Psychosemantics of Employees’ Images when Identifying the Dimensions of Changes and Successful Organisation

Abstract

An empirical research performed in October – December, 2008 is presented in the article. As the main research method, an anonymous half-open questionnaire (4 closed, 8 open questions) has been chosen for the employees of organisations of business and public sectors. The questionnaire included empirical indicators reflecting employees’ perception on the meaning of changes, attitude to successful organisation’s factors, change planning and the ways of negotiation of resistance to changes. This article is limited to the analysis and interpretation of respondents’ answers two open questionnaire questions: “What does the word “changes” mean to you?” and “How could you describe a successfully acting organisation?”. While analyzing respondents’ opinion what the word “changes” means to them we referred to the components of the word distinguished by psychology science (see The Psychology of Communication, 2007) and while identifying the dimensions of a successful organisation – to the presented abilities of exemplary companies by Ulrich and Brockbank (2007) and indicators of effectiveness matrix by Carnall (1990). The research has showed that the word “changes” in the expression of respondents’ opinion first of all associates with an emotional component and is least related to the index of expression of external and internal changes in the organisation. The analysed concept is not yet realized as a component of changes, alternation, and fluctuation happening in either external or internal organisation’s environment. Whereas semantic construct “successful organisation” in the expression of respondents’ opinion first of all is associated with appropriate finance management, a competitive organisation strategically oriented to a qualitative result. Generalised research data allows to state that theoretical and empirical components of the investigated object form presumptions to widen scientific knowledge about a successful, organisation managing changes and the aspects of its expression.