Book Description

This book introduces the reader to terms and concepts that are necessary to understand OB and their application to modern organizations. It also offers sufficient grounding in the field that enables the reader to read scholarly publications such as HR, CMR, and AMJ. This edition features new discussions on Virtual Teams and Virtual Organizations, and will emphasize the growing role and influence on technology. ... Read more

Book Description

This comprehensive and authoritative market leader blends theory, concepts, and applications. Behavioral science knowledge is applied to the development of organizational strategies, structures, and processes. New and expanded material on downsizing, re-engineering, and organizational learning has been added to this edition. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

I agree
I agree with some of the other reviewers who recommended "real world" books by Beitler, Schein, Kotter, and other authors. Cummings and Worley's work is only helpful if you are an academic trying to understand the real world.

The Worst Book on OD
I am an enthuastic OD practitioner who loves the field of OD. I am amazed at how two academics could present OD as boring and lifeless.

Excellent textbook for Organization Change and Dev't Class
As an OD practitioner and faculty who teaches Org Change, I find Cummings and Worley's book superb. The case studies are short enough to use in class. Students find the writing style clear and understandable. And the book grounds its practical advice in theories and models that students can use for years after completing the class. The instructor's guide provides excellent insights into cases, but gives poorly written assessment items for use on tests. All textbooks have tradeoffs. On the academic side, this book lacks references to empirical research that students could follow up on. On the practical side, it lacks comparisons between interventions that practitioners choose from. It doesn't provide a personal wisdom that some readers would want. But it does provide engaging content that's clear enough for students recently out of college and deep enough for mid-career professionals who are reading the book for a class.

Academic Nonsense!
This book is 700 pages of academic nonsense. If you are a practitioner, buy "Strategic Organizational Change" by Beitler.

Too Academic!
This book is too academic. Managers and consultants should purchase Beitler's "Strategic Organizational Change" for real-world advice. ... Read more

Book Description

If there's anything more challenging than designing a company, it's designing a global company. Balancing strategy and structure becomes even more daunting when geography, foreign governments, and worldwide customers and products are thrown into the mix. And no single design works for all organizations. In this book, internationally recognized expert Jay Galbraith shows companies how to match their own strengths and strategies with proven design options. Whether they're exporting their first product or already operating around the world, Galbraith gives companies the information they need to build flexible, global networks. And through real-world examples, he shows how successful international businesses are already navigating the global environment.

... Read more

Reviews (6)

Full of valuable insights for managers and scholars alike
Galbraith has succeeded in filling the gap that he intended to fill in that specific area of management literature where organization theory and international business research interact. Although I was initially rather skeptical of the scholarly value of the book - since it appears to be particularly aimed at practitioners - I was pleasantly surprised at the wealth of novel theoretical insights that I was able to extract from it. Although it clearly builds on Galbraith's earlier work (for which he is renowned), it definitely adds something to the field. This book will leave those interested in international business (both practice and theory!) with an enhanced understanding of some of the organizational aspects of the multinational corporation that seem to me to be relatively underresearched.

Geography is History!!
Background: Geography is History!! So went an advertisement from a telecom company a few years ago. And as globalization proceeds to breakdown national boundaries, open up cultures and increases access for economic activity, an awareness of this process of breakdown of geography has become a necessity for any corporation wanting to grow and flourish. Increasing size in this dynamic environment brings with it many challenges including increasing structural complexity, need for quick and seamless communication to manage this complexity, as well as an ability to assess and predict the changing external world, recognize opportunities therein and fashion nimble responses to gain competitive advantage. 'Designing the Global Corporation' is a book written to address such issues in an attempt to help managers structure their thinking towards an increasingly boundaryless world.

