Managing volunteer change: the impact of change on Mount Ruapehu ski patrol 1979 to 1992

Abstract

This study examines the impact of the management of organisational change on volunteers. The voluntary organisation focused on is a ski patrol that acted with a high degree of self-determination for three decades up until the late 1970s. From that time until the present the voluntary incorporated society has, by degrees, shared its power to make changes and direct its future with partnerships formed with the corporate sector. To comprehend the changing dynamics brought about by mergers, literature on change management and voluntarism has been reviewed. The author became a volunteer ski patroller, allowing him the label of complete membership researcher and the opportunity to interview key people in the change process. The findings showed that the management of organisational change impacted negatively upon the volunteer ski patrol due to change being conducted inappropriately by ski patrol management from the paid sector. The authoritative change management techniques tended to exclude the volunteers from meaningful input into decision-making that affected them, in ways that lessened the recreation and leisure experiences gained from the voluntary act. The study suggests that participative change management styles are more likely to gain co-operation from the volunteer sector.