732: Inclusive Change and Voice in Organizations (18614)

Sunday, August 11, 2024

11:30 – 13:00 CT (GMT-5/UTC-5)

Location: Hyatt: Haymarket

Session Number: 732
Symposium (panel)
Orientation: Practice,Research,Diversity
Shareable link: https://cdmcd.co/nR5WjX

Organizer(s)

DT

Danielle Tucker

U. of Essex, United Kingdom

Panelist(s)

HL

Huong Le

Central Queensland U., Australia
JR

John Richmond

U. of Sheffield, United Kingdom
MS

Martyna Sliwa

Durham U. Business School
AZ

Angelina Zubac

AIM Business School, Australian Institute of Management, Australia

Slides

Discussant(s)

JH

Jane Hendy

Brunel Business School, United Kingdom

When is it resistance and when is it employee voice? Interpreting behavior that does not unquestioningly conform to a new organizational reality as ‘resistance’ positions resisting employees as ‘troublemakers’. This is potentially problematic for organizational change as it may result in diminished employee voice and leader- centric bias about what is fair and ethical business practice. Leader- centric approaches fail to encourage an inclusive approach to change, diminishing the voices of minorities within organizations. Yet, as change scholars and practitioners we tend to focus on how effective the change was, not how inclusive the process is. Therefore, the purpose of this panel symposium is to engage a group of panelists in a formal, moderated, interactive discussion of the following questions: (1) Who has a voice in the change process and who does not? Who stays silent and why? (2) What is the impact of silencing certain voices in the organizational change process? (3) How effective are traditional methods of consultation and participation in the change process at achieving representative feedback, particularly from minority groups? (4) How might the actions of change agents help or hinder this process?