The dynamics of change in a privatised Polish state owned enterprise: An analysis of the human resource management implications

The move from a command to a market led economy in Poland has resulted in extensive political, economic and social change. Western multinational companies drive change in Eastern Europe and when Polish state owned enterprises are acquired by western multinationals this change process is accelerated. This paper explores the human resource management (HRM) issues arising from the acquisition of a Polish state owned enterprise by a western multinational and focuses on the use of four principal mechanisms to stimulate change namely, organisational re-structuring, the use of change agents, the re-deployment of key people and the dissemination of new cultural values and norms. It considers how these mechanisms have been used in the process of enabling the organisation to adapt to a changed environment and discusses the varying perceptions of those involved in the change process.