Strategic Organizational Change: A Practitioner's Guide for Managers and Consultants

by Michael A. Beitler and Ph. D. Beitler, Michael A.

Strategic Organizational Change, Second Edition is written by a leading organizational change consultant. Until the first edition was released in January 2003, little practical guidance was available... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0972606408
• ISBN13: 9780972606400
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: Professional Publications Inc
• Length: 234 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A Recipe Book For Organizational Change

This is a great book for anyone trying to break into consulting or executive coaching. Dr. Beitler was an executive at a Fortune 500 banking company and has personally hired and fired consultants in his own career. He knows what gets people into the corporate world and how to present yourself as someone who can be the aspirin to their corporate headache. Everyone says they support change and innovation, but what most people really want is for things to stay the same - just get a whole lot better. This book is great at recommending the right tool for the job. It helps you select the "right" method for assessing the problem and then offers several strategies to tackle the the particular organizational issues that you are currently facing. Dr. Beitler does a great job of introducing the core competencies necessary for effective change and professional development. He uses simple language that makes complex theories musch easier to understand. I have turned to this book many times to get a better perspective on "process consulting." His discussion of resistance to change using Kurt Lwein's "Forcefield Anaylsis" is a great way to help clients understand that forcing change usually just results in even greater resistance -- not increased acceptance of cahnge. Beitler does a wonderful job in breaking his book down into the three core areas associated with organizational dvelopment and shows the value each one adds and where and how they can be best utilized. First he talks about 1.) The Practice of Organizational Change, 2.) Organizational Change Interventions - The Tools of the Profession, and 3.) Other Issues in Organizational Change - How to evaluate the success of the interventiona and the effect that globalization is having on the profession. I have used his book as a way to help my own clients learn that positive change is a destination that can be arrived at from many roads. Chnage is always a process - never an event. Beitler does an excellent job of drwaing the road map showing all the avenues that can be used to arrive at lasting change which adds value to the organization and enhances your own professional reputation. He is definitely not someone who spends too much time talking about holding hands, singing songs, or climbing ropes --he is a former bank executive who brings that corporate experience perspective to those looking to break into consulting field or add to their own professional development toolbox. Some reviewers have cited that he only introduces topics and gives a brief overview - I think that is true. But for me, that is excatly what I want and need. Once I find a topic that I think would benefit my client I can get more information on my own. His book is not an encyclopedia of methods - rather it provides a solid grounding in the theory and background of organizational change and the most frequently used change methods and models. I would recommend this book to anyone thinking about becoming an executive coach

Strategy + Execution + Learning in Alignment = Business Success

This is one of two of Michael Beitler's books I recently read, the other being Strategic Organizational Learning. In the most successful organizations, both learning and change must always be "strategic" to ensure that they support initiatives which achieve and sustain continuous improvement in all areas and at all levels. In fact, as Michael Marquardt among others correctly insist, learning and change must not only be interdependent; they must occur simultaneously. That is essentially what "action learning" is all about and is most valuable only when in proper alignment with an organization's strategy. As Beitler clearly indicates in his earlier book, learning without then taking appropriate action demonstrates what Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert Sutton characterize as the "Knowing-Doing Gap"; similarly, action without learning demonstrates what they characterize as the "Doing-Knowing Gap." In this volume, Beitler explains how to avoid or escape from such gaps while making certain that "all the horses are pulling in the same direction" because "all the organizational members are aware of the organization's mission and its strategy to fulfill that mission." He offers a strategy-driven approach to the real-world practice of organizational change (OC) and has carefully organized his material within three parts: The Practice of Organizational Change (Chapters1-6), OC Interventions - Tools of the Profession (Chapters 7-12), and Other Issues in OC (Chapters13 and 14). Whenever I encounter a discussion of change initiatives, I am again reminded of what Peter Drucker said in an article which appeared in the Harvard Business Review in 1963: "There is surely nothing quite so useless as doing with great efficiency what should not be done at all." One of Beitler's most important points is that before formulating and then implementing an OC program, it is first necessary to decide (a) what needs to be changed, (b) why the changes are needed, and (c) which specific benefits such changes will produce. Otherwise, worth repeating, "There is surely nothing quite so useless as doing with great efficiency what should not be done at all." It is worth noting that a high percentage of change initiatives fail. Reasons vary, of course, but one of the most common is what James O'Toole characterizes as "the ideology of comfort and the tyranny of custom." Some of Beitler's most valuable material is provided in Chapter 4, "Leading Versus Facilitating Change," as he examines a step-by-step process when leading change initiatives in the face of barriers such as those to which O'Toole refers. Even an organizational change program such as the one Beitler provides in this volume, however, is doomed to failure unless and until everyone involved in the program knows how to overcome such barriers...and they must do so together, as an effective team, led by someone who possesses the requisite temperament and knowledge as well as skills which include what Beitler refers to as "poli

Best book on organizational change available

This is necessity for any personal library! I am a PhD-ABD (doctoral candidate) and have done vast research on organizational change over the past four years. Dr. Beitler's writing covers the topic expansively and thoroughly. His books are not filled with the usual dry-academic and mundane language found in similar books, but is amazingly very interesting, filled with sound theory and application--yet, backed with supporting academic literature tucked away for verification and further reference. His writing style is very comfortable, easy to process, yet academically thorough and sound. If you want to know more about how organizations work, how to motivate people or how to be a more effective leader, this book is for you! I use it regularly as a reference as an instructor in my own college classes I teach. Likewise, I have also found it quite helpful in my own research work as a doctoral scholar. I highly recommend picking up a copy of Dr. Beitler's work. It will be one of the best investments you can make in a book. You can find samples of his work at his website [...].

A Favorite of My MBA Students

This book has been such a valuable resource to my executive students that several commented that they plan to keep it as a working resource in their offices. In addition, Beitler's writing style is real and natural, not stuffy or overly academic. I reviewed several books on organizational change for my MBA class and felt that Beitler's "Strategic Organizational Change" was my pesonal favorite.

This Book is a Keeper

I recently heard Dr. Beitler deliver a keynote address to a group of consultants, and then heard him speak about his ideas on a television interview. His strategy-driven approach to organizational change is the most systematic approach I have seen anywhere.In Chapter 1, in an easy-to-read style, Beitler discusses the relationship between org mission/strategy and org change initiatives. Basically, he states that change efforts should not be attempted unless they clearly contribute to the implementation of the strategic plan. Jim Collins agrees with this in his work.In Chapter 3, on Process Consulting, Beitler emphasizes the importance on having a process facilitator to guide/coach the management team. From my experience, I agree completely. Major changes in organizations need an emotionally detached, "objective," change process expert (a process facilitator).Chapter 5, on Data Gathering, provides a great easy-to-follow reference guide. Chapter 6 is on diagnosis. Chapters 7-10 offer step-by-step checklists for interventions to use in your organization. Very valuable!I was surprised by Chapter 13 on Evaluation. Is it possible to make a chapter on evaluating change interesting? Yes, this chapter is very insightful.As the subtitle indicates, this is a book for managers and consultants. If you read only one book on organizational change, be sure it is this one. It's a keeper!Jeffrey Windham