This article aims to identify what impacts organizational changes derived from privatization programs cause in the culture of companies and workers' behavior. The research was done in an energy company that was privatized in 1997 and was based on the case study method. The first step in the case study was interviews with managers in order to understand the characteristics and perceptions of the changes that were made following privatization. Closed question questionnaires for the operational level were then applied to verify and stratify the results identified in the first analysis. The study pointed out that the greatest impact on employee behavior had to do with strategic-structural changes, as well as those of a cultural nature and the perceptions of intra-organizational relationships The conclusion drawn from this study is that organizational changes gave rise not only to change-resistant behavior but also to positive reactions depending on hierarchy position in the organization due to the influence of factors such as: external environment, organizational culture, organizational multiculturalism, seniority, nationality and access to information. This work helps to enhance comprehension of the impacts of privatization processes on Brazilian organizations, providing information for the corporate transition management, whether public or private.
organizational changes; privatizations; organizational culture; organizational culture
