Crisis & Renewal: Meeting the Challenge of Organizational Change [Paperback]

David K. Hurst (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 28, 2002

"Crisis & Renewal" presents a radical view of how all successful organizations evolve and renew themselves and of what managers must do to lead the revival. Contrary to traditional organizational theory, which emphasizes rationality and control in the management of change, this book argues that there are times when managers must deliberately create crises by committing acts of 'ethical anarchy' in order to break the constraints of success and renew their organizations. Hurst develops a model of change - the organizational ecocycle - to explain how even successful organizations become systematically vulnerable to catastrophe.He brings the model to life with stories of crisis and renewal from both his own management and consulting experiences and a cross-section of enterprises - from the hunter-gatherers of the Kalahari and the Quakers of the Industrial Revolution to contemporary organizations such as 3M and Nike. Born when people come together to capitalize on an opportunity, young organizations are usually dedicated to innovation and learning.As they grow and age, they become preoccupied with performance. Sooner or later they become constrained by their own success. For, in the pursuit of performance, what were once self-selected roles become designated tasks, flexible teams become rigid structures, open networks give way to closed systems, and control supplants commitment as people change. The risk, says Hurst, is that this single-minded, performance orientation may render organizations dangerously insensitive to subtle changes in the environment, seriously damaging their ability to learn.Renewal-changing a performance organization back into a learning organization-demands the restoration of the excitement, emotional commitment, and values often missing from large enterprises. It involves returning to the founding principles of the firm to reconnect the past with the present. In the aftermath of crisis, only shared values can hold a renewing organization together. "Crisis & Renewal" gives managers the theoretical grounding and the practical tools for leading their organizations to new life. The Management of Innovation and Change Series.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Billed as a radical view of corporate growth cycles, this volume lays out a revitalization plan for managers coping with bureaucratic stagnation. Using the hunter-gatherers of the Kalahari Desert and the Quakers of 17th-century England as analogous cases, Hurst, a consultant and research fellow at the University of West Ontario National Center for Management Research and Development, develops his theory that the evolution of organizations, whether they be corporations, philosophical entities or civilizations, follows a natural pattern that repeats itself and can be predicted. The initial stage is characterized by enthusiasm, high purpose and shared responsibility, which bring out the best in everyone involved. But, alas, a successful enterprise inevitably falls victim to institutionalization as processes are formalized, rigidity sets in and democratic processes are replaced by hierarchical rankings. Only a crisis or near catastrophe can restore the original milieu of purposeful cooperation. Usually this happens on its own; but if it doesn't, Hurst urges managers to create the crises themselves through acts of "ethical anarchy." Author tour.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Management consultant Hurst examines social organization from the Bushmen of southern Africa to the Nike Corporation and concludes that it is only through a process of renewal following a crisis that human organizations successfully adapt to the ever-changing environment. His book is more a reflection than a prescription, and managers looking for quick answers for today's problems will be disappointed. However, unlike many current management theories whose interest in history begins and ends with the 1960s, Hurst's use of historical analogies is refreshing and welcome. Recommended for academic libraries and public libraries with comprehensive business collections.
Andrea C. Dragon, Coll. of St. Elizabeth, Convent Station, N.J.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press (February 28, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578518709
• ISBN-13: 978-1578518708
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #901,452 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Book bridges theory, history, and science to produce insight, August 12, 1997

By 

J. Katzman - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Crisis and Renewal: Meeting the Challenge of Organizational Change (Management of Innovation and Change) (Hardcover)

When the Globe & Mail newspaper reviewed this book, it referred to Mr. Hurst as "a thinking manager's Tom Peters." Not bad, and based on the book not entirely unjustified.
What makes this book really fascinating to me is the way it weaves insights from human history, anthropology, science, and personal business experience into a coherent picture of organizational growth, decay, and renewal. A lot of us have had a feeling that the standard bell curves and life cycles weren't really all that helpful. David Hurst has proposed an alternative solidly grounded in practice and history, one which is much better-suited to helping real managers think systemically about their companies and make decisions on the ground.
Hopefully David can expand on some of his insights in a forthcoming book, and include some more business cases that show his ideas in action. Action-oriented, "give it to me in 10 bullet points" types will probably find this book a bit frustrating for that reason. But if you belong to the school of thought that says wanting everything in 10 bullet points is part of the problem, this is definitely a book worth your time.

4.0 out of 5 stars Some good ideas, March 4, 2009

By 

Ervin R. Stutzman (Harrisonburg, VA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Crisis & Renewal: Meeting the Challenge of Organizational Change (Paperback)

I found this book interesting because it helps me to see ways that a crisis can benefit an organization. Hurst pulls together ideas from a number of different places to show that leadership must take on new habits when crisis hits.