Search results

This forwards a new version of a tool long used in planned change and organizational development efforts – force field analysis. Existing applications of this technique are critiqued in light of cognitive heuristics known to erode judgment and analytical performance in plan development. A cognitive prompting template is combined with the existing the force field analysis technique to mitigate these problems. As such, the revised technique represents a significant improvement over the traditional application of the force field tool as used by the OD practitioner. Following an overview of the theoretical underpinnings of the revised technique, a case example is offered to illustrate the technique as it was used in a real organization. Finally, practical facilitation guidelines are offered to help leaders and planners conduct force field analysis sessions in multi‐stakeholder change efforts.

Teleworking, working from home and flexible work have gained popularity over the last few years. A shift in policies and practices in the workplace is required owing to the COVID-19 pandemic accelerating current trends in work-from-everywhere (WFE) research. This article presents a systematic literature review of WFE research from 1990 to early 2023 to understand the transformation of the field.

The Web of Science database was used to conduct this review based on rigorous bibliometric and network analysis techniques. The prominence of the research studied using SPAR-4-SLR and a collection of bibliometric techniques on selected journal articles, reviews and early access articles. Performance and keyword co-occurrence analysis form the premise of cluster analysis. The content analysis of recently published papers revealed the driving and restraining forces that help define and operationalize the concept of WFE.

The major findings indicate that the five established and accelerated trends from cluster analysis are COVID-19 and the pandemic, telework(ing), remote working, work from home and well-being and productivity. Driving and restraining forces identified through content analysis include technological breakthroughs, work–life integration challenges, inequality in the distribution of jobs, gender, shifts in industry and sector preferences, upskilling and reskilling and many more have been published post-COVID in the restraining forces category of WFE.

A key contribution of this pioneering study of “work from everywhere” is the linking of the bibliometric trends of the past three decades to the influencing and restraining factors during the pandemic. This study illustrates how WFE could be perceived differently post-COVID, which is of great concern to practitioners and future researchers.

A wide range of publications on WFE and multiple synonyms can create confusion if a systematic and effective system does not classify and associate them. This study uses both bibliometric and scientometric analyses in the context of WFE using systematic literature review (SLR) methods.

Examines the tenth published year of the ITCRR. Runs the whole gamut of textile innovation, research and testing, some of which investigates hitherto untouched aspects. Subjects discussed include cotton fabric processing, asbestos substitutes, textile adjuncts to cardiovascular surgery, wet textile processes, hand evaluation, nanotechnology, thermoplastic composites, robotic ironing, protective clothing (agricultural and industrial), ecological aspects of fibre properties – to name but a few! There would appear to be no limit to the future potential for textile applications.

A communication barrier arises between overseas managers and head office staff when the latter cannot grasp foreign work contexts. The barrier hinders cross‐border management. Communication is likely to improve through training based on the research finding that managers tend to talk about problems in terms of dilemma, paradox and other tensions generated by environmental forces such as culture and politics. Such tensions pervade organizational, managerial and other literature. Learners who study the tension construct become adept at identifying tensions generated by forces affecting domestic as well as international scenarios. More research is needed, but indications are that head office staff learn to empathize with overseas colleagues, and become less inclined to rely on a domestic mindset when analyzing unfamiliar contexts. Study of the tension construct may also improve skills in other forms of scenario analysis, and refine learners' knowledge of negotiation dynamics. Tension analysis has potential as a generic skill for analyzing organizational issues at home and abroad.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of art and architecture by leadership as a driving force to effect change of perception of an organization's identity. While some claim life imitates art, from a management discipline lens the paper aims to state that art imitates life through introduction of a conceptual model.

A literature review of organizational art and architecture, leadership, identity and change is undertaken and synthesized with Lewin's theory and concepts of force field analysis. Case studies from Africa, Europe and the USA are analyzed.

Organizational leadership uses art and architecture as a driving force to effect change in perception of identity. This is exemplified through evaluation of choices in the organizations examined.

This paper establishes a relationship between choices organizational leadership makes on art and architecture and how they can be used as a driving force to effect change in perception of identity and proposes a conceptual model for further study. This model opens potentially several new streams of research in management and organizational change disciplines.

There is a small subset of scholarship and studies in the fields of management and organizational change, with a scant amount focused on choices organizational leadership makes on art and architecture and how they can be used as a driving force to effect change in perception of identity. This paper attempts to initiate further research and empirical studies.

This study aims to explore the critical resisting and driving forces that inhibit or promote the implementation of total quality management (TQM) strategy in Egypt, in an attempt to determine whether TQM can be implemented effectively in this developing country. The domain of empirical study is the Egyptian ex‐public manufacturing firms. A mail questionnaire was used to collect the required data. A force‐field analysis was used for identifying the salient factors affecting TQM implementation in Egypt. Surprisingly, the findings indicated that forces that promote or prohibit TQM implementation obtained in one developing country might be generalizable to another less developed country. The investigation identified some driving forces that promote the implementation of TQM strategy by the Egyptian manufacturing firms. On the other hand, the investigation identified some roadblocks that prohibit the implementation of TQM by manufacturing firms. Managerial implications for the successful implementation of TQM are provided, and finally avenues for further research are recommended.

Strategic sourcing and supply risk management have become interesting topics of research in the recent years. Automotive industry experts are increasingly focussing on improving the supply efficiency and performance towards gaining sustainable competitive advantage. This study aims to classify, through an exhaustive review of past literature, the various enablers and barriers of strategic sourcing risk management (SSRM) and use them to identify the problems in the automobile sector.

For the purpose of this research, responses were collected through structured questionnaire from respondents belonging to senior management cadre in the industry. Factor analysis and force field analysis tools have been used for analysis.

Through independent exploratory factor analysis (EFA), four SSRM enablers, namely, supplier risk assessment, data sharing in supply network, partnership with supplier and supply flexibility, were identified. Similarly EFA revealed four SSRM barriers, namely, cost focus, ad hoc or poor planning, data security/privy breaches and hard visualization of SSRM benefits. Through a force field analysis, it was found out that the barriers had a higher impact on the SSRM initiatives than enablers.

The research suggests the ways how managers can reduce the impact of barriers and increase the enabling forces.

This paper enumerates the barriers and enablers together on the same platform to prioritize and evolve strategies to overpower the barriers and strengthen the enablers.

An individual, group or organisation can often feel blocked (ie prevented from effective action) by apparently immovable forces which are obstructing the way forward towards a desired goal. According to Kurt Lewin's force field theory, the assumed blockage is not so much a static, immovable object but rather a state of dynamic tension which has arisen between whole sets of countervailing forces, some of which (the helping forces) are tending to assist progress whilst others (the hindering forces) are tending to oppose it. The fact that these forces are at any point in time exactly equal and opposite to each other produces the apparently static state, and the consequent feelings of being blocked.

The world of management and technology has become accustomed to the notion of “2.0” advancements and transformative innovations. Is the field of Change Management/Organizational Development itself in this story? Not enough! We re-examine the field’s foundational beliefs, practices, focus, research directions, and value add. We conclude that there is strong evidence from the front line and from an IBM Case Study that the field must “reboot” – to rethink our methods and frameworks; the role and skills of change leadership for the future; change practitioner capabilities for the future; the metrics needed to evaluate progress; and the knowledge exchange between Academe and practitioners.

Examines the impact of public policies on the entry of women into the workforce in Singapore, using force‐field analysis to study the counteracting forces created by the mixed policies which can either drive or restrain women from entering the job market. Suggests that although there has been an increase in Singapore’s female workforce participation rate in the last few decades, more measures could be devised to encourage more women to participate in the workforce.