The Path of Least Resistance for Managers: Designing Organizations to Succeed

Fritz, Robert

ISBN 10: 1576750655 / ISBN 13: 9781576750650

Published by Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 1999

About this Item

Book is in very good condition and may include minimal underlining highlighting. The book can also include "From the library of" labels. May not contain miscellaneous items toys, dvds, etc. . We offer 100% money back guarantee and 24 7 customer service.

Seller Inventory # ZBV.1576750655.VG

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Path of Least Resistance for Managers: Designing Organizations to Succeed
• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
• Publication Date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1576750655
• ISBN 13: 9781576750650
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: very_good

About this title

Synopsis

Science tells us that energy travels where it is easiest to go, and business consultant Robert Fritz borrows from this concept to provide a concrete methodology that managers can put to use immediately to develop their own paths of least resistance toward success.

Fritz incorporates four crucial activities -- new methods are studied, spread, and adopted; being smart is rewarded; cooperation rather than competition is practiced; and fairness is the standard operating principle -- into a comprehensive guide to the structural laws that govern all organizations. He prescribes a direct approach to redesigning an organization's structure to allow positive practices to follow the paths of least resistance.

Reviews

Fritz is the founder of a field called "structural consulting" and has worked extensively with Peter Senge, himself known for his theories on "the learning organization." Fritz is also the author of Corporate Tides (1996), in which he explained the "laws of organizational structure." He calls this new book an updated, redesigned, and rewritten next-generation version of Corporate Tides. He explains that organizational structure may impede organizational learning, that achievement in one part of an organization may not be replicated because of organizational barriers. Moreover, he shows that success in one department of an organization may actually lead to difficulties or problems in another; Fritz calls this phenomenon structural oscillation. He explains the key principles of structural tension and structural conflict. He also provides examples that demonstrate why best efforts do not always result in success and suggests ways to redesign organizations so that they can succeed. David Rouse