Organizational change readiness practices of business turnaround change agents

✍ Scribed by Achilles A. Armenakis; William B. Fredenberger

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1997
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 135 KB
• Volume: 4
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1092-4604
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1099-1441(199709)4:3<143::aid-kpm93>3.0.co;2-7

✦ Synopsis

This paper summarizes the ®ndings of an investigation of 145 business turnaround change agents (TCAs) to determine (a) the period of time expected to improve the performance of failing companies; (b) the extent of fear of job loss and resistance to change by managers in these companies; and (c) the readiness practices employed by TCAs in preparing managers for the organizational changes necessary to effect business turnarounds. These TCAs indicated that they expected to reverse a negative cash ¯ow in 60 days and to generate a pro®t in an additional 150 days. Furthermore, target group members feared job loss but paradoxically resisted organizational changes. Additionally, TCAs primarily employed personal readiness interventions including involving target group members. The implications of these ®ndings and future research directions are discussed.