Violeta Kirilova Spasova

MSc in Human Resource Management (IDPM, Manchester University, UK).

MSc in Clinical Psychology (Sofia University, Bulgaria).

Human Resource Management and Organisational Change: Implications of European Union Accession for Organisations in Bulgaria.

Supervisor: Dr. Chris Rees.

Human Resource Management, organisational change and development, organisational behaviour, postmodern organisational analysis

Contemporary organisations operate in a rapidly changing world, which puts them under constant pressures from the environment and in order to respond to these pressures the organisations constantly change to maintain their viability and competitiveness. In this process of continuous adaptation and change Human Resource Management (HRM) can play a significant role. However, there are very few models in the literature linking HRM and organisational change.

The specific context of this research is Bulgaria with particular focus on European Union (EU) accession and membership. In January 2007 Bulgaria joined the EU becoming one of the newest member states. Although during the accession process some changes have been introduced, there are still forthcoming major changes in various areas of political, economic and social life of Bulgaria which in turn will lead to significant changes for the organisations operating in Bulgaria. However, the EU accession process is only one of the two major change processes in Bulgaria. It was the next logical step of Bulgaria's transition from planned to market economy. The changes triggered by the EU accession are just part of the bigger picture of major changes for organisations in Bulgaria due to the changes of political, economic and social situation in Bulgaria.

With this research I aim at exploring the relationship between HRM and organisational change in the context of Bulgaria's accession in the EU. I feel that it is important to highlight the fact that HRM is a relatively new concept in Bulgaria and although there is an expanding body of research and literature on HRM in Central and Eastern Europe, there is very little research on HRM in Bulgaria. Thus, another aim of this study is to address the need for more detailed exploration of HRM role and the specific HR practices in Bulgaria.

In order to explore both HRM and organisational change phenomena, I have chosen postmodernism as research paradigm, because for postmodernism the changes in all forms of knowledge play a key role. Another reason for selecting postmodernism is the particular context, namely the processes in Bulgaria over the last 20 years, which have been characterised with extreme dynamism making postmodernism a particularly appropriate paradigm. Finally, probably the main reason for choosing this paradigm is that I feel that postmodernism reflects my own views and understanding about HRM, organisational change and contemporary developments in our society and in Bulgaria in specific.

 

Previous employment

Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP), Bulgaria.

Projects

While working at KNPP I have developed several projects related to various aspects of managing people in the organisation. The projects won funding by UK Department of Trade and Industry Nuclear Safety Programme and were done together with leading UK companies. In addition to the project conception and development, my main responsibilities were further supervision, facilitation, coordination and implementation. The major projects were:

• Development of Action Plan to maintain motivation in the approach to nuclear power plant closure and during decommissioning.
• Assessment of Human Factor Antecedents at KNPP.
• English Language Training Programme for KNPP.

Awards

I was awarded Chevening in 2005.