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Title: Beyond Reductionism: Gateways for Learning and Change
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Manufacturer: CRC
List Price: $74.95
Our Price: $25.95
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| Beyond Reductionism: Gateways for Learning and Change by CRC A breakthrough book for managers seeking true change. | | If Pogo and his friends had not been in the friendly confines of the Okeefenokee, but, instead, had been mired in the swamp of a typical modern workplace, the vision transmitted to them as chiseled on a mountaintop would have read: "We have met the enemy, and it is Reductionism!" Authors Neil Douglas and Terry Wykowski, two true students of the real-world organizational mores and imperatives that bubble underneath today's seemingly ever-changing management processes, have successfully identified and dissected the major stumbling blocks to positive change, a phenomenon they aptly title "Reductionism." They use this word to describe the modern penchant of too many who have been intrusted with the obligations of management of complex organizations (and the humans who comprise the organizations) to reduce every process and interaction (and, ultimately, every "job") to a simplistic, jargon-filled state. This book serves as both a breakthrough text and as a teaching aide to those who would seek to have their organizations function in truly efficient, functional and successful ways. The authors identify and describe in detail (and with true to life examples) the constraints on organizational change, and place the onus on the manager (at whatever level) to learn to recognize both objective and subjective factors and imperatives that comprise the status-quo of any organization. The authors give practical advice on the tools of actual management of organizations, the primary one being "delegation." Refreshingly, in dealing with this tool, the authors don't offer it as a trite panacea, but, instead, stress the absolute need for actual delegation with purpose and the need for accountability on the part of those to whom there is delegation. Douglas and Wykowski give many good working examples of how both individual "managers" and the "organizations" themselves can subvert ill-conceived and ill-managed attempts at organizational change. Like the subject and point of the book, the authors fill the pages of the book with facts, examples and discussion. There are no cartoons or other fluff that overly simplify or detract from the thesis and the message. This is not another "management according to Sesame Street" book. However, as it is a serious, thoughtful and thought-provoking book, it would serve well as the basis for organizational study, particularly in groups. The examples utilized are wide-ranging, and relate to many types of, and levels within, organizations. This book is a "must-read and must-study" for a down-sized, right-sized, out-sourced, Kaizan'd, process engineered, empowered, quality-council'd, low-hanging-fruit, change-focused world. | | Beyond Reductionism: Gateways for Learning and Change by CRC Product Description | | Beyond Reductionism: Gateways for Learning and Change takes a critical look at organizational learning and change management from a leadership perspective in late 20th century organizations. The authors argue that the dynamics that restrain the efforts of leaders transcend personal attributes and leadership styles. They are rooted in the nature of work and institutions and the histories and cultures of the organizations themselves. Often seen as the central constraint - and the core limiting factor in organizational effectiveness and learning - reductionism is defined as over-simplification and a failure to comprehend the nature of life in organizations by concentrating too fully on discrete and disconnected aspects of reality. The other constraints of hierarchy and institutional knowledge are activated and driven by reductionism. After reading Beyond Reductionism: Gateways for Learning and Change leaders at all organizational levels will understand why low levels of organizational learning persists and change efforts fail. They will also be equipped to recognize and reject overly simplistic and superficial interventions, helping them to create non-reductionist strategies for creating and sustaining change. Actual project designs, experiences, techniques and results are described in the book within an overall framework that emphasizes the roles and interconnectedness of individuals, leaders, and groups, all operating within the overlay of culture. |
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