Breaking the Code of Change

From Library Journal
Throughout corporate America, organizational change has become one of the most embraced, yet perhaps the least understood, of all the hot-button issues. Editors Beer and Nohria (Harvard Business Sch.) present a keenly written summary of the findings from their August 1998 conference on change, which featured a diverse group of academics, consultants, and CEOs who have researched, enabled, or led successful corporate-change transformations. The book is organized around debates attended by the conference's "change masters," and the editors present what they perceive as the two main organizational change models in practice today: Theory E (creation of economic value) and Theory O (development of organizational capability). Chapters reveal opposing debates on the purpose of change, leading the change process, and the focus of change, among other topics. A synthesis by a conference moderator follows each debate and is in turn followed by a conference critique and an epilog by the authors indicating what you already could guess: they have not yet broken the "code of change" but have helped better understand organizational change and identify key strategic considerations. Highly recommended for university libraries supporting business curricula.DDale Farris, Groves, TX Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
In the summer of 1998, Harvard Business School hosted a research conference to review developments, best practices, and research in the field of change management. Among the participants were 50 leading scholars from diverse academic disciplines and management practitioners that included CEOs and consultants. Those in attendance put forward conflicting models of change. Several case studies of major but very different change efforts were presented, and attendees could not even always agree whether these attempts at change had been successful. Here, the editors, both Harvard business professors, organize the papers presented at the conference using a point-counterpoint format that reflects the debates that took place. They first distill two underlying theories of change: Theory E (economic value-driven change) and Theory O (organizational capability-driven change). They follow with seven sections consisting of two papers by opposing debaters and a chapter by a moderator that attempts to synthesize ideas presented. Such contributing luminaries as Peter Senge, Warren Bennis, Chris Argyris, Sumantra Ghoshal, and Christopher Bartlett offer their views. David Rouse
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Book Description
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.Michael Beer is the Cahners-Rabb Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. Nitin Nohria is the Richard P. Chapman Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School.


Book Info
Provides a crucial starting point on the road to understanding organizational change and managing change effectively. Presents a series of articles by experts collectively addressing these issues. The text is based around two views: one based on the creation of economic change, and one based on building long-term organizational capabilities. DLC: Organizational change--Congresses.


About the Author
Michael Beer is the Cahners-Rabb Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. Nitin Nohria is the Richard P. Chapman Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School.


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Papers from a summer 1998 conference held at the Harvard Business School give insight on organizational change and change management. Material is organized around two opposing theories of change, one based on the creation of economic value, and the other on building organizational capabilities for the long term. Structured in an engaging point-counterpoint style, material overviews the strengths and weaknesses of each theory along with every dimension of the change process, from motivation to leadership to compensation issues. The editors teach business administration at Harvard Business School. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)


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