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This book develops a critical view of the current main theories in change management, showing that most offer partial explanations for change: the planning approach, for instance, considers it as a linear process, while the contingent approach, another renowned view, is essentially focused on contextual pressures. It proposes an original combination of these various theoretical approaches via a comprehensive model, referred to as the five forces model, and suggests using actor-network theory, a French sociological perspective, to guide the change management process. Thanks to numerous case studies, the book provides the reader with a rich and concrete understanding of the main phenomena linked to any change process. This approach leads to a multidimensional grid for assessing change processes and pleads for the adoption of a "polyphonic" management style, in which considering the interests of the various stakeholders concerned directly contributes to the design of change projects.
This special issue of the European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology is about power dynamics and organizational change. In this issue theoretical models, research findings and practical experiences are presented to examine power processes, decision making, influence tactics, resistance to change, management of change, and effects of change processes in organizations. The issue starts by discussing different perspectives on power and organizational change. Eight contributions from six countries address a variety of issues.
The global business environment is highly uncertain, fractured by unforeseen events and making decisions that deal with a largely unknown future - organizations must improve their ability to respond. This volume of articles presents a new set of studies that attempt to better understand and address this very need.
Helena Flam Universitat Konstanz B. D. R. Volker Schneider Max Planck Institute for Social Research Kaln, B. D. R. I. A traditional sociologist or political scientist may find the choise of videotex as the object of this cross-national comparison surprising. Indeed, contemporary Sociology and Political Science have shied away from the studies of technology. Consequently, until recently they have not contributed much to the understanding of technological change, leaving this field of study to geographers and historians. The very best among such studies reveal, however, that the evolution of technology is a social construction and that the development and deployment of technical systems are in...
This volume focuses on new ways of working, and explores implications of these new practices with a particular emphasis on the place occupied by technology, materiality and bodies within contemporary working configurations. It draws together an international range of scholars to examine diverse subjects such as: the gig economy, social media as a work space, the role of materiality in living labs, managerial techniques and organizational legitimacy. Drawing on global perspectives, from France to Nigeria, this book presents a fascinating examination of the many new ways people are working, and relating to their work. Part of the esteemed Technology, Work and Globalization series, this book is valuable reading for scholars working on organizational studies, ethnography, technology management, and management more generally.
This book compiles empirical evidence on both the challenges raised by neo-liberal policies and the internet to trade unions, and the development of more flexible forms of worker organisation and collective representation. The relationship with digital devices seems inevitably to contribute to differentiating trends, simultaneously acting as an internal and external constraint on organisation. Gathering academics and experts from European and Brazilian universities, this book is recommended for researchers and students in the fields of sociology of work, labour studies and collective action, as well as practitioners and others interested in worker interest organisations and collective representation in the early 21st Century.
This book looks at the history of work and the meanings that are attached to it over time. Taking as its basis a number of international surveys and interviews conducted in Europe, the authors consider the significance of work for Europeans today. Over the years the meaning of work has changed. It has become more highly diversified, and it is today invested with high expectations that conflict with organisational developments and the changing nature of the labour market. The authors use a generational perspective to explore whether it is possible to reconcile the contemporary “ethos” of work, especially with regards to women and young people, with organisations that are increasingly under pressure to be profitable and productive. Reinventing Work in Europe will be of interest to scholars and students in the areas of sociology of work, employment and organizations, labour studies, digital economy, and political economy.
Skilfully analysing the challenges posed by management practices to the human condition, Jean-François Chanlat examines the sociological evolution of modern management. This book acts as a crucial pedagogical guide to the history and essence of managerial operations.
Over the past two decades the use of flexible employment relations has increased in most developed countries. The growth of temporary agency work constitutes a significant component of this development. Organizations are now facing the challenges of managing a ‘blended workforce’, i.e. a workforce consisting of both direct hires and contractors. At a time when Europe, as well as the rest of the world, is facing enhanced global competition and a severe labor market crisis, an understanding of temporary employment practices becomes all the more acute. With the evolution of the use of agency work in the Western world over the past decade, the chapters in this volume show how a focus on the ...