Transformation To Open Office Unplugged

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

How does it contribute to effectiveness

June 2013 de la Paz, Soraya

ICUC – BBA IX

Executive Summary

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 General Introduction

1.1 Introduction

This chapter will provide the importance on how communication can contribute to an effective change. The main research questions and sub questions including the dependent and independent variables derived from the conceptual model used to conduct the research will be provided. Furthermore this chapter states the background of this study: by giving a summary of explanation affirming the purpose of this research and the limitation. Once all these concepts have been explained, the setup of the thesis will follow.

1.2 Background of the Study

Currently UTS is confronting challenges based on a telecom industry that is changing. This is due to different factors. Some of those factors, very worth to be mentioned, are: the changing needs of customer, the increasing technological influences on the UTS business, the increasing competition in the marketplaces where UTS is operating, the need for high qualified employees to put at work in the UTS business. Within UTS a new innovative way of work has been implemented with the client in mind, according to worldwide modern setup standards and international best practices of working flexible. The client can be an external client or an internal client. It implies that the UTS employees will be working with a new innovative office and working concept, based on the following: the office setup consists of a combination of different activity related workplaces, the employees support is based on ICT connectivity at the workplace. The workplace has a flexible setup, is shared among employees, is paperless, can be at home or the place of choice. Around 200 UTS employees are working from a new centralized building where these concepts are implemented in an integral way. Consciously making choices in order to reach the right end result for the customer, and choosing the appropriate actions to reach that goal.

To achieve the above mentioned communication is central to the success of most all organizations. And when change is occurring in an organization, communication is even more essential to implement that change effectively (Bennebroek-Gravenhorst, Elving & Werkman, 2006; DiFonzo & Bordia, 1998; Elving, 2005; Elving & Hansma, 2008; Lewis, 1999). However, one problem for many modern organizations is that change is not always communicated effectively (Burke, 2008; Cummings & Worley, 2009; Fernandez & Rainey, 2006; Hargie & Tourish, 2000). Ineffective communication during organizational change is reported to negatively impact the way an organization functions. For example, ineffective change communication can lead to resistance to the change, rumors, and promote exaggeration of the negative aspects associated with the change (DiFonzo & Bordia, 1998) as well as to act as an overall negative influence on corporate culture (Keyton, 2005). Despite the importance of communication to successful organizational change, how practitioners conceptualize effective change communication has received limited attention in the literature.

Moreover, since the communication process influences most all aspects of change ranging from the vision that is communicated to the communication practices associated with new job duties, previous attempts to deal with effective change communication have tended to focus on some aspect of change. For example, change communication has been described in regards to themes (Lewis, Stephens, Schmisseur & Weir, 2003), pervasiveness upon corporate culture (Keyton, 2005), expectations and competencies (Clampitt, 2001; Elving & Hansma, 2008; Frahm & Brown, 2005; Heracleous, 2002), characteristics or dimensions of the change process (Bennebroek-Gravenhorst, Elving & Werkman, 2006; Dawson, 2003), and how to manage the change process (Elving, 2005; Fernandez & Rainey, 2006). Some would argue that effective change communication occurs when employees successfully adopt the proposed change or changes (Salem, 1999). Others would be inclined to evaluate effective change communication as the level of readiness employees feel regarding the change (Elving, 2005). If an organization strives to bring about identifiable changes and uses communication to that end, then effective change communication would be defined as the attainment of the desired outcomes. Communication is the vehicle that organizational members use to achieve the desired outcomes.

Fernandez and Rainey (2006) proposed an eight factor rubric on how to manage organizational change in the public sector including the following steps: ensure the need for change, provide a plan, build internal support for change and overcome resistance, ensure top-management supports and commitment, build external support (i.e. political overseers), provide resources, institutionalize the change, and pursue a comprehensive change to the entire organizational structure. Exploring change communication has both applied value and theoretical significance in regards to our understanding of organizational communication. In regards to the practical application, this research seeks to create an instrument that organizations may employ to evaluate communication when change is occurring. This is important because of the pressure managers are under to provide concrete results in a climate of scarce resources (Garnett & Kouzmin, 2000). This project will aid in our understanding of how communication works during times of change in organizations. As suggested by Elving (2005), communication in the organizational change process has had limited empirical attention from communication researchers.

