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Article
Understanding Change at a Personal Level
Management & Entrepreneurship
  • Barry Z. Posner, Santa Clara University
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-1-1980
Publisher
Sage Publications
Abstract

One of the most important and exciting OB topics is CHANGE. Often it comes as a separate topic area late in the course, even though it is at the heart of a manager’s job and underlies many of the other OB topic areas (e.g., learning, motivation, conflict). Much has been written on the subject (see Powell & Posner, 1979) and many good conceptual paradigms exist (e.g., Lewin, 1947; Dalton, 1970; Schein, 1961; Powell & Posner, 1980). Various exercises exist such as the "Tower Building Exercise" (Finch, Jones & Litterer, 1976), "The Acquisition Game" (Kolb, Rubin & McIntyre, 1979), and "Change of Work Procedures" (Hall, Bowen, Lewicki & Hall, 1975). Most of these allow the learner to analyze change but few put the learner directly into the heart of the change effort in a cogent, stimulating and dynamic fashion.

Citation Information
Posner, B. Z. (1980). Understanding Change at a Personal Level. Journal of Management Education, 5(4), 47–49. DOI: 10.1177/105256298000500414