Operations and Change Communication in Organizations: a Case Study of Unilever Tea Kenya

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate effective change communication in the workplace by studing the activities of Unilever Tea Kenya (UTK) when cascading change to its employees. The target population for this study consisted of UTK employees and members of management. Simple random sampling was used to draw respondents from the population, where 55 respondents were drawn. The researcher also used primary sources to collect data. This consisted of questionnaires comprising of both open-ended and close-ended questions, and interviews were used to gauge the effectiveness of change communication in the workplace. The results from the study yield a framework for evaluating effective change communication on individual (i.e. behavior, trait, and knowledge) and organizational (i.e. accuracy, clarity, and availability) levels. Also, the data was divided between males and females, communication sources, and the perceptions of effective supervisory communication. The study’s practical implications, addition to goal setting theory, limitations, and future research are noted. The results of the study revealed that some strategies were more effective than others. The employees feel that they were provided with adequate information about this change on machines. Their concerns around the technology were also addressed satisfactorily. In the analysis, it was clear that the most effective strategy was word of mouth followed through the supervisors. At the individual level, this framework is significant because change communication distributor (supervisors) will be aware of how their effectiveness will be evaluated. As for the organizational level, information can be evaluated based on accuracy, (is all information true?), availability (is information accessible and in what venues?), and clarity (is the message delivered in an appropriate style in regard to employee comprehension levels?).