Change management and communication: factors influencing the successful communication of change at a workplace

Abstract

Change management and communication have been studied by researchers in the past. In this case the researcher identified the need to investigate specific factors influencing the successful communication of change at a workplace. The organisation used in this study recently experienced a range of changes and was the perfect case for the study. The paper deals with the communication of change to employees of different (1) age groups, (2) levels of education, and (3) positions in the organisation. The planning for this study was presented in a research proposal to the higher degrees committee (HDC) of Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT). The researcher reviewed literature from previous studies and defined key concepts to be used in this study. The revised literature of previous studies, applicable to this study, can be found in Chapter 3 of this thesis. The researcher used the mixed method research design for the study. Data was collected through qualitative and quantitative research methods, using a questionnaire and interviews as data collection tools. The data collected with the questionnaire was analysed by use of the statistical package for social science (SPSS) to generate descriptive results. The data collected during the interviews was analysed qualitatively. The research findings indicate that the organisational change communication strategy does not provide for differentiation between age groups, varying education levels or positions in the organisation. The division, in which the research was performed, has its own internal ways of dealing with the differences in education levels and positions. Recommendations and suggestions are presented in Chapter 7. It is intended that this research will contribute to academic knowledge in the fields of change management and change communication fields. Further studies on this phenomenon will be required as the organisational environments are ever-changing.