Organization Change: Theory and Practice

The Fourth Edition of this bestselling text continues to make clear how effective organization change is grounded in sound knowledge about human behavior in the workplace. Author W. Warner Burke reviews various models and cases to demonstrate how to diagnose change issues in organizations. Greater emphasis is placed on planned, revolutionary change over the gradual, evolutionary change typically experienced by organizations. The book combines and integrates theory and research with application for insight into all aspects of organization change. Features include: Utilizes unique theory bases for understanding organizations and change: Additional theory bases such as Capra's ideas about the life sciences, chaos theory, and Gladwell's The Tipping Point are discussed. Examines both evolutionary and revolutionary organization change: Organization change is discussed at different organizational levels and with clarification of resistances to change making it easy for the reader to comprehend. Discusses the nature of change: The book begins by addressing how organization change is initiated by changing behavior and not by changing mental sets or attributes, which gradually change over time as key behaviors are enacted, measured, and rewarded. Illustrates the usefulness of models: Additional models such as one developed by Burke and Litwin have been included to help assess what needs to be changed and what priorities are over time. Offers extensive coverage of leadership via two chapters devoted to the topic: Leading Organizational Change and Transformational Leadership. Chapter devoted to culture change