THE ROLE OF LEADERSHIP IN ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE: THE CASE OF ETHIOPIAN ROAD AUTHORITY (ERA)

Abstract

Leadership is very important while managing organizations or addressing the issue of organizational change. While organizational change is a constant experience, knowledge and awareness about many of the critical issues involved in the management of such change is often lacking in those responsible for its progress. Accordingly this study were examine specifically leadership role in organizational change management at Ethiopian Road Authority (ERA). The general purpose of the research was to assess the Role of Leadership in Organizational Change in Ethiopian Road Authority. Determining the leadership style practiced and success rate of change models implementation in ERA, examining the role of leadership in change implementation models in ERA and diagnosing the challenge encountered by ERA leadership during implementation of change were the objectives of the study. Because of the wildness of change management issues it is difficult to cover the whole content of change management aspects. Thus, this research is constrained on the role of leadership in organizational change management and delimited to ERA. Out of total population (1223), 122 members of the staff were selected randomly as sample for this study which included top management, supervisory and supportive staffs of ERA. Self-structured questionnaire along with semi structured interview were used for the purpose of data collection. The data obtained through questionnaire was processed for analysis by SPSS 24 version. Cross sectional survey research method was employed. The main finding of the study showed that the organizational change management at ERA faced unclear leadership direction and improper change communication. These might be the root causes for prevalence of ineffective organizational change implementation and system which contribute to weak organizational performance. The study also revealed the organizational change management practiced at ERA had limitation in timeliness developed for change implementation, providing timely and proper feedback, insufficient training and lack of adequate knowledge. Consequently, the organization faced resistance and systemic ignorance of change from its staff. Therefore, serious attention should be given by the leadership of ERA for the improvement of leadership capacity to manage change effectively, the change implementation process before and after implementation, effective communication, continuous follow up and feedback of the change process and the implementation of reward mechanisms.