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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that impact the success of an organizational change within an organization under study.

Five hypotheses were developed to investigate independent variables as possible factors affecting employees’ commitment to change. The research is based on a three-step process consisting of a literature review and field research through survey and interviews. The literature review served to establish an important foundation for understanding the problem. The field research involved employees taking part in the change completing a survey. Individual interviews were also conducted with management level employees actively involved in the change process. The paper is an empirical-based case analysis.

The results demonstrate that employees’ commitment to change, in this organization, can be improved through increasing formal and informal communication, creating adaptive organizational systems and enhancing the role of transformational leaders during the change.

Sample size was affected due to the limited availability of employees during a specific organizational cycle. Increased sample size would allow further investigation about employees’ commitment to change. Additional research could be done on how the company’s systems and practices can be adapted to change.

The success of a change project is critical for its future strategy and major project implementation. It is crucial that a systematic process be followed to implement this change. It is suggested that the John Kotter’s “eight” step change management model be adopted as a framework to the implementation plan.

New behaviors are subject to degradation if they are not ingrained in social norms and shared values, i.e. if they do not become part of the culture. Managers emphasized that, even though they are creating a new team, they recognize the importance not to create a “Monster” or a new alien culture. Leaders must make sure that all new behaviors required for the integration become part of the existing culture.

The paper provides insight in some of the factors that lead to a successful organizational change and team integration. The paper recommends four steps to address communication, organizational systems and culture to improve employees’ commitment to change.

This chapter examines the relationship between state failure, state-building and regional security through a thick qualitative and historical analysis of a single case: the Russia–Georgia relationship. Its principal finding is that the two sides’ conceptions of state-building contained incompatible identity projects that significantly increased the potential for conflict. This potential emerged in the context of a highly asymmetrical distribution of power in the region. The balancing strategies that Georgia pursued to compensate for this asymmetry aggravated the relationship further and were significant in provoking the August 2008 war between the two states. In making this argument, the chapter begins with a discussion of the relationship between state-building and security. It then turns to an account of the near failure and recovery of the two states and a discussion of the relationship between their state-building projects. It proceeds to situate this unit-level analysis in the regional systemic context. After a discussion of the war itself, the chapter provides concluding remarks on the implications of the conflict for regional security and for the wider discussion of state-building and security. The major implication is that, although state-building is seen as a domestic endeavour, the way in which the project is defined and develops has significant external and regional implications, which may enhance the potential for inter-state conflict. As such, international engagement should take account of the regional environment in efforts to foster the re-building of states.

This chapter examines the evolution of the authoritarian political tradition in Russia from its inception to the present, and its influence on the development of Russian mass media. The authoritarian tradition became most pivotal for daily life in Russia, as it ensured that the media fully ascribed to specific political agendas. The cohesion has consistently affected Russian media coverage and continues to shape it today. The authors investigate how precisely this occurs, focusing on several political events, specifically the current situation in Ukraine. Through studying certain empirical materials concerning the political evolution in Russia, the authors answer the question of whether in the future Russian media will be likely to continue serving as an instrument of political propaganda rather than as a source of non-biased information.

In December 2007, Sergey Nikolaev, founder and CEO of the Untsiya company, a tea shop chain in St. Petersburg, Russia, was facing a major decision about the future of his company: should he diversify the business or focus solely on tea sales via exclusive shops? Founded in 2002, the Untsiya Company had enjoyed dramatic growth and great success in the St. Petersburg market. By 2007, having directed the successful roll-out of his tea shop chain, Nikolaev wanted to grow to the next level and was prepared to revise his corporate strategy, even to the extent of changing his existing, stable organizational structure. Students are challenged to select a growth strategy and related organizational changes to implement that strategy.