1.3 Research Question and Sub questions

The following research question is formulated to measure effective change communication in the workplace.

To what extent does communication during organizational change contribute to effective change?

In order to answer the research question, the following sub questions must be answered:

How does employees experience informative communication within the organization?

How does employees feels regarding communication aimed at creating a community?

To what extent does uncertainty and job insecurity affect readiness for change?

How does the employee behavior contribute to readiness for change?

1.4 Purpose of the study

The purpose of this study is to investigate effective change communication in the workplace for the following reasons: to ensure that UTS achieve greater profitability, quality and effectiveness, reducing and controlling costs, competing locally, improving customer service. To meet stated goals or objectives. Communicating change effectively can seem like a difficult task. Companies initials changes to keep a competitive advantage. The speed when introducing changes are often critical. People who undergoes changes needs to have the ability to understand these changes and ask questions about them from someone they know and trust. According to De Ridder (2003) with good communication skills, changes can be implemented quickly and successfully. Consider how communicating change is currently. How effective have it been. Identify the problem areas and work towards improvement. The result of this research will be useful for the UTS management to evaluate the impact communication has during organizational change.

1.5 Limitation

This study will focus on internal communication during organizational change to an open office working system within UTS. The research will be conducted only within UTS. The interviewees will be UTS employees from different departments, with exception of the Management Team members consisting of the CEO, CFO, CTO, COO, CCAO.

1.6 Setup of the thesis

This paper is constructed in five chapters and will lead to a better understanding of the research question and lead to a conclusion and recommendations at the end. The second chapter presents the concepts related to communication during organizational change. The first section introduces the conceptual model. The second section provides information on effective change. The third section on communication to inform, followed by communication aimed at creating a community in the fourth section. The fifth section provides information on uncertainty and job insecurity. The last section introduces readiness for change. After the literature review has been presented a conclusion will be given. In the third chapter the methodology is discussed, including the tools that will be used, data collection, and research setting. The fourth chapter will provide an overview of the collected data and the analysis on communication during organizational change within UTS N.V., which will lead to answer the Research question and sub questions. The fifth, and last chapter will provide the conclusion and recommendation for improvements.

Chapter 2 Literature Review

2.1 Introduction

This chapter will provide a description of what the conceptual model stands for, the relationship between communication to inform, communication aimed at creating a community, uncertainty and job insecurity, readiness for change and effective change. Furthermore section 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.6 and 2.7 explains each variables used to conduct the research and this chapter will end with a brief conclusion based on the conceptual model.

2.2 Conceptual Model

Elving (2005) proposed a conceptual framework to study communication in organizations

undergoing change. Variables were developed that all simultaneously influence readiness

for change. The level of readiness in this model is the indicator of how effective the change

will be. The first variable stating high levels of readiness for the change is an indicator for effective organizational change when there is low level of resistance to change. The second variable states that communication needs to inform the organizational members about the

change and how that change will alter the individual’s work. The third variable advocates that

communication should be used to create a community which will increase commitment, trust,

and identification with the organization and management. The fourth variable looks at

uncertainty in that high levels of uncertainty will have a negative effect on readiness to change.

The fifth variable focuses on large effect on readiness to change if the impact of downsizing in that the loss of jobs and the feelings of job insecurity. The last variable which is

related to the fourth and fifth variables states that communication will have an effect on

feelings of uncertainty and job insecurity. The independent variables are communication to inform, communication aimed at creating a community and readiness for change. The dependent variable is effective change.

Conceptual model: Communication during organizational change.

