1998 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Studies on Psychological Resistances against Organizational Change and Effective Strategies for Overcoming Resistances
| Project/Area Number |
09610128
|
|---|
| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
|
| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
|---|
| Section | 一般 |
|---|
| Research Field |
教育・社会系心理学
|
|---|
| Research Institution | Kyushu University |
|---|
Principal Investigator |
FURUKAWA Hisataka Kyushu University, Graduate School of Human-Environment Studies, Professor, 大学院・人間環境学研究科, 教授 (30190143)
|
|---|
| Project Period (FY) |
1997 – 1998
|
| Keywords | change / psychological resistance / leadership behavior / organizational structure / implementation of change |
|---|
| Research Abstract |
Very little is known about organizational members' psychological resistances (excuses for being averse) against change. This theoretical and experiential study, first, confirmed seven kinds of resistances through factor analysis. Among them, passive climate against change, busyness in daily works, and scarcity of positive incentives through change were stronger. Based on the data obtained from 54 managers and repeated at one year interval, causal effects of their perceptions of resistances existed in workplace upon their behaviors to introduce changes were analyzed. Although each resistance had some different impacts, managers who deemed resistance relatively weak become to increase their behaviors for change.
Secondly, the recent trends of structural change in work organizations were explored. Survey questionnaire was asked to answer for 651 Japanese major companies. Every organization could be delineated as having three kinds of structure ; that is, "hard, " "semi-hard, " and "soft" structures. In this study, changes in "hard" structures, such as structure of business domain, organization design, personnel and reward system, were concerned. It is revealed clearly that so called "Japanese normative systems" recognized in those hard structures were under alternation Making hierarchical structure of the workshop into flat, introduction of "management by objectives"(MBO), and practices of merit based reward systems are apparently and rapidly progressing. Data showed that, if those practices are successfully accepted by employees, significant positive relationship are showed between change of hard structure and the height of organization performance level. The necessary characteristics of organizational climates (soft and semi-hard structure) which might determine the successful implementation and settlement of changes in "hard" organizational structure were also suggested
|
