Why Organizational Change Fails: Robustness,

Change in organizations can arise spontaneously, or it can begin in response to a planned process of change. Even planned change is not as predictable as one might like it to be; it is often partial or incomplete, or the results of change may not be what one hoped. The aspects of an organization that resist change can be vital to an organization's success, helping to keep it firm, stable, and robust.Written from a social constructivist perspective, Why Organizational Change Fails outlines the ways in which people build robustness with behavioural patterns. The authors make distinctions between two aspects of stability in organizations: robustness, the ability of an organization to remain stable under changing conditions; and tenacity, the reaction of a robust system to planned change. Each chapter of the book is preceded by an essay written by a leading scientist designed to help provide real-world context for the process of change and offering insights for the reader on either side of the change equation.

List of Figures	p. vii
List of Tables	p. ix
Preface to the English Edition	p. xi
Preface	p. xiii
Robustness	p. 1
Robustness	p. 3
Routines: The Social Aspect of Robustness	p. 19
Introduction by Prof. Christien Brinkgreve: On the Tenacity of Sexual Differences	p. 20
The Learned Organization: The Cognitive Aspect of Robustness	p. 33
Introduction by Prof. Theo Mulder: Changeable Unchangeability: On Human Motor Control in a Constantly Changing Environment	p. 34
Power: The Political Aspect of Robustness	p. 47
Introduction by Prof. Jan van Hooff: Power and Stability in the Social Organization of Animals	p. 48
Pathological Forms of Robustness	p. 65
Introduction by Dr. Piet Boonekamp: A Chance Meeting Between Phytophthora and the Potato?	p. 66
Tenacity	p. 81
The Tenacity of Organizations	p. 83
Springing Back	p. 89
Introduction by Prof. Louise Vet: Change for the Sake of Not Having to Change: A Metaphor from the Field of Ecology	p. 90
Smothering Change	p. 99
Introduction by Prof. Hans Bennis: On the (Un)Changeability of Language	p. 100
Calculating	p. 113
Introduction by Saskia van Dockum: Inertia and Change: Lessons from Archaeology	p. 114
Perspectives	p. 127
The Blind Spot	p. 129
Introduction by René Gude: Changes with Lasting Consequences: The Philosophy of Unchangeability	p. 130
Lessons for Change	p. 141
Introduction by Frank Bijdendijk: The Yin and Yang of Our Built Environment	p. 142
Conclusion	p. 157
Social Constructivism	p. 161
Overview	p. 169
About the Authors	p. 171
About the Contributing Authors	p. 173
References	p. 177
Index	p. 181
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Why Organizational Change Fails: Robustness, Tenacity, and Change in Organizations

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