Transforming the Organization: The Implications of Workers Applying Different Discretionary Schemas

Although managerial discretion has been studied extensively, scholars have had little to say about how workers more generally use discretion, what might inhibit its use or discretion’s effects. The small amount of research that was identified mostly considers how frontline workers use discretion in certain settings, such as in a hospital or social work setting. In the change management and sensing literatures, discretion does not stand out as a distinct area of study. Critically, no studies were identified that consider how different workers’ discretionary schemas emerge at organizations or their effects. However, all kinds of recursive practices and cognitive responses are likely to surface when workers with different backgrounds, training and propensities to address strategic problems as they see fit interact. These practices and cognitive responses could explain why some organizations are consistently high performing while others are not. High performing organizations could be far better at creating the conditions that allow workers to develop the organization’s dynamic capabilities and culture. We just do not know what could be involved at this point. This multidiscipline panel symposium and the insights of the panel members will be a first step for unravelling what could be involved when implementing strategies.