Figure

Source: Elving (2005)

The independent variable communication to inform, communicates to the employees about the change and how their work could be modified due to the change. Armenakis and Harris (2002) focus on how to differentiate different message domains and develop messages within change communication. Clampitt, DeKoch and Cashman (2000) communicate organizational change by focusing on the strategies used by managers. Daly, Teague and Kitchen (2003) finds internal communication important when communicating change. This will have an effect on uncertainty regarding the worries employees initially will have and readiness for change. The independent variable communication aimed at creating a community must create trust and organizational identification among employees which will have an effect on readiness for change and uncertainty. Communication is important to mutual understanding of the problems organizations have to deal with in order to meet the challenges, goals and need to change (Bennebroek Gravenhorst, Werkman & Boonstra, 1999).

The independent variable uncertainty and job insecurity will negatively affect readiness for change if it result in downsizing and loss of jobs. Uncertainty will turn out when the organization did not communicated clearly what are the changes which individual employees have to adapt. Uncertainty can lead to rumors and other forms of informal communication (De Witte, 1999). An indicator of the amount of uncertainty and on the quality of the information given about the organizational change is the extend in which informal communication occurs during the change effort.

The independent variable readiness for change will have an effect on effective change if employees obtain adequate information to perform their task and feel themselves committed to the organization. Bernerth, Armenakis, Field and Walker (2004) provided a case study concerning a spin off that displayed the need to communicate each of the change message components. The inability to create readiness for change at a cognitive level led to speculation and rumors which ultimately resulted in resistance to change.

The dependent variable effective change will have as result employees who have successfully adopted the change. High levels of readiness for change or low levels of resistance to change will be showed by employees (Elving, 2005). Communication during organizational change can have as purpose to prevent resistance to change, or at least try to reduce this. An indication that the effectiveness of the change-effort will be higher, is when resistance to change levels are low within an organization. Since an organization’s performance depends on the actions of its employees, the organization can change only when employees behavior changes.

 

2.3 Effective change

Organizations continue to change in response to major shifts in the environment, e.g., in

technology, competition, regulation, globalization, and as a result of internal, planned efforts to

achieve greater profitability, quality, and effectiveness. Effective change is defined as a common recommendation for effectively managing change including motivating participation from as many employees as possible, by addressing their concerns in the change program, or ensuring that managers act as role models for the changes (Heracleous, 2002).

Organizations that understand the importance of effective implementation of new initiatives and preparing of employees to accept change are likely to see their efforts succeed. Organizations can help their personnel adapt to change and the business retain its competitive edge, with precise planning and the support of top leaders. Garnett & Kouzmin (2002, p. 54) "Increasing scarcity of resources will put pressure on managers to examine their performance in using resources wisely". "The cry for accountability in management that demands demonstrated results will be continued and intensify". This means that managers and organizations have to find methods to prove that the change-effort was effective and made sense. By using the model of dynamics of planned organizational change (Robertson, Roberts & Porras, 1993), an effective change outcome will be employees who have successfully adopted the change.

Low levels of resistance to change within the organization should exist, when employees have to change, or are changing, to make the change effort successful. Achieving a successful change management strategy and effective change strategy is not an easy undertaking. It requires to have an integrated planning process in place, including steps to take before, during and after the change (Bridges & Mitchell, 2002). Meanwhile the preparation beforehand is critical, the actions that will be taken while implementing the change and afterwards are also very important. Following this process can put you on a way to realize the benefits your organization needs to achieve through the change initiatives it is undergoing (Vardi, 2011). Before the change: understand previous change initiatives; that means working with managers and employees to learn what worked, what didn’t and what gaps need to be filled. For best results, it is important to involve top management leaders, including the CEO, behind the effort. To construct an effective communications system, you have to communicate your vision and plan by convincing employees throughout the organization. That means build it up into everything, from performance management system to regular intranet postings. During and after the change: provide enough support and development for line managers to lead employee through the change. Johansson and Heide (2008) stated that an effective change management process can’t be an addition that is not included in the original plans. Indeed, it requires a detailed effort involving all levels of the organization, controlled by top management. Change is something that is a constant, companies have no choice. In order to succeed and grow in today’s rapid progress and turbulent market, organizations need to have a mentally quick workforce that can effectively respond to, adapt to and perform under these conditions (Schroeder-Saulnier, 2009).

