Managing Organizational Change

Description
Organizations must evolve to keep up with today's dynamic and competitive environment. This book explores a set of concepts, theories and techniques that address the successful planning and implementation of change across an organization. It focuses on why a company needs to change, what can be changed and how to appropriately plan and implement that change. The authors also explain how individuals, groups, and the organization can improve their ability to move through the change process. The text was written to help the reader be more comfortable with the uncertainties of change.

Chapter Format
The beginning of each chapter provides highlights of the chapter (Chapter at a Glance), a Vignette to provide a real-world perspective on the subject areas addressed, and a brief summary of what will be covered in the chapter (Chapter Perspective). The main text of each chapter covers concepts, theory and techniques that apply to the subject areas covered and include brief real-world examples that relate to that content. At the end of each chapter there are readings and cases (22 total readings and cases) that allow for discussion of the application of the concepts, theory and techniques covered. For each reading and case, the authors have provided a focus, questions, and linkage to the chapter. This format enables the reader to focus on key topic areas and to then apply them to real-world situations. This combination of content and application enables the reader to draw upon their own experiences and therefore results in optimal learning.

Chapter & Appendix Content
Chapter 1 - The pace of economic, global and technological development coupled with hypercompetition in today' s world makes "Confronting the Realities of Change" an inevitable feature of organizational life.

Chapter 2 - If we really want to "Understand How Organizations Should View Change" we need to use change models that can guide managers in planning and implementing change.

Chapter 3 - We can use four "Dimensions of Change Management" (strategy, resources, systems and culture) to plan and implement a desired and feasible future state.

Chapter 4 - Leadership is critical to the success of any change initiative. By understanding differences between management and leadership, attributes of transactional and transformational leadership styles, and key factors in "Leading Change," you can better understand what needs to be done to successfully lead change.

Chapter 5 - "Managing the Evolution of Change" means that you will need to understand the rational reasons for change and the behavioral states that one goes through, how different levels of the organization move through change, and how employees and management can work together during change.

Chapter 6 - Change initiatives often flounder because not enough attention is given to "Developing and Communicating a Shared Vision,"

Chapter 7 - In this chapter you will explore "Aligning Strategy and Culture" and how important it is for the beliefs, guiding values and behavior norms of the organization to support the goals and objectives of the strategic change initiative.

Appendix A - Historical Seeds of Change Management provides an overview of the evolution of organizational change from the late 1940' s to present

Appendix B - The Managing Change Questionnaire (Subset MCQ)Answer Key with Comments