Abstract
D.Litt. et Phil.
The study investigated the relationship between resistance to–readiness for change and meaning seeking, and whether a logotherapy-based intervention – Logo-OD – would impact on resistance to change. A quasi-experimental design and various statistical procedures were applied to test identified hypotheses. Of a survey population of 1 637 individuals, 193 and 76 respondents formed part of respectively the pre- and post-test samples. Whereas a significant relationship was established between said constructs, no significant effect of Logo-OD was observed. These results supported the primary conclusions emanating from the literature: the role of Logo-OD is one of a positive trigger event for organisational change.
Whereas a prominent focus in both classic and contemporary literature is on the utilisation of the organisation’s human resources (HR) as a competitive advantage (see Barney, 1995; Cascio, 1998; Cook & Crossman, 2004; Drucker, 2002; Gratton, 2000; McGregor, 1960; O’Reilly & Pfeffer, 2000; Prahalad & Hamel, 1990; Richardson & Vanderberg, 2005; Schuler & Jackson, 1999; Schuler, Jackson & Storey, 2001), the need for organisations to adapt to increasingly turbulent changes has enjoyed similar attention (see Burnes, 2003, 2004; Cascio, 1995; Carnall, 2003; Chapman, 2002; Counsell, Tennant & Neailey, 2005; Hacker & Washington, 2004; Higgs, 2003; Johnson, 2004; Weber & Weber, 2001; Xavier, 2005). Alluded to here, is one of the greatest challenges faced by the modern organisation, namely that “human capital is fundamentally different from financial and technological capital” (Gratton, 1998, p. 13) as the realisation of human potential is dependent upon employees’ co-operation (Jackson & Schuler, 1999). However, organisational change “has left this resource severely wounded and the people themselves increasingly disenfranchised” (Morin, 1994, p. 53), thus threatening the very same employee commitment required to secure a competitive advantage. Subsequently, people constitute both “an essential factor” and “the biggest obstacles” to successful change (Smith, 2005a, p. 408, 2005b, p. 152). It is argued here that a central construct in determining individuals’ attitudes towards organisational change – albeit resistance to or readiness for change – is the meaning that they find in the organisational context.