Essay About Sensemaking Framework And Top E

Managing Changes
Managing Changes
It is well known that managed change within an organisation can result in unpredictable
outcomes. In this paper a sensemaking framework is developed to demonstrate how both
intended and unintended outcomes can result from the way middle managers e who are
usually the recipients of a change strategy devised at the top e make sense of the senior
management initiatives. This framework highlights the significant impact of change recipients
on the outcomes achieved and suggests we need to reconsider both what we
mean by ‘‘managing change, and the way senior managers lead change. A case study that
looks at a privatised utility undergoing strategic change from a middle manager perspective
illustrates how the framework can account for the phenomenon of unintended
outcomes. As the implementation largely follows what could be described as a textbook,
top-down approach to change, it illustrates the problems many organisations face when
implementing such change programmes. The paper also draws out the implications for the
practice of change management.
2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Introduction
Planned programmes of change can often lead to unanticipated outcomes and unintended consequences.
1 In fact, the frequent failure of organisational change programmes to