2.4 Communication to inform

Communication is important to the effective implementation of organizational change (Elving 2005). If organizational change is about how to change the individual tasks of individual employees, communication about the change, and information to these employees is of very importance. Communication with these employees should be an important, and integrated part of the change achievements and strategies. According to De Ridder (2003) organizational communication usually has two objectives. The first objective of organizational communication should be to inform the employees about their tasks and about the policy and other issues of the organization. The second objective is communication with an aim to create a community within the organization. In line with these objectives, within organizational change we can distinguish the information given about the change, and the tendency of a community within the organization before, during and after the change. The information given to employees by the top management about the change should address the reasons to change, and the worries employees initially will have.

Without effective communication your change strategy stands a good chance of high percentage of those that fail. It is crucial to recognize that altering behavior is a long-term objective, not something that can be forced upon employees overnight (Nelissen & van Selm, 2008). Change strategies can only be embraced by staff if they are given a context for the change, and if they understand the need for change. It is crucial to segment the audience, and communicate with each segment appropriately. This can extend to your use of communication channels: these must be chosen carefully to deliver the appropriate message in the right way to the right people. According to Vardi (2001) it is crucial to establish two-way communication, encouraging your audience to interact and keep up a constant dialogue. The emphasis should be on face-to-face channels and ensuring that feedback are incorporated into every channel. The employee needs to be involved right from the start, so that they feel they have helped shape the changes (Qian & Daniels, 2008), rather than being presented with a pre-formed set of instructions on how to change. Input from employees about how they see the company, and how they would like to see the company, is gold dust. The companies aim is to engage and motivate the employees and ensure that they are behind the initiative.

The most important message to communicate is why. Why are we changing? What good will it do us? Employees need to be able to see how the change initiative is going to improve things on a day-to-day basis. Most people want to hear about change directly from their line manager and it is important to dedicate time to team meetings, where everyone can ask questions as well as have input. Research has found top management communication reduced employee anxiety, especially during a stressful event such as a moving process (Gopinath & Becker, 2000). Furthermore, Smidts, Pruyn and Van Riel (2001) found that a communication climate encouraging employee openness and participation helped employees to better identify with their organization. Similarly, research on employee involvement indicates that adoption of such practices increases organizational performance (Vandenberg, Richardson & Eastman, 1999) and enhances positive employee attitudes (Riordan, Vanderberg & Richardson, 2005). Clearly, top management communication and employee involvement are important factors in developing positive employee attitudes. Some research indicates that top management communication is directly related to organizational commitment (Postmes, Tanis & de Wit, 2001), whereas other research indicates that top management communication is related to organizational commitment indirectly through its relationship with two mediators: organizational effectiveness and person-organization fit (Vuuren, De Jong & Seydel, 2007).

Zorn, Page and Cheney (2000) pointed out, "two of the most popular ways of creating and communicating change are to emulate the ‘best practices’ of ‘excellent’ organizations and to be guided by the popular writings of management gurus". Eckes (2001) argued, leaders should communicate their expectations of others in making that vision a reality. Bridges and Mitchell (2002) claimed that leaders can help to better manage the change process by repeating the purpose, picture, plan, and part that employees should play in moving the organization forward.

 

2.5 Communication aimed at creating a community

The second goal of organizational communication is to create a community (De Ridder, 2003). Organizational communication can be considered as an important ascendant of the self-categorization process, which helps to define the identity of a group and to create a community of spirit, which fits into organizational demands (De Ridder, 2003; Postmes et al., 2001; Meyer and Allen, 1997).

It has often been observed that communication creates the circumstances for commitment, and therefore should be seen as one of its important antecedents (Postmes, et al., 2001). An meta-analysis Postmes et al. (2000) reveals that, "employees were strongly committed if they obtained adequate information to perform their task, and this information was presented to them via formal bureaucratic channels rather than informal channels". Social communication with employees, and line managers predicted commitment less than communication with more top management did, and communication with an emotional content was less predictive of commitment than formal communication was. Herscovitch and Meyer (2002) recently developed a model of commitment to organizational change initiatives that could serve to guide such a systematic investigation. They proposed that commitment could take different forms and have different implications for the nature and level of employees behavioral support for a change. Employees also perceive a sense of worth and belongingness if they are well communicated by the superiors, subordinates and colleagues. Studies undertaken by Towers (2003), reflect that communicational climate and styles of supervisors impact employee commitment.

