Procedural Justice and Organizational Change in a Municipal Organization

Herman Steensma
Jacques Allegro
Judy Knip

---

DOI: 10.2190/26PF-1PLH-EH7N-KTBF

Abstract

Management consultants should clarify their norms and values insofar as they play a role in planning change processes. This principle is illustrated by an abridged description of the project "job satisfaction in a municipal sanitary service organization." A net-utility theory of job satisfaction was tested among 102 workers. The theory stood its test very well. Based on this theory and on democratic, empowering values of the consultants, a change process was planned and implemented. Several aspects of the timetable of that change process are discussed: initiators, client situation, organizational culture, type of organization, functions of temporary structures, anchorages for change, choice of change strategy, diagnosis and the role of hard signals, action plans, implementation, and evaluation. The project was evaluated positively. Attention is paid to the causes of satisfaction with participation in decision making. It is concluded that many organizational change projects can be interpreted according to the language of procedural justice theory.

---

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.