|
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 (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.
| 
