ADAPTIVE CULTURE AND EMPLOYEE CHANGE READINESS IN PUBLIC ORGANIZATIONS IN BAYELSA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The inevitability of change is such that imposes on the organization to be proactive and innovative in its behaviour and actions. Organizational change is the organization’s response to the emerging issues and factors that shape the environment of the organization; hence it could be considered a prerequisite for organizational wellbeing. However, its related challenges regarding workers’ recognition, acceptance, and support for change in public sector organizations in Bayelsa State, Nigeria is such that are premised on the low emphatics placed on adaptive culture. In investigating the relationship between adaptive culture and employee change readiness, this research, based on a sample of 140 workers from 5 public organizations in Bayelsa State, identified adaptive culture as a significant predictor of the related outcomes of employee recognition of the need for change, acceptance and support for change. Findings showed that adaptive culture enhances related work conditions and frameworks that allow for co-creativity and as such stimulate workers’ participation and empowerment in the organization. It was concluded that developing cultural systems that are adaptive, much depends on learning and the tailoring of cultural frameworks to effectively address the change readiness of employees for the required change outcomes.