Exploring the Hidden Aspects of Organizational Change: The Constellation of Controls at a Fiat-Chrysler Automotive Plant

Journal title STUDI ORGANIZZATIVI
Author/s Mario Pezzillo Iacono, Ernesto De Nito, Marcello Martinez, Riccardo Mercurio
Publishing Year 2018 Issue 2017/2 Language English
Pages 21 P. 69-89 File size 214 KB
DOI 10.3280/SO2017-002004
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This paper examines and interprets the concept of organizational change using a critical (post-structuralist) approach. The authors aimed to investigate the ‘hidden’ aspects of change, understanding this process as a specific combination of material and discursive practices used by management to regulate employee behaviours. The study explored the relationships between the process of change and the design of the constellation of controls - material controls and discursive regulations - used at the Fiat-Chrysler Automotive plant in Pomigliano D’Arco, in Italy. It found that new rules, organizational solutions and discursive practices often reproduced traditional systems of control. The rationale for organizational change was oriented towards improving flexibility, autonomy and empowerment, but in practice, the changes extended standardization and self-regulation, and made them more comprehensive.

Keywords: Organizational change, constellation of controls, discursive regulations, automotive.

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Mario Pezzillo Iacono, Ernesto De Nito, Marcello Martinez, Riccardo Mercurio, Exploring the Hidden Aspects of Organizational Change: The Constellation of Controls at a Fiat-Chrysler Automotive Plant in "STUDI ORGANIZZATIVI " 2/2017, pp 69-89, DOI: 10.3280/SO2017-002004