Caribbean Society and Organisation: Change and Transformation

Established and strongly embedded forms of inclusion and exclusion, tension and dynamic between the formal and the informal exists within Caribbean organisations. A study of organisational change was undertaken in two Jamaican organisations of 22 participants each, and questions raised about this transformational problematic of organisation/development and change. The study, set against the backdrop of structural-psycho-socio-cultural dynamics, investigated the way that employees cognitively appraised organisational change. A comparative multi-dimensional systems approach was employed and also an examination and discussion of different levels of organisational embeddedness, with intersecting levels involving interstitial margins. The findings confirmed the importance of focused leadership, communication and high levels of disruption, uncertainty and expectancy associated with prolonged change efforts and the role of status and power. The study is the first of its kind, however, further research is needed to better understand the interactions of structural and psycho-socio-cultural demands on organisational change in diverse organisational settings.