storey, I$ (ed$), Ee Pers"ectives on =uman Besource 0anagement (""$ 2:<-2A:), London4 Boutledge$ Kotter, I$ P$ (233;), Leading change4 @hy transformation efforts fail, !n =arvard Business Bevie on Change (""$ A3-5<), Boston, 0+4 =arvard Business School Press$ Kotter, I$P$ (2333), @hat Effective General 0angers Beally ?o, Harvard Business Review, <<(C)4 2.A-2A3$ Kri""endorff, K$ (23;D), Content analysis4 +n !ntroduction to its 0ethodology, Beverly =ills4 Sage$ Latino, 0$ (2333), 0anagement side of engineering, )lant &anagement, Pol$ AA, Eo$ C, ""$ :C-:A$ Legge, K$ (233A), =uman resource management4 a critical analysis, !n Storey, I$ (Ed$), Ee "ers"ectives on human resource management (""$ 23-.D), London4 Boutledge$ Len#o s#y, L$ and Perry, I$ L$ (CDDD), Beinventing government4 %he case of Eational Service, )u%lic 'dministration Review, Pol$ 5D, Eo$ ., ""$ C3;-:D<$ Le in, K$ (23A;), Grou" decisions and social change, !n 0accobby, E$ E$, Ee comb, %$ 0$ and =artley, E$ L$ (Eds$), Beadings in social "sychology (""$ ::D-:..), Ee Nor#4 =olt, Binehart > @inston$ Lovell, B$ (233.), 0anaging change in "ublic sector, Esse', England4 Longman$ 0ac?onald, I$ (233;), Calling a halt to mindless change4 + "lea for commonsense management, Ee Nor#4 +merican 0anagement +ssociation !nternational$ 0an"o er Services Commission (23;A), 'dult training in Britain, Sheffield4 0SC$ 0arch, I$ G$ and &lsen, P$ (23;:), &rganising "olitical life4 @hat administrative reorgani1ation tells us about governance, 'merican )olitical cience Review, Pol$ <<, Eo$ C, ""$ C;2-C35$ 0archington, 0$, Goodman, I$, @il#inson, +$ and +c#ers, P$ (233C), Ee ?evelo"ment in Em"loyee !nvolvement, Em"loyment ?e"artment Besearch Pa"er, Eo$ C$ 0artin, B$ (233;), Changing the mind of the cor"oration, !n =arvard Business Bevie on Change (""$ 22:-2:;), Boston, 0+4 =arvard Business School Press$ 0ayring, P$ (CDDD), Fualitative content analysis forum4 Fualitative social research Q&nline IournalR, Pol$ 2, Eo$ C$ +vailable4 htt"499,ualitative-research$net9f,s9f,s-e9C-DDinhalte$htm Q+ccess4 +"ril CDDAR$ 0c+dam, B$ and 0cGeough, /$ (CDDD), !m"lementing %otal Productive 0aintenance in 0ulti-union 0anufacturing &rganisations4 &vercoming Iob ?emarcation, Total #uality &anagement, Pol$ 22 Eo$ C, ""$ 2;<-3<$ C:

0iles, B$ =$ (233<), Leading Cor"orate %ransformation, San /rancisco4 Iossey-Bass Publishers$ 0int1berg, =$ (2333)$ Covert leadershi"4 Eotes on managing "rofessionals, Harvard Business Review, << (Eovember-?ecember)4 2.D-2.<$ 0iracle, K$ (CDD.), Case study4 %he city of Pirginia Beach-s innovative tool for or#force "lanning, )u%lic )ersonnel &anagement, Pol$ ::, Eo$ ., ""$ ..3-.A;$ 0odernising Government (2333), Q&nlineR$ +vailable4 htt"499 $archive$officialdocuments$co$u#9document9cm.:9.:2D9.:2D$htm$ Q+ccess4 +"ril CDDAR$ 0ohrman, S$ +$ and 0ohrman, +$ 0$ (233:), &rganisational change and learning, !n Galbraith, I$ B$, La ler !!!, E$ E$ and +ssociates (Eds$), &rganising for the future4 %he ne logic for managing com"le' organisations (""$ ;<-2D;), San /rancisco4 Iossey-Bass Publishers$ Eadler, ?$ +$ and %ushman, 0$ L$ (233<), !m"lementing ne designs4 0anaging organisational change, !n %ushman, 0$ L$ and +nderson, P$ (Eds$), 0anaging strategic innovation and change (""$ A3A-5D5), Ee Nor#4 &'ford University Press$ Eeely, +$ ?