Readers' Corner - Change Management

Julie Gilbert and Edward Popoff
Service Canada / HRSDC Library
Source: Workplace Bulletin, May 29, 2007

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Change Management

Hayes, John
The Theory and Practice of Change Management
New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007, 2nd edition
HD58.8 H39 2007

This book uses the most recent research on organizational change and development to illustrate essential theories in the field and their relation to the actual work. The author shows how numerous ideas may be used to meet the challenge of organizational change, whether internal or external. Case studies and mini-exercises demonstrate important points, enabling the understanding of theory to be connected with the reader's change experience. It also demonstrates how the application of theory can give rise to many ways of managing organizational change.

Kelman, Steven
Unleashing Change: a Study of Organizational Renewal in Government
Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press, c2005
JF1525 O73 K44

Using insights from his work on the United States’ federal procurement reform, the author offers ideas on public management change to create renewal in government and achieve a reduction in bureaucracy. He analyzes surveys of procurement employees' attitudes and behaviour to promote a climate of system reform by decreasing the role of rules, hierarchy and system design. This book demonstrates how to make organizational change possible in large government organizations. Change forces are present in government organizations and management must be prepared to forge ahead, take advantage of these positive forces and just "do it".

Managing Change in the Public Services
Edited by Mike Wallace, Michael Fertig and Eugene Schneller
Malden, Mass.: Blackwell Publishing Inc., 2007
JF1525 O73 M36

Managing the ever increasing complexity of change is essential to improve public service effectiveness. Improvement to the manageability of public service change requires an understanding of the complexity of change and various coping strategies. The 14 international contributors in Part I explore the complexity of change, in Part II, the complexity of policy making for public service reform, and in Part III, the complexity of facilitating public service improvement. Examples of change complexity and possible solutions are taken from the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States.

Osborne, Stephen P. and Kerry Brown
Managing Change and Innovation in Public Service Organizations
New York: Routledge, 2005
JF1525 O73 O82

Using figures, tables, boxes, and case studies, this book provides ideas and concepts for the public manager to face the core task of implementing innovation and change in government service. Each of the 11 chapters include a learning goal, listed key points, key terms and key questions, a bibliography and a reading list for further information. Although the examples are British, the sources are international and cogent. This book gives clear and concise expression to the theory and practice of public sector change and innovation management.

Prabhaker, Rajiv
Rethinking Public Services
New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006
JF1525 P6 P72

The author analyzes various public service models, suggesting ways a civil service could cope with service dissatisfaction and continual cost increases. He suggests organizing public services as a participative model where service clients assume an increasing active role in the services they use. Citizens would have both the obligations of voice and choice in a pluralistic system of public
services.