The meaning of change: employees' perceptions in a Brazilian company facing an imminet privatization

Abstract

in the context of great transformations wich organizations face today, many ideas have been proposed ini the various texts that focus on change management, trying to identify manners of dealing with difficulties and resistances that individuals and groups pose to the process. the focus of such approaches is, in general, to discover more effective ways to obtain from individuals an increasing level of effort and commitment to the change. But an important question to be consideres is: how can you get a higher level of commitment from individuals and groups without having a clearer view of what change really means to them? This paper intends to bring a better understanding to this issue, by using a participant methodology that tries to create a fertile field where the meaning of change can be more thoroughly debated by individuals involved in the process. At the same time, it uses interactive dynamics that favors a clearer manifestation of affective perceptions, as well as rational opinions about the process of change. The research was developed in an important Brazilian state-owned company in the power sector, wich is undergoing strong expectations related to an imminet process of privatization.