$ and 0$ Bourne (CDDD), @hy measurement initiatives failL, &easuring Business ,-cellence, Pol$ ., Eo$ ., ""$ :-<$ Ee all, ?$ and ?ale, B$ (2332), %he introduction and develo"ment of a ,uality im"rovement "rocess4 + study, International "ournal of )roduction Research, Pol$ C3 Eo$ 3, ""$2<.<-2<5D$ &-0ahony, 0$ and de Boer, @$ (CDDC), Britain-s Belative Productivity Performance4 =as +nything ChangedL .ational Institute ,conomic Review, Ianuary$ &a#land, I$ S$ (233;), %otal ,uality management4 te't ith cases, &'ford4 Butter orth=einemann$ Pascale, B$, 0illemann, 0$ and Gio*a, L$ (233<), Changing the ay e change, Harvard Business Review, <A (5 Eovember-?ecember)4 2C5-2:3$ Patton, ?$ and 0arlo , S$ (CDDC), %he determinants of management training ithin smaller firms in the UK$ @hat role does strategy "layL "ournal of mall Business and ,nterprise Development, Pol$ 3, Eo$ :, ""$ C5D-C<D$ Po ell, %$ C$ (233A), %otal ,uality management as com"etitive advantage4 + revie and em"irical study, trategic &anagement "ournal, Pol$25, Eo$2, ""$ 2A-:<$ Purcell, I$ (233A), Cor"orate strategy and its lin# ith human resource management strategy, !n Storey, I$ (233A), =uman resource management4 + critical te't (""$ 5A-;5), London4 !nternational %homson Business Press$ Beichers, +$ E$, @anous, I$ P$ and +ustin, I$ %$ (233<), Understanding and managing cynicism about organisational change, 'cademy of &anagement ,-ecutives, Pol$ 22, Eo$ 2, ""$ .;-A3$ Boberts, C$ (CDD2), Content analysis, !n Smelser, I$ I$ and Baltes, P$ B$ (Eds$), !nternational Encyclo"aedia of the social and behavioural sciences (""$ C53<-C<D2), Pol$ ., 2st ed$, &'ford, UK4 Elsevier Science Ltd$ Sadler, P$ (233D), 0anagement develo"ment, !n Sisson, K$ (Ed$), Personnel management in Britain (""$ CCC-C.5), Cambridge, 0assachusetts4 Blac# ell$ Sara"h, P$, Benson, P$ G$ and Schroeder, B$ G$ (23;3), +n instrument for measuring the critical factors of ,uality management, Decision ciences, Pol$ CD, Eo$ ., ""$ ;2D;C3$ Schiemann, @$ +$ (23;3), Strategy-culture-communication4 %hree #eys to success, ,-ecutive ,-cellence, +ugust, "" 22-2C$ Schiemann, @$ +$ (233C), @hy Change fails, 'cross the Board, Pol$ C3, Eo ., ""$ A:-A.$ C.

Scholtes, P$ B$ (233;), %he leader-s handboo#4 0a#ing things ha""en, getting things done, Ee Nor#4 0cGra -=ill$ Schuler, B$ S$ and =arris, ?$ (233C), 0anaging ,uality4 %he "rimer for middle managers, +ddison-@esley, Ee Nor#, EN$ Sch inn, ?$ B$ (CDDC), Si' Sigma and 0ore, Q&nlineR, Fuality e H line, Pol$ ., Eo$ <, ""$ 2C$ +vailable4 $",sysems$com9eline9vCDDCD<9si'sigmaandmor$htm$ Q+ccess4 0ay CDD.R$ Senge, P$, Kleiner, +$, Boberts, C$, Boss, B$, Both, G$ and Smith B$ (2333), %he dance of change4 %he challenges of sustaining momentum in learning organisations, Ee Nor#4 ?oubleday$ Shadur, 0$ +$ (233A), %otal ,uality H systems survive, cultures change, Long Range )lanning, Pol$ C;, ""$ 22A-2AC$ Shin, ?$, Kalino s#i, I$ G$ and El-Enein, G$ +$ (233;), Critical im"lementation issues in total ,uality management, S+0 +dvanced 0anagement Iournal, Pol$ 5: Eo$ 2, ""$ 2D-2.$ Simmons, ?$ ?