When organisational change doesn’t change the organisation

Visiting academic at UQ Business School Professor Mats Alvesson has found that some change programs inadvertently reinforce the existing organisational culture.

Professor Alvesson said his in-depth case study of a high-tech firm attempting to become more market-oriented revealed that the change program itself actually reinforced some aspects of the existing organisational culture.

“In unintended ways, the change program counteracted its own objectives,” he said.

“This paradoxical result can only be explained by looking at the deeper aspects of culture – not necessarily what people in an organisation recognise as culture.”

Professor Alvesson will present a seminar based on this study at the UQ Business School on Friday, February 22.

“The seminar will examine in detail the implementation phase of this particular change program,” Professor Alvesson said.

Professor Alvesson is a Professor of Business Administration at the University of Lund in Sweden. He is a regular visitor to – and Honorary Professor of – the UQ Business School.

While based at the School, Professor Alvesson will also conduct workshops for PhD students and early-career academics on reflexive methodology and problematization – a very effective way to generate interesting research questions.

Media: For more information contact Fiona McLeod on (07) 3365 6501 or f.mcleod@business.uq.edu.au.