Trust between management and employees could be another factor that influence the employees feelings of belonging to a community within the organization. The dominant perspective in literature (Dirks & Ferrin, 2001) is that trust results in typical effects such as more positive attitudes, higher levels of cooperation, and manager levels of performance. Commitment and trust clearly are linked to organizational climate and organizational culture. Organizational environment is defined as: the shared observations of organizational policies, practices and procedures, both formal and informal (Mahajan, Bishop & Scott, 2012). Organizational climate refers at the perceived representation of the organization’s goals and the means and ways adopted for goal achievements. Employees well informed on organizational achievements are more likely to understand and develop a higher level of physiological-based trust in top management (Elsbach & Elofson, 2000).

In summary, communication to create a community within organizations shows that employees commitment to the organization are high, also the trust of employees with management, and organizational identification. Not only is communication the mechanism by which an organization comes into being, but the structure and processes of the organization also determine the kind of communication its member will have. Even random behavior can become organized as unique, individual people fall into a pattern of communication, which then causes them to think of themselves as part of an organizational entity. Every organization requires committed employees to carry out their day to day business transactions and to accommodate with the changes emerging from the environment. It is not enough if people are committed in organizations, they should also be ready to accept the changes.

2.6 Uncertainty and job insecurity

Uncertainty during change processes is typically about the goal, process and expected outcomes of the change and consequences for the individual employees. To help reducing uncertainty and creating readiness for change, knowledge should not only be a requirement to the ability of influencing the outcomes but also knowledge about the motives for change. In that sense effective change communication can be viewed as an aim to manage uncertainty properly (DiFonzo & Bordia, 1998). Two of the more important sources of uncertainty for organizational employees are related to organizational changes and job insecurity perceptions. These changes and perceptions can have many implications for employees, including their job security, and their perceptions of the organization’s future, among others. In the present study, we examined two different forms of organizational uncertainty that are likely to be induced by organizational changes: job insecurity and anticipated organizational changes (Hui & Lee, 2000).

Uncertainty of employees during change processes will reflect on the effects for the individual employee, or the situation that an employee is doing his or her work in (Bordia, Hobman, Jones, Gallois & Callan 2004). It comes with questions like if they still have a job after this change, if they still have the same colleagues after the change, and if they still can perform their tasks on the same way they used to perform them. In this case feelings of uncertainty are about the changing process, the personal and social effects of the change. Job insecurity has three elements (van Vuuren, Klandermans, Jacobson & Hartley, 1991), the first one is about a subjective experience or perception. The same situation might be seen differently by different employees. Job insecurity also involves uncertainty about the future, for the employee it is uncertain whether it will be able to continue to work, or whether the person will be made redundant.

Job insecurity is defined as a matter of experienced stressor (George & Jones, 2001) which may be divided into different aspects. The multiple aspects of job insecurity may have different consequences or at least be related to potential outcomes such as work-related attitudes, job performance, physical health, mental well-being, and stress symptoms. The most studies given on job insecurity have been cross-sectional, a lot of work or study remains before we know how, or if, insecurity contributes to changes in such outcomes. Sverke and Hellgren (2002) stated that job insecurity refers to employees negative reactions to the changes concerning their jobs. Job insecurity has been defined as an individual’s expectations about continuity in a job situation overall concern about the future existence of the job vision (Jones, Watson, Gardner & Gallois, 2004) of a potential threat to continuity in the current job and weakness to maintain desired continuity in a threatened job situation.

