LEARNED HELPLESSNESS DURING THE ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE

Jaan SILVET

Abstract


Exposing organisms to aversive events which they cannot control might result in motivational, cognitive, emotional, and self-esteem deficits. These deficits are called symptoms of helplessness and are the core part of learned helplessness theory. Many studies have empirically analyzed the theory on the individual level. The current study focuses on the learned helplessness in the context of organizational change. The object of the study is one media company in Estonia, which conducted large restructurings during the 2008 economic crisis. The result shows that there exists an organizational gap when it comes to the estimates of top management and employees. The key to the problem appeared to be the middle management, who were unable to effectively manage their subordinates as they were busy themselves coping with the change.


Full text: PDF

Keyword(s)


Learned helplessness, organizational change, middle management, control in organizations

JEL Codes


M14 - Corporate Culture

References


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