Synopsis: Jay Galbraith begins his book by arguing against the KISS principle (Keep It Simple, Stupid!) of organizational design. He recognizes that increasing foreign direct investment (FDI), breakdown of trade barriers and improved communications via media like the Internet along with a corporations need to reach customers globally have increased the complexity of doing business. Corporations could fight this complexity and simplify their operations, or learn to accept, manage and in fact use this complexity as a competitive advantage against simpler competitors.
He then goes on to inject great precision into the concept of a globalization for a corporation and defines 5 different levels of international development in increasing order of complexity. A corporation may develop a competitive advantage in its home country and then try to export this advantage to international destinations, evolving through different levels of international development. Or, a corporation like Logitech, may be designed as a transnational corporation from its very inception, with hardware R&D located in Switzerland, software development in California, manufacturing in Taiwan and sales in every country. Evolution from level 1 to level 5 may not be inevitable and/or desirable, with many companies deciding to settle into a particular niche depending upon the nature of their business and their long-term goals.
The rest of the book is devoted to a very clear, well-illustrated nuts and bolts description of designing global corporations with different levels of internationalization. The geographical entity headed by a country manager, multinational single business units and the multinational multi dimensional organizations are described in great detail. Underlying theme of this entire discussion is that the structure of the organization has to cater to its overall strategy, and the former has to change as the latter evolves.
The author spends considerable time and space on the need and means for developing informational and decision-making networks within such complex organizations. Here again he describes 5 different types of networks in increasing order of complexity beginning with informal voluntary communication and going up to a formally structured matrix organization. He discusses the advantages and limitations of each and how such networks may be used to propagate the agenda of the corporation. As a corporation increases its level of internationalization, it has to deal with increasingly complex networks that transcend geography, business function and culture.
He ends the book by describing the 5 dimensions that a global corporation must learn manage in order to remain successful. These 5 dimensions are managing functions, geographies, product lines (or business units), customers and solutions.
Finally, he writes, "Regardless of whether globalization continues, stalls, or even reverses, the models described in this book should continue to guide organizing choices.....and as businesses struggle to compensate and thrive on their ever expanding journey, the ideas and structures presented in this book can serve as a road map."

Critique: The author has presented his ideas very clearly and illustrated them with many examples from real companies. The organization of the book follows a logical flow of thoughts and the language used makes it fairly readable. Having said that, the complexity of many of the concepts presented in this book precludes it from being a casual bedtime reading, rather it demands full concentration and a careful attention to detail from the reader.

Highly Recommended!
Globalization has become such an overused buzzword that it has become nearly devoid of meaning. Here, author Jay R. Galbraith injects new precision into the concept: Going international means plenty of hard work and painstaking attention to detail. Because every company's strategy, market and competitive advantage is unique, it's impossible to define one single, perfect, organizational structure for an international business, but Galbraith provides some fascinating alternatives to consider. Although Galbraith's book is jargon-filled and dense, it is full of useful, illustrative examples. He manages to reduce international business to its simplest form: A company develops an edge, and then tries to take it abroad. This involves many challenges, which Galbraith describes in rich detail. So if your company is multinational - or wants to be - we at getAbstract recommend this book to you. It is tailor-made for executives who are involved in international business - or who hope to expand their global reach.

Organizations of third-generation strategies.
"Most companies do not have the capabilities to institute the multidimensional organizations that are required by their strategies and necessary to serve their global customers. In one memorable conversation,...Chris Bartlett summed up the situation well, stating that companies pursue third-generation strategies using second-generation organizations staffed with first-generation human resources. When first-generation managers attempt to institute third-generation multidimentional organizations, they fail and attribute the failure to the organizational form, not to their lack of capability. They then call for a return to simple, first-generation organizations. These simple organizations will work if the companies follow first-generation strategies in clear and stable industries. However, if a company wants to enter complicated countries like China, create value for the global customer desiring solutions, and be competitive in converging industries, it must pursue a third-generation strategy. This book is intended for those who wish to design the third-generation organizations required by third-generation strategies...I believe in 'keeping it simple' but with two twists. First, I believe we should keep it simple for the customer; a company should work toward being easy to do business. Second, I believe we should keep it simple for front-line employees-those people with direct customer and product contact...The new mandate to keep it simple for customers and front-line employees makes management's job difficult and complex; how to organize in order to manage this complexity is addressed in this book...Some firms, like ABB, IBM, and Citigroup, believe that the winning companies are going to be those that can manage global complexity. It is for these firms that this book is written" (from the Preface).

In this context, Jay R. Galbraith:

* highlights some of the reasons for adopting a global organizational capability as well as some of the inherent challenges in doing so, and also spotlights some of the managerial and business-environment mind-set that can prevent these strategies from being embraced and employed to full advantage.

* argues that the global organizations are complex and multidimensional networks as a result of balancing many strategic factors; and then describes these factors in four categories: level of international development, amount of cross-border coordination, activity of host local institutions, and diversity of international business porfolio.

* argues that the level of international development-one of the strategic factors that influence how a company organizes its international operations-consists of three dimensions: the role of subsidiaries, the mode of participation in the local economy, and the proportion of assets and employees located outside the home country; and then defines the different types of competitive advantages, and focuses on the different levels of international development and how a firm changes from one level to another.

* argues that after exporting, the next level of international development is investment in foreign countries with a partner; and then focuses on the partnering process itself and the organizational skills-particularly the organization design.

* describes six tasks of geographical division: (1)transfer advantages from existing geography, (2)localize the success formula, (3)build a local business, (4)communicate with and educate the home country, (5)champion the new subsidiaries, (6)build international capabilities; and also describes the organizational design decisions involved in performing these tasks.

