Organizational Diagnosis & Assessment: Bridging Theory and Practice

By Arie Shirom and Michael I. Harrison

Book Overview

Organizational Diagnosis and Assessment

presents sharp-image diagnosis, a distinctive approach to organizational consultation and planned change, that reflects current research and theorizing about organizational change and effectiveness. The authors draw on multiple analytical frames to produce empirically grounded models of sources of ineffectiveness and forces for change, showing how consultants, managers, and applied researchers can break free of unproductive practices and ways of thinking to avoid uncritical adoption of management fads. They offer workable solutions to critical problems and demonstrate ways to meet organizational challenges like market downturns, technological change, and alliances with other organizations. Organizational Diagnosis and Assessment covers diagnosis and assessment of work groups, organizations, and whole systems. This volume develops analytical approaches for problem solving and strategy formation in both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. Diagnosis of public policy issues, like assessments of the effectiveness of health systems, is also addressed. Many of the models and techniques contribute to assessing the changing nature of the workplace, examining organizational decline and other life-cycle transitions; gendering; change and diversity in organizational culture and in workforce composition; the spread of new forms of work organization, including teams, flat hierarchies, and networks; new uses of information technology; and mergers and alliances among organizations.

Organizational Diagnosis and Assessment

will be invaluable to advanced students, consultants, and applied behavioral scientists in social sciences, management, social work, organizational and industrial psychology, organizational sociology, nursing, and public administration.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0803955111
• ISBN13: 9780803955110
• Release Date: July 1998
• Publisher: Sage Publications, Inc
• Length: 496 Pages
• Weight: 1.77 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.6" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Good theory book

This is a good theory book although its' title is missleading. Do not expect it to be an organizational diagnosis tool book. It goes through a lot of theory and pardigms and uses case interesting case studies. It is usful if you want to learn the basic OB theories (such as open system model, diagnosis models). The book also gives quite a comprehensive review of most HR areas of interest. But Saying that it bridges the gap between theory and practice is a bit too much. I do not feel as if I can take this book tomorrow morning and implement it in my work. It has potential but again, this is not a tool book !