Title: Implementing change: lessons from five development projects

Authors: Jens O. Riis, Steen Hildebrandt, Mogens Myrup Andreasen, John Johansen

Addresses: Department of Production, Aalborg University. Department of Management and Organization, The Business School of Arhus. Department of Engineering Design and Control Theory, Technical University of Denmark. Centre for Industrial Production, Aalborg University, Denmark

Abstract: The aim of this paper is firstly to report on what we have observed by following major improvement and development projects in five industrial enterprises. In particular, we shall focus on issues which have often been addressed in Danish enterprises, namely the participation of employees in the change process, the role of a vision of the future company, and organisational learning processes taking place during the development project. Secondly, different interpretation models will be employed in an effort to broaden the understanding of the many facets and viewpoints associated with organisational changes. Thirdly, four paradoxes for managing development projects will be presented; they may serve as guidelines for coping with the complexity and uncertainty of change processes.

Keywords: development projects in industrial enterprises; implementation; employee participation; vision; organisational learning.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTM.2001.002952

International Journal of Technology Management, 2001 Vol.22 No.1/2/3, pp.13-27

Published online: 08 Jul 2003 *

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