* reviews the variety of multidimensional structures chosen by companies, like Nestle, ABB, HP, and DuPont, by varying strategic factors, like fixed costs, markets, products, customers, competitors, transportability, and portfolio diversity.

* defines the lateral organization as an informational and decision-making process that coordinates activities whose components are located in different organizational units, and describes different types and amounts of lateral network coordination related to the strategic factors.

* argues that the easiest lateral organization is the informal or voluntary organization, and management's role in this self-organizing process is to create the appropriate context and remove any barriers to free-flowing contacts. In the next level, management-building on the informal networks-designs formal cross-border groups to manage shared functions, coordinate business units, and create global products; and then describes what makes the groups formal, and discusses the design issues involved in creating formal groups that coordinate across borders.

* discusses the factors that are creating transnational form as the last level of international development, and then elaborates organizational-design issues of this in an example.

* argues, the full complexity facing many companies involves simultaneously managing functions, geographies, product lines (or business units), customers, and solutions-at the very least. These companies must use multidimensional structures, with the dynamics of global business requiring that these multiple dimensions be reconfigurable. Different customers require the services of different combinations of business units and country subsidiaries; to be competitive, a company must be able to configure and reconfigure its profit centers to create value for customers. And then presents the framework for organizing around multiple dimensions, with focusing on the customer and customer solutions in cases of Citibank and IBM.

Finally, he writes,"Regardless of whether globalization continues, stalls, or even reverses, the models described in this book should continue to guide organizing choices. The most likely new level of international development will probably be a consrtium or some type of electronic or virtual combination of local companies".

I highly recommend this invaluable study.

A Compass and a Map...Not a Blueprint
Let's begin with Galbraith's concluding remarks: "The new development process for global products [and services] is one of the key organizational capabilities that a firm must master when evolving into a multinational company. Even without the global challenge, the product development process has become complex: products [and services] have to not only meet market requirements but also be manufacturable, reliable, serviceable, useable, and recyclable, and meet target costs in shorter and shorter cycle times." If this brief excerpt describes the situation your organization is in now or one to which it hopes to relocate ASAP, this brilliant book is "must reading."

In a very real sense, Galbraith functions as both a management consultant and an architect. The emphasis on the principles of "design" is intentional and eminently appropriate. Here are some of questions he answers:

What is the challenge of organizational complexity? How to overcome it?

How to organize the global corporation?

What are the levels of international development?

What does partnering require? When and why is it beneficial?

What is the significance of geographical division?

Which multidimensional structures are most important? Why?

What are the most effective strategies for coordination between and among networks?

What are cross-border formal networks? What are their significance?

What are the most effective ways to shift power across networks?

What is the "transformational form"? What is its significance?

What is a "multidimensional multinational"?

What are the most effective organizational strategies to serve the global customer?

What is a "front-back hybrid organization"?

After "A Look Ahead", Galbraith provides an Appendix ("The New Global Process of New-Product Delopment") which, all by itself, is well worth the price of the book. To repeat, I consider it "must reading" for organizations already embarked upon globalization or which are now preparing to begin that perilous journey. There is another category of organizations which can also derive substantial benefit from this book: Those who now do business with or plan to do business with others now active in the global marketplace. With all due respect to Galbraith, there is no single "design" which is appropriate for all or even for most organizations. Moreover, today's appropriate design may well prove inadequate in the near future, if not by tomorrow. Therefore, I suggest that you use Galbraith's book to identify the questions which must be asked and then answered, to take full advantage of the advice he provides and of the guidelines he suggests, and to view the design process as a unique opportunity to energize (or re-energize) everyone involved. Galbraith asserts (and I agree) that companies CAN transform themselves to design local products or devise local services that capture global scale yet fit local-market requirements. Only those which do will prosper. The choice is theirs. It really is. ... Read more

Book Description

While women have made progress toward equality in the workplace, gender issues continue to surface in today’s work environment. How are these issues best confronted? This brief collection of cases is designed to help students and employees gain a hands-on understanding of gender issues in the workplace and to provide the necessary tools to handle those issues. Based on actual legal cases, nationally reported incidents, and personal interviews, the case studies in Gender in the Workplace address the range and types of gender issues in the workplace including:

- Gender stereotypes about work

- Gender discrimination in the workplace

- Balancing work and family responsibilities

- Sexual harassment issues

The case studies place the reader directly "in the action," by requiring the reader to conduct an analysis of real situation (appropriate supporting material, data, and discussion topics are provided) and to make decisions based on that analysis. Through completion of all five cases, the interaction of various gender issues, and the variations of issues in different organizational cultures and work settings are demonstrated. The concluding chapter is devoted to an examination of the connections between the five categories of gender issues explored in cases. An Instructor’s Manual provides additional resources and information that will assist in the discussion of case issues. Epilogues to each case pursued, and what occurred as a result.

