Book reviews I I9

As someone who used and enjoyed the first edition of this book, I am delighted to see and review the publication of the second edition. I hope it continues to do well and would recommend its acquisition by anyone wanting to construct an integrated and contemporary programme in corporate strategy.

Graham Beaver MBA Programme Director,

Nottingham Business School, UK

How to Manage Organisational Change. D. E. Hussey, Kogan Page, 1995. ISBN 0-74941725-0. 94 pp. S6.99, paperback.

This is another in the Better Management Skills series that Kogan Page have published and it fits in very well under that banner. It is about better management skills in the crucial area of change. The approach is clear and practical with a comprehensive checklist on managing change. David Hussey looks at causes of change in organizations and makes a clear distinction between incremental and fundamental change and the different strategies that can be adopted to deal with them. One excellent feature of this book is the short case studies that he examines - the Child Support Agency and BP for example and how they managed (or did not) manage the changes that they underwent. I especially liked the help from Jane Austen!

Further chapters look at resistance to change and the psychological contract. The point is made that people are adaptable and that change can be welcomed because of the excitement it brings. However, its impact on people must be understood and any perceived threats to them dealt with in order to introduce change most effectively. There is a clear framework for understanding the integrated organization developed by the author which managers will find very useful in this process of clarifying change.

Most of the book is taken up with applying a series of steps to lead and manage fundamental change-the EASIER way to lead change. Practical ways of using these steps including envisioning, activating and supporting are given as well as a section on failure of implementation which will ring true to many. There is also a special chapter on the management elements of the EASIER approach and the book concludes with a series of checklists and questions on choosing the path to change. As indicated, this is an excellent guide to managing change which summarizes a number of complex issues very well and in a practical helpful way.

Ralph Lewis

Strategic Change, April 1996 CCC 1086-171 8 /96/020117-03 0 1996 by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.