One general item underlying the various definitions is that job insecurity is a subjective phenomenon, it is based on the individual’s perceptions and interpretations of the immediate work environment (Grice, Jones, Gallois, Paulsen & Callan, 2006). Job insecurity reflects a basic and involuntary change concerning the continuity and security within the employing organization. Job insecurity on long term is likely to have severe consequences for an employee’s overall life situation. Other highly valued aspects of life will be perceived as threatened.

 

2.7 Readiness for change

Every organization has forces for change and forces for stability (Leana & Barry, 2000). The type of change and the process of change are both important building blocks in any model for dealing with change. There is also a crucial factor concerning readiness to change in the particular organization. The readiness factors function as a bridge between identifying what needs to happen and the activity of implementing the change. Struckman and Yammarino (2003) combine types of change with the readiness to change. Readiness for change is related to the behaviors of either resistance, or support for, a change effort. In this case the concept of readiness for change consists of both resistance to change and support for change as a continuous with on one end resistance to change and on the other end readiness for change (Armenakis & Harris, 2002). Assumption that the change effort will be more effective can be made when employees are ready to accept the change, and experience high feelings of readiness for change or low feelings of resistance to change. Because of more and more dynamic environments, organizations are constantly confronted with the need to implement changes in strategy, structure, process, and culture.

When implementing Organizational Changes many factors contribute to the effectiveness. One of these factor is Readiness for Change. Readiness, which is similar to Lewi's (1999) concept of unfreezing, which is reflected in organizational members beliefs, attitudes, and intentions regarding the intensity to which changes are needed and the organization's capacity to successfully make those changes. Readiness is one of the most important factors involved in employee's initial support for change initiatives (Ingersoll, Kirsch, Merk and Lightfoot, 2000). Building on foundation which argued that during an individual's progression through change the three stages of unfreezing, moving and refreezing are experienced. Armenakis and Harris (2002) proposed a model for creating readiness and proposed that readiness was a precursor of resistance and adoption behaviors. One step in their model was assessment. This step is intended to determine just how ready for change employees are before organizational changes are implemented. This assessment enables leaders to identify gaps that may exist between their own expectations about the change initiative and those of other members. If significant gaps are observed and no action taken to close those gaps, resistance would be expected and therefore, change implementation would be threatened. Individuals readiness for change regarding the extent to which changes are needed is involved with people's, attitudes, and intentions. To successfully make those changes employees perception of individual and organizational capacity is vital. Readiness is a state of mind about the need. Lehman, Greener and Simpson (2002) developed an instrument to assess organizational readiness for change which included a broad spectrum of items relating to motivation for change, personality attributes of leaders and staff, institutional resources and organizational climate.

Readiness for change is not a fixed element of individuals or systems. It may vary due to changing external or internal circumstance, the type of change being introduced. One of the factors which are very vital for an organization to implement Changes is the Readiness for Change. The four dimensions of Readiness for Change (Eby, Adams, Russell & Gaby, 2000) are Appropriateness, Management Support, Change Efficacy and Personally Beneficial. Creating readiness for change has most often been explained simultaneously with recommendations for reducing resistance. In essence, readiness for change may act to acquire the probability of resistance to change, increasing the potential for change efforts to be more effective (Markus, 2004). While many factors influence successful organizational changes, it has been argued that readiness for change contributes to the effectiveness with which such organizational changes are implemented (Kee-Young & Hee-Woong, 2008).

2.8 Conclusion

Communication is not the only key factor of successful organizational change. Indication of effective changes are of course the actual design of the change and the strategic choices made within the design. Change is happened constantly. In order to succeed and grow in today’s rapid and turbulent market, organizations need a mentally quick workforce that can effectively respond to, adapt to and perform under these conditions. Develop a plan with measurable goals. Identify and develop effective change management behaviors within the workforce. Implement a process that includes leadership support, development and effective communication. By following these steps, your organization’s workforce will have the ability to meet the high demands of the change initiative, and performs at the levels you need to ensure that the company remains competitive and achieves its strategic goals, even in today’s tough economy.