This text is intended as a supplement for courses in Management, Human Resources, Public Administration, Gender Studies, Industrial Psychology, Social Psychology, and Sociology of Work. It will also be useful in consulting and training environments.

Book Description

A worker in one of Europe's largest wireless communication companies showed his manager how to repair an error that was costing the company $30 million per year. A secretary at Grapevine Canyon Ranch proposed a simple change to pull the company's website to the top of search engines. These are just two of many examples in Ideas are Free that highlight the single best resource in a company - those frontline employees who can see those telling little details that escape managers. Based on extensive research with hundreds of companies around the world and in every major field, this practical book shows how to draw the most useful ideas from frontline employees and, in the process, significantly improve the atmosphere - and success quotient - of any organization. Ideas are Free is the definitive book on getting - and applying - business-transforming ideas from frontline employees, and will be required reading for Alan Robinson's televised course on PBS - The Business Channel. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Empower your employees to do the right thing
Empowering employees to do the right thing is a key idea in my Principled Profit philosophy.

This principle can improve every aspect of a business, as Robinson and Schroeder demonstrate.

In an empowered organization, employee ideas--especially those from front-line workers--are a currency with the capability to slash costs, boost morale and productivity, and in some cases yield enormous actual-dollar profitability.

But too many organizations go about idea collection all wrong. Either they have no systematized method of collecting, analyzing, and acting on ideas--rapidly implementing the good ones--or they saddle their idea system with an unworkable and counterproductive monetary reward system that results in the opposite of what's intended.

Still, companies that encourage--even demand--ideas from their employees reap many benefits. Interestingly, most of the big improvements come from very small ideas--that piggyback and replicate into a powerful snowball of change For instance, one idea from one employee might save a few thousand dollars a year in a single location, but multiply by 10,000 locations and the savings are enormous. Too, the little incremental changes are often site-specific and harder for competitors to spot, leading to long-term competitive advantage.

From massive corporations like Toyota to single-locations such as a guest ranch in Arizona, companies with good idea capture systems enjoy higher morale, higher productivity, lower costs--and a fresh climate where going to work is actually fun.

And after reading this book, any company ought to be able to put such a system into place.

Insightful!
Authors Alan G. Robinson and Dean M. Schroeder articulate a plain, obvious truth that hierarchical executives and managers may sometimes ignore: often the best ideas come not from the top, but from the little guy working in the cubicle or out on the assembly line. Their book predicts an 'idea revolution,' where companies realize that their employees' ideas are among their companies' most valuable resources. The book reviews the basics of how to set up an idea-generating system, how to reward employees effectively and how to keep managerial egos out of the way. The authors discuss several case studies that demonstrate the power of a good idea. A new idea? No. One is reminded of Andre Gide, who said, "Everything has already been said, but because nobody was listening, we keep having to start all over again at the beginning." We recommend this book to any manager, executive or business owner who seeks powerful organizational improvements based on individual insight, creativity and innovation. Go ask a customer service clerk how to make things better.

A book about ideas that is full of ideas.
I manage people and my greatest frustration is having smart people working for me, the best tools, a great product and still getting beaten in the marketplace by companies with a more creative approach. Leveraging human capital is the difference between a good company (or organization) and a great one. Motivating people to come to work everyday is one thing. I need them to think creatively! Standing in front of their desk screaming "THINK CREATIVELY!" doesn't seem to work very well. The authors address this issue blissfully avoiding Covey-esque motivational platitudes and MBAspeak about 'Synergies' found in most management books. The book is written with a practitioner in mind and avoids 'data' and teaches with real life examples. A lot of them! A great read for any leader trying to unleash potential in their organization or even looking for ideas themselves. ... Read more

Book Description

This book is the story of how four busy executives, from different backgrounds and different perspectives, were surprised to find themselves converging on the idea of narrative as an extraordinarily valuable lens for understanding and managing organizations in the twenty-first century. The idea that narrative and storytelling could be so powerful a tool in the world of organizations was initially counter-intuitive. But in their own words, John Seely Brown, Steve Denning, Katalina Groh, and Larry Prusak describe how they came to see the power of narrative and storytelling in their own experience working on knowledge management, change management, and innovation strategies in organizations such as Xerox, the World Bank, and IBM.

Storytelling in Organizations lays out for the first time why narrative and storytelling should be part of the mainstream of organizational and management thinking. This case has not been made before. The tone of the book is also unique. The engagingly personal and idiosyncratic tone comes from a set of presentations made at a Smithsonian symposium on storytelling in April 2001. Reading it is as stimulating as spending an evening with Larry Prusak or John Seely Brown. The prose is probing, playful, provocative, insightful and sometime profound. It combines the liveliness and freshness of spoken English with the legibility of a ready-friendly text. Interviews will all the authors done in 2004 add a new dimension to the material, allowing the authors to reflect on their ideas and clarify points or highlight ideas that may have changed or deepened over time.

