A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF COMMUNICATION APPROACHES FOR IMPLEMENTING ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE

Abstract

Communication affects the successful implementation of organizational change in these modern times. Yet the communication approaches involved in the change initiation, implementation and evaluation have received less attention. Implementation process is often fraught with problems that are communicative in nature. A great urgency exists to identify approaches for effectively bringing about planned change in organizational settings. As such, this article has sought to advance a stronger conceptual and empirical understanding of two communicative treatments for communicating change: linear and participatory. Therefore, this paper advances conceptual and empirical critical analysis of two change communication models (Linear and participatory) as applied to organizational change approaches and implementation. Separate examinations of these approaches will allow for theoretical critical analyses of each of their unique strengths and limitations. Specifically this work seeks to clarify the unique nature of these communication models and how they are related to the change approaches (planned and emergent) adopted by any organization. This paper also proposes the most appropriate communication approach in the modern times where organizations are operating in a turbulent, dynamic environment. The articulation of these two communicative frameworks lays the groundwork for future scholarship to measure the efficacy of these implementation approaches in applied organizational settings; a promising and fertile field of future academic research.