Work design and change : a study of the implementation of operational excellence in Accenture Stavanger

Abstract

During the last few years there has been a renewed interest in work design, and a major focus on the study of organisational change. This thesis combines the two by attempting to answer the research question “will an employee’s perception of how his or her job will be affected by a change initiative lead to a change in behaviour?” The different behavioural changes were categorised as passive, semi-active and active. The analysis showed that the active and semi-active employees had a more positive perception of the effect of change on their job characteristics than the passive employees. Motivation was also found to be higher among the active employees compared to the passive employees. The analysis found some support for the assumption that growth need strength has a moderating effect on the relationship between the three other factors in the model. The analysis suggested that one should distinguish between “knowledge and skill” that enable an employee to implement her part of a change initiative and “knowledge about the change initiative”. The level of knowledge and skill were found to be different between the passive employees and the two other groups. The findings suggest that knowledge and skill moderate the relationship between the three other factors in the suggested model. In addition the level of knowledge about the change initiative indicates how the employee will perceive the effect on her job characteristics.