Section 2 Does Emotion have a Role in Organisational Change?
The Third Party: Using a Participatory Visual Methodology to Reflect on the Potential Impact of Emotion during Transformational Organisational Change in an Adult Basic Education Service Margot Walsh
Margot is Workplace Basic Education Coordinator at Clare Adult Basic Education Service and studying with Lancaster University. She can be contacted at
margotwalsh@msn.com
Rationale Introduction
“Change can be a threat and an opportunity, a cause of mourning and celebration, surprising and predictable, controlled and uncontrolled. It
can bring growth and healing, decay and death, it can be cyclical and reversible or one-way and irreversible, it can be superficial, spontaneous and spectacular or it can be slow, far reaching and invisible” (Antonacopoulou & Gabriel 2001). It is no surprise then, that change can stretch our sense-making abilities to the border of despair yet at the other extreme inspire courage and achievement and generate great feelings of emancipation and joy. It is no surprise either then, that change conjures up many emotions. Traditionally these emotions would be ignored or managed away, but there is an increasing recognition that emotion can actually facilitate change. Using a visual exploration method that makes use of Warren & Parkers (2009) “third party effect”, this study explores how.
Context
The organisation involved in this study is an adult basic education service (ABES). It is part of a statutory vocational educational committee (VEC) in rural Ireland which is undergoing amalgamation with two other VECs from
neighbouring counties followed by amalgamation with the regional training service, which will result in a regional Further Education service. So, three bureaucratic, hierarchically-managed, resource-dependent organisations must become a 'one-stop shop' for all learners at all levels. A shift in culture, behaviour and mind-set are required as well as changes to work methods, structures etc. for all.
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Vince & Broussine (1996) describe an organisation similar to the ABES. The context, changes imposed and working environment are similar. They suggest the deliberate accessing and exploration of “emotions and relations, and on forces of uncertainty and defensiveness” felt around change as a useful measure in change implementation. Positive results were reported, which would indicate that this could work for the ABES.
Emotional displays by staff are considered unprofessional in many organisations, therefore the approach described by Vince & Broussine is surprising. Their research challenges views of the place of emotion within the change process and has stimulated further investigation. A number of questions are raised:
• Are emotional displays considered unprofessional, and if so, why?
• Have others taken similar approaches to Vince & Broussine? What were their outcomes?
• Which methodology would suit best? • Would these outcomes be achievable for the ABES?
This study will consider these questions. Literature Review
The literature search began with a study on emotion; the study of which has been characterised by diversity in definition and theoretical orientation since William James first asked, “What is an emotion?” 120 years ago. Surprisingly there has been no widely agreed definition since. Sinkovics et al (2011) define emotion as a “mental state of readiness that arises from cognitive appraisals of events, social interactions or thoughts”. Contrary to popular belief, “emotions are not irrational but quite practical coping mechanisms which enable
individuals to adapt to changing circumstances” (Antonacopoulou & Gabriel 2001:437).
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