Organizational change is not typically examined by investigating the emotions of members. The Kearney & Hyle (2003) research seeks to show that successful organizational change must take into account emotional issues like loss and grief. By applying Kubler-Ross's stages of grief model to educational institutions, the researchers suggest how organizations can prepare for an execute change more effectively.
The purpose of the Kearney & Hyle (2003) study is to study organizational change in terms of individual emotional experiences with change and loss. The researchers apply Kubler-Ross's stages of grief to the individual members of the organization experiencing change. Because of the authors' interest in change in educational institutions, the current study focuses on applying the Kubler-Ross theory to organizational change in an educational institution. It is hypothesized that unsuccessful organizational changes do not take into account the individual stakeholders and their emotional states during the upheaval. The authors suggest that taking into account the stages of grief might help organizations undergo changes more effectively. Leadership styles and other management issues are pertinent, but so too are the personal experiences of the organization's members.
Methods
The research was conducted at a technology training school in a rural area of the American...
The school had recently undergone a change in leadership, and the new leader was proposing radical transformations to the organizational culture, both in terms of philosophies and practices.
Kearney & Hyle (2003) used unstructured interviews to collect data, as well as emotional checklists. The data collection process lasted eight weeks, after which the data was analyzed by reviewing the checklists and tagging for keywords in the interviews. Follow-up interviews were also conducted.
Theoretical Framework
Kubler-Ross developed the stages of grief model in relation to death and dying. The model helps psychologists and social workers address some of the common experiences of grief by helping clients recognize core emotional and cognitive issues. Although the Kubler-Ross model presents stages of grief, those stages are not linear, hierarchical, or chronological in nature. Rather, the stages may overlap and coexist, and grievers will sometimes flit between them. The stages of grief include denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Prior literature has shown that each of these stages may be relevant in organizational change, which can be viewed as a type of death. Denial is a common response, and one that can be considered healthy and adaptive because it buffers the employee from the immediacy of shock. More problematic concerns…
