Turbulent Times at MoneyInc: Effects of Change in the New Zealand Public Sector

The late 1980's saw the New Zealand Government implement a number of radical economic reforms. As part of these reforms, a number of formerly public organisations were transformed into profit-making enterprises. These reforms resulted in large scale redundancies in a number of industries. During this time Rob joined MoneyInc a former publicly owned and operated financial institution, undergoing restructuring to become a State Owned Enterprise. The branch where Rob was employed was suffering from a number of redundancies and staff changes. Although a newcomer to the organisation and its culture, Rob quickly indicated his aspirations to be involved in the sales area of MoneyInc and was offered the job of Sales Officer by the branch management. At the time, this job was held by Mary a well respected and long-time employee of the branch. The manner in which this staff change was made led to a serious interpersonal conflict between Mary and Rob which affected the whole branch. This case can be used to examine issues related to staff job changes, such as trust, organisational culture and conflict management.