A journey through change: insights and perspectives

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to overview the challenge of determining alternative frameworks that may be used for guiding organisation change journeys in turbulent times, and to present insights and perspectives on guiding transformation processes in organisations or emerge from those frameworks. The research aims to contribute to the understanding of organisational change by providing insights and perspectives gained from using multi-lens perspectives. This thesis is a literature based research exercise that examines the potential and benefits that may arise from attempts to synthesise a combination of metaphor and metaphorical frameworks from mythology, and more "traditional" frameworks from the academic organisational change literature. In particular, Allen's metaphorical framework of the Archetypal Change Journey (ACJ) (based on the work of Joseph Campbell) has been used not only to describe journeys of change, but also to reinterpret the process of change reflected through other extant frameworks for examining change derived from Goldratt's (1992) Theory of Constraints (TOC), Kotter's (1995a) Leading Change, and Senge's (1990a; 1999a) Organisational Learning Theory. The findings of this thesis have significant implications for guiding of change journeys, and in particular, indicate the value of developing multiple perspectives on change from the use of multiple frameworks. It is suggested that an understanding of the paradigms and theoretical assumptions underpinning the frameworks that led to the development of different perspectives, is critical in the development of an understanding of the journey through change. Furthermore, it suggests that there is an important link between profound change at the personal level and profound change at the organisational level.