Recognition and change: embracing a mobile policing initiative
Journal of Organizational Change Management
ISSN: 0953-4814
Article publication date: 19 June 2020
Issue publication date: 21 November 2020
Abstract
Purpose
Radical notions of recognition at work have not been considered widely in respect of organizational change. This article examines the introduction of a change programme across two UK police departments, during which front-line officers were actively involved and consulted throughout its pilot phase. The purpose of this article is to consider the question of whether or not a perceived sense of recognition amongst officers contributed to the success of this initiative.
Design/methodology/approach
The research utilizes qualitative data derived from individual interviews, focus groups and observations, gathered over one year, within two UK police departments. The data was analysed thematically. Reflection, and an ongoing discussion with officers, led to a theoretical exploration of recognition in order to explore the apparent success of the programme.
Findings
Recognition, consisting of a sense of love, respect and esteem, appears to offer a notable impetus to the acceptance of a change programme within a traditionally change averse organization. Resistance to organizational change may be better addressed through a strategy that seeks to actively promote the claims to recognition of organizational members, particularly through the extension of a right to participate within the context of a supportive and protective culture of engagement.
Originality/value
The article utilizes the novel, but increasingly utilized, theory of recognition to analyse and explain positive employee involvement in a change programme within the police. An approach that helped to achieve change in a widely acknowledged change-resistant organization.
Keywords
Citation
Hancock, P. and Tucker, D.A. (2020), "Recognition and change: embracing a mobile policing initiative", Journal of Organizational Change Management, Vol. 33 No. 5, pp. 965-977. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-11-2018-0305
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited