Performance-Driven Organizational Change: The Organizational Portfolio

Front Cover
SAGE Publications, Oct 27, 1998 - Business & Economics - 248 pages

In Performance-Driven Organizational Change, Lex Donaldson, one of the leading scholars in the field of organizational theory, introduces a thought-provoking theory of performance-driven organizational change. He argues that recurrent crises of poor organizational performance are required to trigger adaptive organizational change in many aspects of the organization. Moreover, the adaptive change induced by each crisis creates the capacity for fresh organizational growth. Hence, through a series of adaptations and resulting growth spurts, the organization grows larger and more effective. He notes that while there has been much research into optimal management and human resource practices resulting in prescriptive advice, that without performance crises there is a good chance that needed organizational change will not be forthcoming.

This book is highly recommended for advanced students, researchers, and scholars in the areas of organization theory, organizational change, strategy, human resource management, and economics.

 

Contents

Chapter 1 Organizational Portfolio Theory
1
Chapter 2 PerformanceDriven Organizational Change
33
Chapter 3 The Business Cycle and Organizational Change
61
Chapter 4 Competition and Organizational Change
81
Chapter 5 Adaptation Confounds
103
Chapter 6 The Corporation and Risk
113
Chapter 7 Risk and Corporate Governance
137
Chapter 8 Divisional Performance and Change
153
Chapter 9 Divisional Risk
165
Chapter 10 Conclusions
193
References
215
Index
225
About the Author
231
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

About the author (1998)

Lex Donaldson is Professor of Organizational Design at the Australian Graduate School of Management, University of New South Wales. His publications include American Anti-Management Theories of Organization: A Critique of Paradigm Proliferation (1995) and In Defence of Organization Theory: A Reply to the Critics (1985).

Bibliographic information