Requiem or Revival or Learning to Change

Requiem or Revival?: The Promise of North American Integration

Author: Isabel Studer

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was launched amid great hopes and controversy in 1994. More than a dozen years later, progress toward economic integration has stalled. Mexico's economy remains far behind those of Canada and the United States, and such pressing issues as energy security remain unaddressed. In Requiem or Revival? scholars and policymakers from all three nations dissect NAFTA's failure to fulfill its early promise and evaluate the prospects for further integration.

The authors explore the interaction between regionalism and multilateralism, the impact of the "new trade" agenda, and NAFTA's unresolved problems--migration, security, and energy. Recognizing the limits of the NAFTA framework, they examine its relationship to the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas negotiations and the Doha Development Round, and they discuss various ways in which NAFTA could be revamped or improved. The result is an intriguing volume offering important insights on the future of economic integration in North America and beyond.

New interesting textbook: A Modern Herbal or Complete Idiots Guide to Cooking for Guys

Learning to Change

Author: Leon De Decaluw

"A good balance between theory and practice . . . it definitely fills a void in the [lack of] texts in the area and the change literature in general . . . a good fit for my graduate class on 'Managing Organizational Change.'"

—Anthony F. Buono, McCallum Graduate School of Business, Bentley College

"Like Gareth Morgan's Images of Organization, this book is a superb blend of theory and practicality. It demystifies chaos and paradox, and it encourages the understanding of organizational dynamics from multiple perspectives. It is refreshing to read a book that presents diverse theories and interventions so even-handedly."

—Andrea Markowitz, Ph.D., President, OB&D, Inc.

Learning to Change: A Guide for Organizational Change Agents provides a comprehensive overview of organizational change theories and practices developed by both U.S. and European change theorists. The authors compare and contrast five fundamentally different ways of thinking about change: yellow print thinking, blue print thinking, red print thinking, green print thinking and white print thinking. They also discuss in detail the steps change agents take, such as diagnosis, change strategy, the intervention plan, and interventions. In addition, they explore the attributes of a successful change agent and provide advice for career and professional development. The book includes case studies that describe multiple approaches to organizational change issues.

This book will appeal to both the practitioner and academic audiences. It can be used as a text in graduate courses inchange management and will also be a useful reference for consultants and managers.

Features:

• Discusses the abilities, attitudes, and styles of successful change agents
• Describes five fundamentally different ways of thinking about change
• Presents a state-of-the-art overview of change management insights, methods, and instruments
• Summarizes an extensive amount of organizational change literature
• Supplies readers with useful insights and courses of action that will allow them to design and implement change professionally

Learning to Change became a bestseller upon its initial publication in the Netherlands. The color-model on change is very popular among thousands of managers and change consultants and presents a new approach to change processes and a new language for change.

Table of Contents:

Preface Introduction Why Change is so Complicated On Loosely Coupled Systems On Managing and Being Managed On Chaos Thinking Sociopolitical Mechanisms Four Irrational Families of Theries Full Irrationalities Thinking About Change in Five different Colors Change Strategies and Approaches Five Meanings of the Word Change Five Ways of Thinking About Change in More Detail Ideals and Pitfalls New Colors and 'Super Páradigm'
Working With Colors: The Joseph and Johanna Case The Main Elements of Planning Change Elements of the Method The Preceding Change Idea and the Actual Outcome History: Driving Factors Behind the Change Idea Actors The Change Phases Communication and Sense Making Steering Playing With the Elements: A Case Illustration From Idea to Outcomes Diagnose Change Strategy Intervention Plan Brainstorming Interventions Case "Organization X"
Examples of Diagnostic Models The Eisenhower Principle, Curriculum Vitae, Time Sheets Profit Formula for Professional Organizaitons, Herring Bone Diagram, Task Dividion Scheme Balanced Scorecard, Portfolio Analysis, Activity-Based Costing Competition Structure, Environment Analysis, Experience Curves Core Qualities, I/R Professionals, Competencies Team Roles, Conditions for Team Success, Roles of the Staff Units Culture Types, Organization Configurations, The Organizational Iceberg Network Organization, Public Private Cooperation, Industrial Ecology Biographical Fit, Power Sources, Levels of Learning Optimal Conflict Level, Learning Curve, Process/Result Orientation The Clock, the Passage of Resistance, Two Change Forces Force-field Analysis, Mega-trends, National Cultures In Conclusion to This Chapter Examples ofIntervention