Understanding and Managing Public Organizations, 5th Edition

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

MANAGING ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT

If, as Chapter Six asserts, organizational effectiveness is the fundamental issue in organizational analysis, then the challenge of changing organizations is a strong candidate for second place. A sprawling literature addresses organizational change and innovation, with much of it focused on how to change organizations for the better. As earlier chapters point out, controversy simmers over whether public organizations and their employees resist change. The truth is that researchers and experts often note a paradoxical aspect of change in public organizations. Far from being isolated bastions of resistance to change, they change constantly. This pattern may sometimes impede substantial ...