Motivating Police Reform Through Multimodal Sensegiving<subtitle>How Change Was Promoted Through Videos in the Swedish Police Reorganisation</subtitle>

In this paper, we contribute to understanding of how video films were used by change management as a communication strategy to portray and promote the organisational reform of the Swedish police in 2015. Based on a multimodal analysis of 44 video films, we theorise how the Swedish police change mana...

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Main Authors: Robert Kihlberg, Oscar Rantatalo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Scandinavian University Press 2022-04-01
Series:Nordic Journal of Studies in Policing
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.idunn.no/doi/10.18261/njsp.9.1.2
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author Robert Kihlberg
Oscar Rantatalo
author_facet Robert Kihlberg
Oscar Rantatalo
author_sort Robert Kihlberg
collection DOAJ
description In this paper, we contribute to understanding of how video films were used by change management as a communication strategy to portray and promote the organisational reform of the Swedish police in 2015. Based on a multimodal analysis of 44 video films, we theorise how the Swedish police change management “gave sense” to the transformation and future state of the police service. The findings show how change was motivated through descriptions of contexts, the problematisation of the present situation, prescriptions of the change process, and forecasts of an ideal future status for the Swedish police. These messages were reinforced visually using stereotypical images and by layering multiple modes of communication. The paper contributes to the literature on organisational change and police reform by describing how change can be motivated and legitimised through persuasive portrayals of the present and the future. We conclude that multimodal communication through video is a powerful technique for sensegiving, with the potential to construct credible, but not necessarily accurate, accounts of organisational change.
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spelling doaj-art-3cc95b23f19e44429eea02fa135d76dd2025-08-20T03:48:31ZengScandinavian University PressNordic Journal of Studies in Policing2703-70452022-04-019111810.18261/njsp.9.1.2Motivating Police Reform Through Multimodal Sensegiving<subtitle>How Change Was Promoted Through Videos in the Swedish Police Reorganisation</subtitle>Robert KihlbergOscar RantataloIn this paper, we contribute to understanding of how video films were used by change management as a communication strategy to portray and promote the organisational reform of the Swedish police in 2015. Based on a multimodal analysis of 44 video films, we theorise how the Swedish police change management “gave sense” to the transformation and future state of the police service. The findings show how change was motivated through descriptions of contexts, the problematisation of the present situation, prescriptions of the change process, and forecasts of an ideal future status for the Swedish police. These messages were reinforced visually using stereotypical images and by layering multiple modes of communication. The paper contributes to the literature on organisational change and police reform by describing how change can be motivated and legitimised through persuasive portrayals of the present and the future. We conclude that multimodal communication through video is a powerful technique for sensegiving, with the potential to construct credible, but not necessarily accurate, accounts of organisational change.http://www.idunn.no/doi/10.18261/njsp.9.1.2Police reformreorganisationsensegivingmultimodalityvideo
spellingShingle Robert Kihlberg
Oscar Rantatalo
Motivating Police Reform Through Multimodal Sensegiving<subtitle>How Change Was Promoted Through Videos in the Swedish Police Reorganisation</subtitle>
Nordic Journal of Studies in Policing
Police reform
reorganisation
sensegiving
multimodality
video
title Motivating Police Reform Through Multimodal Sensegiving<subtitle>How Change Was Promoted Through Videos in the Swedish Police Reorganisation</subtitle>
title_full Motivating Police Reform Through Multimodal Sensegiving<subtitle>How Change Was Promoted Through Videos in the Swedish Police Reorganisation</subtitle>
title_fullStr Motivating Police Reform Through Multimodal Sensegiving<subtitle>How Change Was Promoted Through Videos in the Swedish Police Reorganisation</subtitle>
title_full_unstemmed Motivating Police Reform Through Multimodal Sensegiving<subtitle>How Change Was Promoted Through Videos in the Swedish Police Reorganisation</subtitle>
title_short Motivating Police Reform Through Multimodal Sensegiving<subtitle>How Change Was Promoted Through Videos in the Swedish Police Reorganisation</subtitle>
title_sort motivating police reform through multimodal sensegiving subtitle how change was promoted through videos in the swedish police reorganisation subtitle
topic Police reform
reorganisation
sensegiving
multimodality
video
url http://www.idunn.no/doi/10.18261/njsp.9.1.2
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AT oscarrantatalo motivatingpolicereformthroughmultimodalsensegivingsubtitlehowchangewaspromotedthroughvideosintheswedishpolicereorganisationsubtitle