* Brings together well-known thought leaders on the importance of narrative and storytelling for organizational success
* The book's easy to read, engaging style of storytelling makes you feel part of the conversation
* Only book that includes personal stories and perspectives from Larry Prusak and John Seely Brown ... Read more

Book Description

This volume brings together the best-known and most influential articles on sensemaking by one of its most distinguished exponents, Karl Weick.

Weick explores the process of how organizations discover that they face important decisions. Often organizations have discussions in order to see what they think, or act in order to see what they want - before they are even aware that a decision has to be made. The effective organization is one that understands this process of sensemaking and learns to manage it with wisdom. The ways in which people do that are demonstrated in chapters of this book.

This important collection provides a valuable addition to the international literature on organization theory and will be welcomed by students and researchers alike ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A Good Collection of Weick's Work
Weick's insights into how people make sense of what is happening in situations is unique and profound. It is also difficult and Weick's work is not always easy to make sense of itself.

Anyone with a deep interest in how cognition relates to organizational activity will love Weick's work. ... Read more

Book Description

Finalist for the George Terry Award sponsored by the Academy of Management "This lovely and important book is the clearest, most complete, and interesting statement of sensemaking in organizations available. . . . It will have an impact on both new and experienced scholars." --Bob Sutton, Stanford University "Weick is artful. He masterfully constructs the sensemaking theoretical framework so that it can be better understood by the general scholar and in the process provides the reader with the sensemaking experience." --Kathleen Sutcliffe, University of Minnesota The teaching of organization theory and the conduct of organizational research have been dominated by a focus on decision making and the conception of strategic rationality. The rational model, however, ignores the inherent complexity and ambiguity of real-world organizations and their environments. Karl E. Weick's new landmark volume, Sensemaking in Organizations, highlights how the "sensemaking" process--the creation of reality as an ongoing accomplishment that takes form when people make retrospective sense of the situations in which they find themselves--shapes organizational structure and behavior. Some of the topics Weick thoroughly covers are the concept, uniqueness, historical roots, varieties and occasions, general properties, and the future of sensemaking research and practice. Expertly written, Sensemaking in Organizations is the volume that students, scholars, and professors of organization and management studies must have. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Sensemaking fails to translate theory into practice
Weick's book is thoroughly researched, drawing its insights from psychological and organisational studies.

It offers new views on how organisations operate, and how they generate meaning. It points out that reality is not something outside the organisation, but something that is constructed by people within the organisation - an empowering insight. Weick also extensively discusses where and how this 'making of sense' happens.

But the book fails largely in linking this theory to practice. After making sense of 'Sensemaking', (which requires some mental acrobatics!), I still don't know how a leader can influence the sensemaking process to the benefit of the organisation. I'm still left with the basic question: So what?

Powerful insight into how people work together
This book has a very academic tone but it has some powerful implications for anyone in business. The book makes a number of points that are not intuitive but that are very powerful. For example, he talks about the advantages of speed, confidence, and plausibility in problem solving and why they may be more important than accuracy ... Read more

Book Description

A best seller in its first edition, Institutions and Organizations has been thoroughly revised and expanded. This second edition provides a comprehensive overview of the institutionalist approach to organization theory. Dick Scott presents a historical overview of the theoretical literature, an integrative analysis of current institutional approaches, and a review of empirical research related to institutions and organizations. He offers an extensive review and critique of institutional analysis in sociology, political science, and economics as it relates to recent theory and research on organizations.

The second edition gives particular attention to the topics of agency and structure and to institutional change. Given the constraining and constitutive properties of institutions, how can actors intervene to introduce novelty? How is change possible? To a previous concern with "convergent" change, a focus on increasing structural isomorphism, the author adds a thorough analysis of the sources of "disruptive" change, deinstitutionalization, and the emergence of new kinds of institutions.

Book Description

A brief business novel about combining today's two most powerful quality initiatives

Leaning Into Six Sigma shows managers how to combine today's two most popular continuous improvement methodologies-- Lean Enterprise and Six Sigma--for dramatically improved quality and cycle time.

This concise and fast-paced "business novel" tells the story of how one skeptical company gradually came to understand and implement a Lean Six Sigma initiative--improving quality at all levels of the organization. This engaging story will help employees and managers understand basic quality concepts from Design of Experiments (DOE) to Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), while learning how to:

• Implement work cells and preventive maintenance
• Get rid of excess inventory
• Speed up processes

Reviews (1)

Highly Recommended!
Authors Barbara Wheat, Chuck Mills and Mike Carnell use the format of a novel to explain two major quality control mechanisms: Lean Enterprise and Six Sigma, the efficiency approach that has had a broad impact on corporate America. In a sort of parable that shows both of these processes in action, they tell the story of a consultant named Samantha. She helps a business owner named Sid who has made all the wrong choices in setting up his manufacturing operation. Sam uses Six Sigma to help Sid out of his quagmire. The volume goes into greater, more useful detail about identifying and eliminating areas of waste than many other Six Sigma books. The text links the Five S's of Lean Enterprise with the systems problem-solving methodology MAIC (measure, analyze, improve and control). In all, here are the basics of Six Sigma and Lean Enterprise in an easy-to-use volume you can read on a commuter flight. We strongly recommends this book to those who want to begin to improve their firms' efficiency and productivity. ... Read more

Book Description

This hands-on guide--for planning, diagnosing, implementing, and evaluating organization development interventions--gives scientifically based information, tools, suggestions, and guidelines for those who must manage the human side of change.

In Organization Development, leading experts and pioneers:

Book Description

A Groundbreaking Work on the Theory and Practice of Organizational Change

Organizational change may well be the most oft-repeated and widely embraced term in all of corporate America-but it is also the least understood. The proof is in the numbers: Nearly two-thirds of all change efforts fail, and they carry with them huge human and economic tolls. Lacking any overarching paradigm for change, executives of large, underperforming organizations have been left with little guidance in how to choose the strategies that will lead them to sustained success.

In Breaking the Code of Change, editors Michael Beer and Nitin Nohria provide a crucial starting point on the journey toward unlocking our understanding of organizational change. The book is based on a dynamic debate attended by the leading lights in the field-including scholars, consultants, and CEOs who have led successful transformations-and presents a series of articles, written by these experts, that collectively address the question: How can change be managed effectively?

Beer and Nohria organize the book around two dominant, yet opposing, theories of change-one based on the creation of economic value (Theory E), and the other on building organizational capabilities for the long haul (Theory O). Structured in an unusual and engaging point-counterpoint style, the book enlists the reader directly in the debate, providing a comprehensive overview of the strengths and weaknesses of each theory along every dimension of the change process-from motivation to leadership to compensation issues.

The editors argue that the key to solving the paradox of change lies not in choosing between the two processes, but in integrating them. They identify the crucial considerations leaders must make in selecting strategies that satisfy shareholders and develop lasting organizational capabilities. With a groundbreaking conceptual framework applicable to established corporations and small organizations alike, Breaking the Code of Change is a unique and authoritative contribution to academic research and management practice on the process of organizational change.

... Read more

Reviews (4)

Human factor and business
Human factor and business
Michael Beer and Nitin Nohria's have present a framework toward as an integrative theory of change. Theory E has as its purpose the creation of economic value, often expressed as shareholder value. Its focus is on formal strong hierarchy structure and systems. It is driven from the top down with extensive help from consultants and financial incentives. There's know room the creative managers. You must agreed to the objects (make and keep the shareholders happiest man in town no matter what) that the top commands and demands.

Theory O has as its purpose the development of the organization's human capability to implement strategy and to learn from actions taken about the effectiveness of changes made. Its focus is on the development of a high-commitment culture. Its means consist of high involvement, and consultants and incentives are relied on far less to drive change. Change is emergent, less planned and programmatic. Here there's know place for silos but teamwork and personal development.

Resolving the Tension between Theory E and O
It is vary tempting if you find a business model that can boots the business finance, there's a big chance that you will follow that lead. But this can turn out on the short run well for the business and especially for the shareholders. But on the long run this have a great deal of stress on the employers by taken the human factor out of the workspace, and make the workplace a money machine. The authors argue strategies that works only on behave of the shareholders will not survive in the long run. To solve this problem one must look further than the shareholders and deeper than the business objectives (theory O). There must be a cultural transformation. Everyone must work for the same goal and not draining the gaol for the sake of the CEO. To make the cultural transformation, there will be more benefits to the organization in the long run. Finally this will create a win-win situation for the organization employees and the shareholders.

Even in the change literature are changing. In breaking the code of change the authors have may very well suggest that the old change agents like Weick, Pettigrew, Bennis, Argyris have lost contact whit the reality, they don't have the vision, the energy.
They are not change agents but organization development that help curtain organization to function within the circumstances under the economic situation of that particular moment. At the end of the book Beer and Nohria conclude that these agents didn't succeed to break the code of change.

The interesting thing is when you look at the company's the authors consider that make the loop from good to great, you will be surprise if you think that the good to great company's are IBM, Microsoft, Enron, Shell, well not anymore if you're, if you're looking for the company's that embodied the leadership that make the loop from good to great. Don't look for the company's that appear on the front page, or the company's that make the news. But look around the corner. My advise study this book, search for the human factor, and make your notes and act according to your vision. You may be surprise how in the smallest things you can be the one that turns things around from good to great. Good study material for organization consultants, HRM and MBA's.

