http://www.loc.gov/mods/v3 http://www.loc.gov/standards/mods/v3/mods-3-2.xsd
schematic approach to the management of cultural change
xiii, 198 leaves : illustrations ; 29 cm
Based on the premise that organizational culture can be approached from a shared cognitions perspective, the present study suggested that organizational culture can be studied by examining how organizational members perceive and interpret organizational events. These perceptions and interpretations are reflected in a network of organized knowledge known as "schema" of organizational members. This concept of organizational culture is discussed in a cultural change context by examining the shared schema about cultural change. A cultural change schema is conceptualized as a knowledge structure of cultural change attributes. Specifically, this research study examined the nature and content of cultural change schemas, the antecedents of cultural change schema, and how cultural change schema would affect specific attitudes toward change. A theoretical model of cultural change schema is developed in this dissertation. The model proposes that the development of a person's schema is a function of the individual's personal characteristics and social and organizational experiences. Personal characteristics include locus of control, dogmatism, self-efficacy, organizational commitment, and general attitude toward change. Moreover, the socialization experience and the salience of top management's messages about change would also determine the extent to which the change schema will be shared among organizational members. When people encounter cultural change, the change schema is activated and relevant information is processed. Then, specific attitudes toward the change are formed. The hypothesized relationships were tested at Texas A&M University. Data were collected from three separate samples: current undergraduate students, former Texas A&M students, and the staff of the university's Human Resources Department. This study used qualitative data gathered by content-analysis of archives, interviews, and semi-structured questions and quantitative data from survey questionnaires to develop the change schema construct and test the propositions. The study identified several key schema dimensions across three samples. The data confirmed that the level of socialization influenced the sharedness of change schema...