A theory of organizational readiness for change

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Change management experts have emphasized the importance of establishing organizational readiness for change and recommended various strategies for creating it. Although the advice seems reasonable, the scientific basis for it is limited. Unlike individual readiness for change, organizational readiness for change has not been subject to extensive theoretical development or empirical study. In this article, I conceptually define organizational readiness for change and develop a theory of its determinants and outcomes. I focus on the organizational level of analysis because many promising approaches to improving healthcare delivery entail collective behavior change in the form of systems redesign--that is, multiple, simultaneous changes in staffing, work flow, decision making, communication, and reward systems.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>Organizational readiness for change is a multi-level, multi-faceted construct. As an organization-level construct, readiness for change refers to organizational members' shared resolve to implement a change (change commitment) and shared belief in their collective capability to do so (change efficacy). Organizational readiness for change varies as a function of how much organizational members value the change and how favorably they appraise three key determinants of implementation capability: task demands, resource availability, and situational factors. When organizational readiness for change is high, organizational members are more likely to initiate change, exert greater effort, exhibit greater persistence, and display more cooperative behavior. The result is more effective implementation.</p> <p>Summary</p> <p>The theory described in this article treats organizational readiness as a shared psychological state in which organizational members feel committed to implementing an organizational change and confident in their collective abilities to do so. This way of thinking about organizational readiness is best suited for examining organizational changes where collective behavior change is necessary in order to effectively implement the change and, in some instances, for the change to produce anticipated benefits. Testing the theory would require further measurement development and careful sampling decisions. The theory offers a means of reconciling the structural and psychological views of organizational readiness found in the literature. Further, the theory suggests the possibility that the strategies that change management experts recommend are equifinal. That is, there is no 'one best way' to increase organizational readiness for change.</p

RNAi-Mediated c-Rel Silencing Leads to Apoptosis of B Cell Tumor Cells and Suppresses Antigenic Immune Response In Vivo

c-Rel is a member of the Rel/NF-κB transcription factor family and is predominantly expressed in lymphoid and myeloid cells, playing a critical role in lymphocyte proliferation and survival. Persistent activation of the c-Rel signal transduction pathway is associated with allergies, inflammation, autoimmune diseases, and a variety of human malignancies. To explore the potential of targeting c-Rel as a therapeutic agent for these disorders, we designed a small interfering RNA (siRNA) to silence c-Rel expression in vitro and in vivo. C-Rel-siRNA expression via a retroviral vector in a B cell tumor cell line leads to growth arrest and apoptosis of the tumor cells. Silencing c-Rel in primary B cells in vitro compromises their proliferative and survival response to CD40 activation signals, similar to the impaired response of c-Rel knockout B cells. Most important, in vivo silencing of c-Rel results in significant impairment in T cell-mediated immune responses to antigenic stimulation. Our study thus validates the efficacy of c-Rel-siRNA, and suggests the development of siRNA-based therapy, as well as small molecular inhibitors for the treatment of B cell tumors as well as autoimmune diseases