Understanding Organizational Change as an Interactional Accomplishment: A Conversation Analytic Approach

Abstract

Organizational change has been recognized as involving discursive activity. However, there are relatively few discursive studies that explore the interactional strategies that are involved in constructing, negotiating or accomplishing organizational change. This paper demonstrates the value of Conversation Analysis as a means by which to identify and examine the local practices and situated competencies that managers employ when involved in ‘change management’. Using this approach, the study focuses on a single case in which two managers attempt to collectively work up a sense of what ‘a written plan’ for forthcoming change will consist of. Specifically, it shows how change management can be regarded as an interactional accomplishment and makes visible the skills required to achieve this.

Keywords:

• Ethnomethodology
• conversation analysis
• organizational change
• management talk

Acknowledgements

The author thanks the editors and two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments. They offered recommendations that strengthened the article considerably. The author also wishes to thank Dr Merran Toerien of York University for her support and encouragement.