"As Demers notes, organizational change is becoming a major field of research inquiry, encompassing an increasing diversity of theories. The three parts of the book place this topic in historical context, and reflect three key debates within the field: adaptation versus selection; transformation versus evolution; and natural evolution versus social dynamics."

-CHOICE

While there are thousands of books on change management that adopt a normative perspective and numerous conceptual works that present one author's perspective, this unique book offers a synthesis of major organizational change theories. Author Christiane Demers gives a unique guided tour of the field of organizational change providing readers with a historically framed, comprehensive synthesis of organizational change theories. Organizational Change Theories: A Synthesis exposes readers to the variety and richness of North American and European scholarly literature.

Key Features:

• Presents a historical framework: This historical perspective provides a comprehensive synthesis that situates different theoretical approaches and highlights their links over time.
• Covers literature from World War II to present day: A comparative summary of each period's important theories identifies the major dimensions, key concepts, and questions that characterize the different perspectives.
• Offers a balanced evaluation of each theoretical approach: By comparing each perspective in terms of major contributions and limits, students can develop their critical thinking skills.
• Provides a wide-range review of current literature: While the focus is historical, the book includes recent theoretical perspectives to offer an up-to-date review of emerging research and trends shaping the evolution of the field.
• Includes extensive references: A fantastic bibliographic resource for scholars and students to further investigate issues of change in organizations.

Intended Audience

This text is designed for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses such as Organizational Development, Organizational Theory, and Organizational Change in the departments of business & management, political science, and public administration. It is also an ideal resource for academics, researchers, and scholars interested in organizational change.

About the Author
Christiane Demers is a Professor in the Department of Management at HEC Montreal, where she has been teaching courses on organizational change theories, strategic change management and strategy for more than 15 years. She holds a Ph.D. in administration from HEC Montreal and received her M.Sc. in communication from University of Montreal. Her research focuses on organizational transformation, with particular emphasis on its links with strategic dynamics and communication processes. Another topic of interest is the evolution of the field of organizational change. She has published, both individually and collaboratively, a number of books and journal articles on these subjects, mostly in French, and has presented her work at conferences such as the Academy of Management and the Strategic Management Society.

Reviews
"Demers gives a unique guided tour of the field of organisational change providing readers with a historically framed, comprehensive synthesis of organisational change thoeries." -- Times of India * Times of India *
"Recommended. Upper-division undergraduate through faculty collections." -- M.L. Nathan * Choice *
"An outstanding review and synthesis of The Theoretical and empirical literature." -- Thomas M. Young, Ph.D.



Book Information
ISBN 9780761929321
Author Christiane Demers
Format Paperback
Page Count 296
Imprint SAGE Publications Inc
Publisher SAGE Publications Inc
Weight(grams) 440g