Committed employees have a strong belief in and acceptance of the organization's goals and values, show a willingness to exert considerable effort on behalf of the organization, and have a strong desire to maintain membership with the organization. Organizational commitment has gained prominence in management discourse; it plays an essential role in goal achievement, innovation and stability of an organization. It improves the trust between employees, managers, owners, units and other concerned parties of any organization. Individuals come to organizations with certain needs, skills, expectations and they hope to find a work environment where they can use their abilities and satisfy their needs. When an organization can provide these opportunities, the likelihood of increasing commitment is increased.

Organizational Commitment refers to a wide range of feelings, attitude, values, practices and implementation of radiant ideas in the interest of the organization to which an employee belongs. It reflects the degree of an employee's attachment and his/her dedication to the Organization and is presently recognized widely as a multidimensional work attitude. Organizational leaders should understand that a change that is not designed and implemented well can be the most destructive force in an organization. Efforts should be focused on motivating and preparing employees so that they are constantly and continuously open and ready for change. Employees should learn that they should participate if the outcome of participating is positive and if their input is taken into consideration. An important driver in the success of a change initiative is open communications from the start of the change initiative.

Ultimately, it is crucial to realize that change takes time. Values and behaviors can be deeply embedded within an organization, and the process of re-educating cannot happen overnight. Senior management must be seen to embrace change and lead by example.

Chapter 3 Methodology

3.1 Introduction

This chapter will provide the method used to collect data for analysis. It gives a description of the procedures, participants, instruments, and representativeness of the study. This research will be a Quantitative research. Literatures will be reviewed and surveys will be conducted as well to seek the answer of the following questions:

To what extent does communication during organizational change contribute to effective change?

How does employees experience informative communication within the organization?

How does employees feels regarding communication aimed at creating a community?

To what extent does uncertainty and job insecurity affect readiness for change?

How does the employee behavior contribute to readiness for change?

3.2 Procedure

This research is based on a quantitative methodology. The quantitative method is appropriate because according to Johnson and Christensen (2008) descriptive research describes a situation and are often confirmatory. The measurement must be objective, quantitative and statistically valid (Hair, Babin, Money & Samouel, 2005). It’s about numbers, and theory testing rather than qualitative research which is discovery oriented and interpret data by observing what people do and say. As stated by Anderson (2006) qualitative research is subjective and the method for collecting data is by using focus groups. Hair et al. (2005) stated that qualitative research is used by researcher who does not know much and has little information to guide predictions, which in this case is irrelevant in quantitative research.

The sampling method used in this research is the probability sampling which is the best one to use when conducting qualitative research. A sample representative of the population will be used and according to Zikmund (2003) every member of the population has the probability of being selected randomly. In order to answer the research question, presented at the beginning of this paper, data will be obtained through a survey method. Through a descriptive analysis, information about the present existing conditions can be gathered. Survey will be conducted to gather the necessary primary information from individuals. Collected data may differ from opinion. The objective of the survey is to receive information of the participants on; (1) communication to inform about the change within UTS, (2) on communication aimed at creating a community, (3) on the uncertainty and job insecurity, (4) on the readiness for the change. Participants will be approached through email to complete a close ended questionnaire. The collected data, will be analyzed through the Social Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) program, which helps to order and structure the data for interpretation.

Date

Time

Place

Amount collected

Table Data collection schedule

3.3 Participants

The target population for this survey are UTS employees which undergoes the moving process and are located at Arrarat building and employees still pending to be moved to the new building. The target population is relevant because it has the information this research needs to collect (Hair, et al., 2005). The participants are from different departments; BPMC, Engineering, Commercial, Carrier Services, Internal Audit, Legal, Management Assistants, Executive Assistants, Finance, Human Resource within UTS, which is the sampling frame used. The sample size will consist of 100 participants, which not necessary would be 10 participants from each department, since some departments consist of less than 10 employees.

3.4 Instruments

The data will be collected by using a self-administered questionnaire sent through electronic interactive media and analyzed with the SPSS program, which help with the interpretation of the collected data. As stated by Zikmund (2003) questionnaires sent through mail are mostly standardized and structured.

Variables

Questions

Scale

Table Questionnaire