Conceptualizing ethnicity, justice, and resistance during organizational change

UNCP Author/Contributor (non-UNCP co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Dr. Eric Dent, Professor (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Pembroke (UNCP )
Web Site: http://www.uncp.edu/academics/library

Abstract: This paper builds on work demonstrating that resistance to change is better conceptualized as resistance to loss and that change or loss has too many different manifestations to be addressed as a single phenomenon (Dent & Goldberg, 1999a; 1999b). Consequently, we explore the loss of justice, perceived through the lens of ethnicity, as a factor in organizational change. Key variables are analyzed within three workplace constructs: change, ethnic culture, and justice, to explore the many dimensions of organizational resistance. It is argued that organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) serves as a useful proxy for resistance - reduced levels of OCB equate to increased resistance. The dimensions of American minorities are conceptualized and explored to challenge theories of workplace resistance. Lastly, to explore the complexity of organizational injustice, interpretations of non-instrumental procedural justice is viewed separately from distributive and interactional (anticipatory) justice. By addressing organizational injustice as one factor in reduced acceptance of change, the study opens the door for a new line of research into the many psychosocial factors that account for performance differences during the organizational change process.

Additional Information

Publication
Academy of Management Journal
Language: English
Date: 2005
Keywords
Management, Organizational Change, Organizational Behavior

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