$ (23<A), %he case method in management training, !n %aylor, B$ and Li""itt, G$ (Eds$), 0anagement develo"ment and training handboo#, 2st ed$, London4 0cGra -=ill$ Sisson, K$ (233.), Personnel 0anagement in "ers"ective, !n Sisson, K$ (Ed$), Personnel 0anagement4 + Com"rehensive Guide to theory and Practice !n Britain (""$ :-AC), &'ford, UK4 Blac# ell Publishers Ltd$ Slac#, E$, Chambers, S$, =arland, C$, =arrison, +$ and Iohnston, B$ (233;), &"erations 0anagement , Cnd ed$, London4 Pitman Publishing$ Sna"e, E$, @il#inson, +$, 0archington, 0$ and Bedman, %$ (233A), 0anaging human resources for %F04 "ossibilities and "itfalls, ,mployee Relations, Pol$ 2<, Eo$ :, ""$ .C-A2$ Soltani, E$ (CDD.), + conte'tually-a""ro"riate "erformance management for %F04 %he case of E/F0-affiliated organisations, )hD Thesis, University of Strathclyde, Glasgo , UK$ Soltani, E$ (CDDA), %o" management4 + threat or an o""ortunity to %F0, Total #uality &anagement$ Storey, I$ (233A), !ntroduction4 /rom "ersonnel to human resource management, !n Storey, I$ (Ed$), Ee "ers"ectives on human resource management (""$ 2-2;), Boutledge4 London$ %he UK government gate ay to Cor"orate Social Bes"onsibility (CDDA), Q&nlineR$ +vailable4 htt"499 $societyandbusiness$gov$u#9, Q+ccess4 +"ril CDDAR$ %homas, ?$ (CDDA), Poor communication ma#es UK or#ers less "roductive, Q&nlineR$ +vailable4 $"ersonneltoday$com9articles, Q+ccess4 0ay CDDA)$ US ?e"artment of Commerce and %echnology (233:), 0alcolm Baldrige Eational Fuality + ard, US ?e"artment of Commerce and %echnology, E!S%$ @aldman, ?$ +$, Lituchy, %$, Go"ala#rishnan, 0$, Laframboise, Gal"erin, B$ and Kaltsouna#is, G$ (233;), + ,ualitative analysis of leadershi" and ,uality im"rovement, Leadership #uarterly, Pol$ 3, Eo$ C, ""$ 2<<-CD2$ @eber, B$ P$ (233D), Basic content analysis, Cnd ed$, London4 Sage Publications, "$ 3$ @halen, 0$ I$ and Bahim, 0$ +$ (233.), Common Barriers to !m"lementation and develo"ment of a %F0 Programme, Industrial &anagement, Pol$ :5 Eo$ C, ""$ 23C2$ @hitehouse, 0$, Iac#son, K$ and Gibby, P$ (2333), 0odenising Government, Q&nlineR$ +vailable4 htt"499 $nao$org$u#9"ublications9mode'ec2$"df, Q+ccess4 +"ril CAR$ CA

@il#inson, +$ (233.), 0anaging human resource for ,uality, !n ?ale, B$ G$ (Ed$), 0anaging Fuality, (""$ C<:-C32), Cnd ed$, Prentice =all, =emel =em"stead$ @il#inson, +$, Godfrey, G$ and 0archington, 0$ (233<), Bou,uets, Bric#bats and blin#ers4 %otal ,uality 0anagement and Em"loyee !nvolvement in Practice, (rganisation tudies, Pol$ 2;, Eo$ A, ""$ <33-;23$ @il#inson, +$, Bedman, %$ and Sna"e, E$ (233:), Fuality and the 0anager, Institute of &anagement Report, Corby$ @illiams, !$ (233.), Com"eting for ,uality4 Com"etition in the su""ly of central government services, !n Lovell, B$ (Ed$), 0anaging change in the "ublic sector (""$ C25-CC<), Esse', England4 Longman$ @isnie s#i, 0$ (CDDA), Performance 0easurement +ssociation ?iscussion /orum, Q&nlineR$ +vailable4 htt"499u#$grou"s$yahoo$com9grou"9"maforum9, Q+ccess4 0arch CDDAR$ Nin, B$ (233.), Case study research4 ?esign and methods, Cnd ed$, %housands &a#s, C+4 Sage Publications$ Geit1, G$, Iohannesson, B$ and Bitchie, I$ E$ (233<), +n em"loyee survey measuring total ,uality management "ractices and culture, +roup and (rganisation &anagement, Pol$ CC, Eo$ ., ""$ .2.-...$

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