Finally--clear reasons about what works and what doesn't
When I read this book, I felt that I had been missing the obvious for a long time. The authors provide an explanation about why most of the changes in organizations don't work, whether they are Theory E or Theory O, and how you can combine the two for meaningful and effective results. Their work is based on lots of experience and for me they finally explained what the problem is--and what to do about it. As a change agent, this book gave me great new thinking with which to practice my craft.

A thoughtful, no hype, solid content book
I have just finished reading this book and have been rewarded, as a "change" practitioner, this book adds real value in bringing the streams of change together. It is rare when I read a book on the subject and find it rewarding, enhancing what I do at the coal face. No, quick fix recipes but a thoughtful, well constructed set of ideas that do justice to this complex subject. I would reccomend this book to those who want to get beyond "listmania" and into some real thinking of what is involved in the dynamics of change.

A Must, If You Do Not Wish To Get Lost Between HH.RR & OD
Mike Beer has been for some time now clarifying the issues involved in Corporate Cultures, Human Capital, and Organizational Change. In this recent book Dr. Beer has done what SHOULD have been done decades ago: Linking several fields by providing useful Framework. This book synthesizes fields "apparently" diverse such as: Organizational Design with People & Team Profiling with Organizational Profiling and Human Dynamics. It is a precise, concise, extremely effective, and much needed book. ... Read more

Book Description

Are current concepts of leadership appropriate for today's organizations? What will tomorrow's leadership need to be like? Is there a best approach to leadership?

With a huge range of definitions and theories of leadership available, the field has become confusing for both students and practitioners alike. This text provides a framework for making sense of the field. In Part One, Gayle C Avery integrates a fragmented field into four broad paradigms or forms of leadership, helping to simplify and clarify the ill-defined field of leadership. The second part provides 10 case studies from leading organizations across Europe, Australia and the United States to illustrate how diverse leadership can be in successful organizations. At the end of each case, specific questions guide the reader in interpreting and analyzing the cases, connecting them to the leadership frameworks and theories in Part One.

Written in simple language, Understanding Leadership can be used by readers with no prior knowledge of leadership. With its overview of major theories in the field and presentation of a simple and effective framework for analyzing these theories, the book will be essential reading for advanced undergraduate and MBA students.

Avery has devised a set of powerpoint slides to accompany the book and support lecturers. They are available to view under Sample Chapters and Resources.

Reviews (1)

An interesting read and great text book
I've just finished my first semester teaching leadership with this book.The book surpassed my wildest expectations.It is the best text book I've used for any class.My students even liked it!It has just enough detail and theoretic background, but more importantly it allows one to adopt a more subjective and personal approach to the topic.This is just what is needed for beginning to learn leadership and just where most textbooks on this topic fail.The paradigms approach used in the book really stuck with the students and allowed them to think much more deeply about all the other readings that I used for class.(I'd suggest the Harvard Business Review book that collects several of the best HBR articles on leadership as a great companion piece.) This book provided a rich framework that made for excellent class discussions.I didn't use the cases extensively this semester, but the very positive reactions to the three that I did use will encourage me to use more of them when I teach the class next year. ... Read more

Book Description

Behavior in Organizations, 8/e, by Shani and Lau, is a paperback text that takes a hands-on, experiential approach to organization behavior. The majority of the exercises, role-playing simulations, and cases were developed in and for management training workshops. The cases themselves represent different industries and organizations around the globe with diverse size, product, service, and cultures. Instructors appreciate the multiple interactive teaching methods for each teaching module. Experiential methods provide a powerful stimulus for learning, growth, and change by helping participants focus on their own behaviors and reactions as data. The text begins with structured, less personal exercises that are readily recognized as relevant to human effectiveness in organizational settings. Personal growth and self-understanding activities are introduced later in the text, after students have had enough experience to become more comfortable and ready for them. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Bridging the Gap between Economic and Political Theory
I read this book in the 1970's when I studied Political Science in Jerusalem. The Author bridges the gap between Economic and Political Theory. He shows from his real experiences that not always a monopoly is bad for the Public. A situation where you have too many choices is worse than having a few choices. As People who have experienced Multi-Party Systems like Weimar Republic in Germany and France in the Fifties, Many Parties does not mean Effective, (Good) Parties. USA and UK Manage very Well with few Political Parties. The Implications of this book are wide. How do you encourage people to use "Voice" to improve organisations instead of Exit or Loyalty (Where people stay quiet). A must to read to Understand the Social Dynamics. Another must is Isiah Berlin on the Paradox and clash between Freedom and Equality.

