Creating the contexts of change

Abstract

This is a study of the management of technological change in the meat industry in New Zealand. The purpose of the study is to examine the way in which change is managed effectively. Major perspectives in organisation theory - contingency theory, population ecology, institutional theory, resource dependence - mainly explain why or how organisations adapt or fail to adapt to their environments. They do not specify the mechanisms or processes of adaptation. Organisational change models - Organisation Development (OD), Total Quality Management (TQM), work place reform etc - mainly deal with internal processes but generally do not specify the conditions under which change is most likely to succeed. In this introduction I will start with an outline of the current understanding of change management - how research in this area is now regarded by leading writers as being inadequate both to explain what actually happens and as a guide to practitioners. Secondly I will outline the importance of the meat industry to New Zealand's economy and the transformations it has undergone in the last fifteen years. This will be followed with an account of the research design and plan. Lastly I will give an overview and outline of the thesis.