Managing Change in Extreme Contexts

Big mistakes, misconduct, serious accidents and other disasters are normally followed by investigations which explore what went wrong. These produce recommendations to limit the damage from a future event, or to prevent it altogether. In many cases, this doesn’t happen, and ‘repeat crises’ occur. Why should this be the case? Surely, in the aftermath of extreme events, readiness for change will be high?

This book shows how the conventional ‘rules’ of change management do not always apply in extreme contexts. It explores other perspectives and approaches, as well as the challenges of implementing change in the aftermath of extreme events. Disastrous and tragic, such events are also useful in providing an audit of organizations’ systems, procedures, practices, cultures, norms, and behaviours, exposing gaps and flaws. The chapters in this book also establish guidelines for practice, noting that conditions at the implementation phase have implications for crisis management and the conduct of investigations.

In providing a comprehensive analysis of organizational change and crisis management, the book develops a fresh conceptualization of change and change processes in extreme contexts. The result is a resource that will be vital reading for advanced students, researchers and managers involved with organizational studies and crisis management.

David Denyer is Professor of Organizational Change at Cranfield University, UK

Colin Pilbeam is Senior Research Fellow in Organization Studies at Cranfield University, UK