Blue versus Gray: A Metaphor Constraining Sensemaking Around a Restructuring

Through a case study analysis, this article explores the processes that guide organizational members' sensemaking around a departmental restructuring. Symbolic processes prove to play a critical role in reestablishing understanding even when organizational leaders are not explicitly directing these symbolic processes. This article demonstrates that because of their influence on sensemaking, undirected symbolic processes can hinder effective organizational change. To successfully manage organizational change, leaders need to more actively manage these intangible aspects of the change process.