PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to develop a framework to understand organisational rhythm as a stimulus for further study into organisational change.Design/methodology/approachThis paper studies the experiences of the medical discipline colleges in the Netherlands as they underwent significant reorganisation and transfer of ministerial authority. The data set consists of correspondence, reports and tapes of the meetings over 14 months and interviews with 26 employees.FindingsThis research identified five sub-themes of rhythm (emphasis, intonation, pace, period and repetition). Putting these together, the authors present a framework to understand organisational rhythm during organisational change.Research limitations/implicationsThis study begins to develop understanding of how rhythms function but the authors did not compare multiple rhythms in this study.Practical implicationsThe authors argue that by unpacking and exploring in more detail the sub-themes of rhythm (emphasis, intonation, pace, period and repetition), the authors can help to explain why complex change management initiatives may stall or fail to gain traction. By understanding the concept of rhythm as movement, the authors can offer recommendations to organisations about how to move forward and overcome challenges associated with progress.Originality/valueIn this paper, the authors make an important distinction between rhythm in terms of movement and flow of activity, which has often been overlooked by research, which focusses on the temporal aspects of organisations, which the authors classify as frequency – relating to the sequencing and duration of change.
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Het Nieuwe Werken concept (HNW) kenmerkt zich onder andere door de grote mate van vrijheid voor medewerkers om tijd- en plaatsonafhankelijk te werken. Microsoft Nederland was in 2007 één van de eerste organisaties die dit concept vergaand doorvoerde. Zeven jaar na dato hebben wij onderzoek gedaan naar de mate waarin de vrijheid ten aanzien van werktijden het leef- en werkritme van de medewerkers heeft beïnvloed. Als eerste hebben we een klein kwantitatief onderzoek uitgevoerd om na te gaan in hoeverre medewerkers er nieuwe ritmes op nahielden. Daaruit bleek onder andere dat er op dit gebied geen grote veranderingen hebben plaatsgevonden. Naar aanleiding hiervan hebben we interviews gehouden om te achterhalen welke motieven er spelen bij het vasthouden aan traditionele werktijden. Uit het onderzoek bleek dat medewerkers weliswaar zeer tevreden zijn met de geboden vrijheid, maar dat verbindende factoren als familie, klanten en collega’s belangrijke factoren zijn bij het handhaven van een traditioneel leef- en werkritme.
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In large organizations, innovation activities often take place in separate departments, centers, or studios. These departments aim to produce prototypes of solutions to the problems of operational business owners. However, too often these concepts remain in the prototype stage: they are never implemented and fall into what is popularly termed the Valley of Death. A design approach to innovation is presented as a solution to the problem. However, practice shows that teams that use design nevertheless encounter implementation challenges due to the larger infrastructure of the organization they are part of. This research aims to explore which organizational factors contribute to the Valley of Death during design innovation. An embedded multiple case study at a large heritage airline is applied. Four projects are analyzed to identify implementation challenges. A thematic data analysis reveals organizational design, departmental silos, and dissimilar innovation strategies contribute to the formation of, and encounters with, the Valley of Death. Arising resource-assignment challenges that result from these factors are also identified. Materialization, user-centeredness, and holistic problem framing are identified as design practices that mitigate encounters with the Valley of Death, thus leading to projects being fully realized. https://doi.org/10.1111/dmj.12052 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christine-de-lille-8039372/
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