Organizations continually embark on programmes of organizational change. The
American Management Association reported that 84 percent of US companies were in
the process of at least one major change initiative and 46 percent said that they had
three or more change initiatives/programmes in progress (Peak, 1996). Also, a study
conducted by the US Bureau of National Affairs (1996) reported that organizational
change was a major concern for more than a third of the 396 participating
organizations. These ongoing and seemingly endless efforts put a lot of strain not only
on organizations but also on individuals. Organizational change challenges the “way
things are done in here’ and, as a result, individuals experience uncertainty and starts having fears about the potential failure in coping with the new situation (Coch and
French, 1948).