Book Reviews

Organizational Transitions:
Managing Complex Change

By Richard Beckhard and Reuben Harris

Reviewed by Steve Buchwald, CIRM

The book is a short primer (only 117 pages) on change but it is not a condensed or boiled down book. It is easy reading and very broad in scope dealing with both the change process and the "change-stability." As the authors state in the preface "...we're paying attention to issues such as organizational culture." This approach leads the authors to discuss topics such as: What are the ways work is done?; What is the leadership style?; What are the reward systems?; and What are the attitudes toward people?

Organizational Transitions is a book that consists of five parts. The first part is found in the first four chapters where the authors discuss: managing change, the demand system and the environment, organizational dynamics (social, political, and input-output), and the need to change. The second part is found in chapter five where defining the future state is presented. Chapter six makes up part three which is assessing the present condition. Chapter seven talks about that all important transition, getting from here to there. The last part, part five, chapters eight through ten, presents, case studies, commitment planning and strategies for getting commitment, a summary, and a short prologue.

Change is scary. Remember the saying, the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. To eliminate fear we need to understand what our business is all about. As Sun Tzu wrote in the year 500 B.C., "If you know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles." If you are trying to understand what your business is all about and how contemplated changes may affect and be affected by the current organization and organizational transitions you will certainly want to get a copy of this book.

This book is available from APICS. Good reading!