Organizational change management: An exploratory study of selected catholic organizations in Nairobi

Abstract

Organizations are ever faced with change which is internally or externally driven. While change is positive for organizations that are resilient and agile, organizations that are rigid and hierarchical in structure find it difficult to adapt to it. Catholic organizations find themselves in a state of rigidity and hierarchy. The purpose of the study was to explore and evaluate the intervention measures employed by catholic organizations in Nairobi in responding to changes and whether such measures give the organizations resilience in the midst of turbulent environmental changes. Specific objectives were to explore the major drivers of change affecting selected catholic organizations; examining if catholic organizations resist change and how such resistance if present is managed; exploring and evaluating kinds of interventions used which the selected catholic organizations use to manage change and finally to compare existing strategies used by catholic organizations with best practices and making necessary recommendations. This was a non-experimental exploratory study and the data was collected through questionnaires and interviews from a sample of 288 (20%) drawn from 1444 catholic employees and managers. Out of 288 a response rate of 167 (58%) was achieved which is adequate for data analysis. The study found out that change of leadership, technological and social cultural are the main drivers of change in the catholic organizations and that the majority of the members of catholic organizations resist change because of inertia and fear of loss of security. The study also found out that those that excelled in managing organization change effectively, though a small percentage, used power sharing strategies which aim at empowering the people by promoting real understanding, communicating and involving them in the change process. It was also found out that most of the changes affected people competences and least affected structures. Finally, it was found out that the majority of catholic organizations used force-coercion and rational strategies which led to the impact of change to be small scale and short term. The following recommendations were made for catholic organizations: to deploy shared power strategies for best results in organizational change, to engage in succession planning and lastly, to have change agents that are always innovative in order to satisfy needs and preferences of customers at all times.