Organizational Change in the Human Services

Citation

Holyoak, L. (2003), "Organizational Change in the Human Services", Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 24 No. 2, pp. 114-114. https://doi.org/10.1108/lodj.2003.24.2.114.7

Organizational Change in the Human Services is one volume in the Sage Sourcebooks for the Human Services series; if it is typical of the quality, what a good series this must be. In 14 chapters it provides a good coverage of theory and a wealth of cases, examples and exercises from which to learn.

After an introduction setting the scene with respect to the particular situations in human service organizations, the book falls into three main parts. The first part consists of six chapters examining different aspects of change, for example, why change is necessary and the different types of change that may be encountered. The chapters generally provide clear coverage of the issues and would provide a reasonable grounding in the theory of organizational change for newcomers. The middle section first introduces a range of models of organizational change, and then describes in detail Proehl’s own eight‐step model based on her experiences in this field as well as the work of other authors. It is clear from the writing here that the topic is dear to the author’s heart and that some of the issues raised are the result of (bitter) experience. The last three chapters deal with aspects of change that (according to the author) can cause frustration, but which need not be problems if anticipated and understood: unionized workplaces (it should be borne in mind that the book is written entirely from the perspective of the situation in the USA), politics and building collaborative relationships.

Organizational Change in the Human Services is a well‐written book on the whole. I have only a few quibbles: one is with the occasional needless repetition of information from the main text in tables; another is the failure to go back to original sources for Lewin’s work; and the final one is the confusion over the source of material in Table 13.1 (compared with what is in the text). On the good side, there are numerous exercises to help a reader contemplating change in their own organization. These range from those designed to clarify their own thoughts on the matter, to those which can be used with a team at the start of the change process. In the middle section of the book there is also an ongoing case study which checks understanding of issues arising from each step of the change process. Also, the balance of theory to application is good as is the fact that the application is to the type of organizations that are often ignored in texts on this topic. The strengths of this book far outweigh its weaknesses, and it is a welcome addition to the literature on organizational change.