It is now generally accepted that strategies are rarely implemented as planned (Mintzberg, 1978). Strategies usually evolve over time as a result of many people interacting and utilizing a range of incremental processes to understand what should realistically be implemented as part of the strategy, essentially adjusting the strategy as required (Burgelman, 1983). However, despite learning much about how change outcomes are achieved, academics and managers are yet to agree on how successful strategic change outcomes are achieved (Stouten, 2018). It can be very difficult to achieve the benefits that a strategic project was designed to achieve (Zwikael & Smyrk, 2019).

1. Exploring Street-level Bureaucrats’ Discretion in
Strategic Implementation of Policy in UK Tele-
healthcare
Transforming the Organization:
The Implications of Workers Applying Different Discretionary Schemas
Academy of Management 2023
Dr Danielle Tucker
University of Essex, UK

2. Slide
Discretion and Change Management
Agency and Discretion
 Assumption of top-down implementation of strategy with workers as
passive recipients of change
 Clashing schemas: organisational objectives versus individual
employee objectives
 What might discretion look like… (the good, the bad and the
subversive)
2

3. Slide
Todays session
From Tucker, D. A.; Hendy, J. and Chrysanthaki, T. (2022) How does policy alienation
develop? Exploring street-level bureaucrats’ agency in policy context shift in UK
telehealthcare. Human Relations. 75(9), 1679–1706
Evolving
group
(street-level)
context
Shift in definition
of legitimate
practice and
policy outcomes
Evolving
Policy
(external)
Context
Shift in policy agenda and
meaning
Changes in
organizational
relationships
Redefining agency
in organizational
decision making
POWERLESSNESS
MEANINGLESSNESS
SLBs experience
personal and group
threat
Interpersonal relationships
foster insider/outsider
mentality
Increasing hierarchy
and distance
Subversive use of discretion
Increasing
cohesion between
SLBs
SLBs collective reclaiming of policy meaning in secret
Evolving
Organizational
(internal)
Context
Create alternative
narrative retaining
original meaning