A fresh view at market liberalism
Albert Hirschman's Exit, Voice and Loyality is a book written by an economist but accessible to all - a rare achieve in any academic disipline, especially economics. The book was written in the early 70's but still has relevant today. Its greatest achievment is the illumination of 'exit' as the mentality of modern western capitalist societies - the idealisation of the consumers' right to 'vote with one's feet' - and its spread into all forms of social activity. Hirschman adds a historical dimension to this by arguing that the whole of the United States has largely been built on 'exit' mentality - from the mass migration out of Europe from the 17th century onwards to the calls to 'go west' across the plains. Exit is the strategy advocated today by neo liberals as being the manifestation of democracy in the market sphere. Hirschman's observations were made in the early 70's, yet their relevance as an internal critique of the free market is perhaps even more important today in the post-cold war era when the traditional critiques of the capitalism (such as Marxism in its Communism manifestation) have so clearly failed. As liberals try to grasp the future - while opponents of liberalism turn their attention from Marx to Nietzsche (such as John Gray), Hirschman's Exit Voice and Loyalty is an accessible, refreshing and insightful look at market liberalism from within, and is therefore throughly recommended. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

Another necessity of life.
Whether you are totally unorganized or not, you are bound to find this book useful. I consider myself to be fairly organized and I found many valuable nuggets of information here. This book is to the point, easy to follow and written for the reader. Want to optimize your work day? Get this book.

Great book on organizing yourself
I bought this book thinking it would be just another book on cleaning out your mess type of talk. I've been there and done that, but seeing some of the content first I realized there was more to it. I have gotten several tips from the book that will help me a lot. For example, having a file for a staff meeting to collect ideas of things to talk about for an agenda. The only problem is that the book is very centered around filing and paper, and not enough on the electronic systems. Everything mentioned with regards to paper files can be used on a computer as well, but I think this book needs yet another update to get into more details. Overall, I really liked this book, must be a compulsion for organization on my part!

A Classic Text, Superficially Updated
The cover claims that the book has been "revised and updated for the digital age," but Winston's information on technological tools is both superficial and already dated. The term, "PDA," does not even appear in the index.

A Job Saver
I was promoted at work and inherited a one-person office in which paperwork was simply scooped up and thrown in banker's boxes by the previous management. You can't imagine the chaos. I had few organizational skills of my own (having always just followed someone else's plan), and no assistant. I got this book about the time that I found out I was getting a government audit of these messed-up files in 6 weeks. I would not have a job if it wasn't for this book. It taught me, a first-time manager, how to assess what needed to be done, how to prioritize (I don't have to do all the stressful things first!), how to break down and schedule projects, and how to follow-up with the (non-administrative) employees I have. I got the office and files ready, despite being out one of the weeks with whiplash, and passed the audit with flying colors. This isn't just about what to name your files. My desk is clean, I know where all my files and important papers are, and my reports have been on time. If disorganization is wasting your time, buy this book.

Disappointing....
This book has no great insights, and spends to much time telling you what a disk drive is, rather than discussing a system to help you manage a flow of information and materials. It should have been a paragraph, rather than a book. Keep a to do list, figure out a filing system, delegate what you can, make a decision on what you cannot delegate, do not just pile it up. Thats about it, I expected more. ... Read more

Book Description

An international and multidisciplinary collection of works capturing the quintessence of the corporation and its inner and outer manifestations. Drawing on their wide experience the editors have assembled a portfolio of works from those who practice, as well as those who study and research the area. These will be of interest to anyone studying, analyzing and managing an organization's identity, image, reputation and corporate brand.
The book draws on articles from leading journals in the field and includes important recent articles as well as classics, written by recognised masters of the genre, which still inform current debate and practice.
Key feature include:
*insightful commentary from the editors on each section
*discussion and study questions
*links to other works in the genre
This book is invaluable to both students and managers who are concerned with comprehending the dimensions of corporate meaning. ... Read more

Book Description

Spiritual Capital presents a new vision of capitalist society that transcends the greed, materialism, and meaninglessness so rampant today. It offers an idea of wealth, profit, and capital that's about more than simply money. "Profit," under this system, would be not merely for private gain but would be used in part for public good. "Wealth" would be that which enriches the deeper aspects of our lives, gained by drawing upon our most fundamental purposes and highest motivations and finding a way to embed these in our work. "Capital" is amassed by serving - in corporate philosophy and practice - the pressing concerns of our world. The author's dream of getting a critical mass of people and organizations to act for what's right rather than for self-serving reasons. Ideally, spiritual capital would reflect a values-based business culture. Instead of emphasizing shareholder value, it would promote "stakeholder value," where stakeholders include the whole human race and the planet itself. ... Read more