Ambivalence SMART Leadership Consulting By: Daryl Horney

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SMART Leadership Consulting
a SMART way of doing business
May 30, 2014
Daryl Horney
SMART Leadership Consulting
Ambivalence discussed by Piderit (2000)
There are three responses to change that are framed by resistance, behavior,
emotion, or as a belief (Piderit 2000). These are the responses employees
experience when faced with change. Employees are ambivalent in their
attitudes to accept change or rebel against change. Pidererit (2000) explains
these responses in different dimensions. For example, an employee emotional
response may be very positive and emit happiness; on the other hand the
response may induce negatives such as, fear or frustration.
When employees voice their ambivalence they are also defining
opportunities. Management can view this as a positive perspective, which
offers clarity to attitudes. Piderit (2000) claims employees become creative in
their responses making them more valuable in their organization. I believe
this is still subject to more empirical research, however the idea that
ambivalence can become a positive factor is not far fetched.
Enactment presented by Orton (2000)
Orton (2000) purposes the organization decision process is designed by events
or enactments. Orton (2000) claims there is a need for organizations to
transition from their formal design to a redesign process. By doing so,
organizations are able to restructure and reorganize thus making the
organization more of a stable structure. Orton incorporates the teachings of
Weick’s (1995) book on sense making. If managers are able to make sense of
their organization and clearly see the benefits of redesigning their
organization the organization as a whole will become a dynamic

2. organization. Dynamic organizations are effective, responsive, and defined. In
principal redesign allows for greater insight into the decision making process.
Orton (2000) views the redesign process through a multitude of images. These
images create assumptions that can replace the standard dominant variables.
In his study, he uses events or enactments, decision making, and sense
making to make sense of reorganization.
Orton (2000) defines enactment as a process for members of an organization
to view and rely on. In order for members to solve their problems they must
look at each event that brought them to the problem. In a way Orton focuses
looking at each event in detail to understand how a problem unfolds. Also, by
paying close attention to the events that took place, members are able to find
solutions, therefore helping them to make the best decisions.
Orton (2000) defines sense making as an unfastened stream of events that
members have to have sense of. Orton claims that folk theory with its
foundations in making sense of a situation or a set of events helps to put
predicaments into perspective. By doing so, members of an organization can
transform beliefs into reality.
Emotions presented by and Vince & Broussine (1996)
Vince & Broussine (1996) wrote a great article to incorporate different views
about change in organizations that are removed from the traditional problem
solving techniques. They identify how the emotional and political process
impacts organizational change.
Vince & Broussine (1996) created a research study design to show how
emotions are part of a change process. They asked six public services
organizations to express their emotions to change. Their findings resulted in
five types of data that served to outline how their emotions can be put into
context to reveal a range of emotional responses. A few key themes emerged
from the results. They found participating managers become emotionally
attached to their work and surroundings. This attachment is caused by a
personal attachment to the work they are doing and the benefits people
receive from the public service. If a public service organization were to
undergo change that crippled their services, managers felt emotionally
disabled. It is a feeling of not having control. When an employee receives
personal satisfaction from their work because it is helping others is very
rewarding. When this is taken away from them they feel that they became a
casualty of politics, thus making them emotionally sick (Vince & Broussine
1996).
Vince & Broussine (1996) final results of their research concluded with a four-
staged process. Each stage allows managers to reflect and make sense of the

3. change process. They are invaluable explanations for managers to draw upon
for future reference.
Conclusion
When an organization is undergoing change all employees have to make
sense of what is going on around them. As Piderit (2000) pointed out,
employees feel a range of mixed emotions. They are either positive or
negative. However each emotion is represented as a reaction to change. Vince
& Broussine (1996) further demonstrates employees can be politically or
emotionally engaged. Employee emotional and political responses are
validated and legitimized by seeking rational explanations to change.
Reference
Orton, J.D. (2000) ‘Enactment, sensemaking and decision making: Redesign processes in the
1976 reorganization of US intelligence’, Journal of Management Studies, 37 (2), pp.213–234.
Available from:
http://sfxhosted.exlibrisgroup.com.ezproxy.liv.ac.uk/lpu?title=Journal+of+Management+St
udies&volume=37&issue=2&spage=213&date=2000
Vince, R. & Broussine, M. (1996) ‘Paradox, defense and attachment: accessing and working
with emotions and relations underlying organizational change’, Organization Studies, 17 (1),
pp.1–21. Available
from: http://sfxhosted.exlibrisgroup.com.ezproxy.liv.ac.uk/lpu?title=Organization+Studies
&volume=17&issue=1&spage=1&date=1996
Piderit, S.K. (2000) ‘Rethinking resistance and recognizing ambivalence: A multi-dimensional
view of attitudes toward an organizational change’, Academy of Management Review, 25 (4),
pp.783–794. Available
from: http://sfxhosted.exlibrisgroup.com.ezproxy.liv.ac.uk/lpu?title=Academy+of+Manage
ment+Review&volume=25&issue=4&spage=783&date=2000