Built to change - Rambling Readers

English language

Published Jan. 29, 2006 by John Wiley & Sons.

ISBN:: 978-0-7879-8061-0

(1 review)

In this groundbreaking book, organizational effectiveness experts Edward Lawler and Christopher Worley show how organizations can be "built to change" so they can last and succeed in today's global economy. Instead of striving to create a highly reliable Swiss watch that consistently produces the same behavior, they argue organizations need to be designed in ways that stimulate and facilitate change. Built to Change focuses on identifying practices and designs that organizations can adopt so that they are able to change. As Lawler and Worley point out, organizations that foster continuous change Are closely connected to their environments Reward experimentation Learn about new practices and technologies Commit to continuously improving performance Seek temporary competitive advantages

3 editions

Bob Marshall (FlowChainSensei) reviewed Built to change by Edward E. Lawler

Review of 'Built to change' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

Why didn't I read this when it first came out? Its subject matter is, after all, very relevant to my work of e.g. Rightshifting. I didn't read it then because I didn't notice its publication. And that's most likely because it made almost no splash.

I attribute this to its turgid prose, platitudes, and flawed analysis. I'd have given it only one star but for the general premise, which I can support. Namely, that organisations in the present business climate might do well to organise themselves for "positive opportunism". Cf. Dee Hock and the Chaordic organisation.

Disappointing.

Subjects

Organizational change
Organizational effectiveness