Transforming the company - Colin Coulson-Thomas

Recent years have seen a massive and unprecedented growth in the development of business theory. Many management gurus, and business schools around the world, propound techniques and concepts which are designed to make businesses more effective. While some of these ideas seldom see the light of day in a "real world" business environment, others have assumed great credibility and have become the standard models for how, it is alleged, businesses should work.;Why has all the talk and hype been accompanied by so little action? One answer is that senior managers in many companies are maintaining a stoical attachment to the idea that "it will all come out right". The numerous interviews undertaken by Colin Coulson-Thomas with leading executives, directors and managers reveal, however, that in private many are experiencing a mixture of anguish and despair as too many outcomes and events are different from expectations. The author shows that to bridge the gap between theory and reality, businesspeople must make far-reaching decisions about the value to them and their companies of particular theories. There is, after all, little value in concepts that cannot be used. "Transforming the Company" builds on the experiences of those businesspeople who are seriously trying to bring about change. Their experiences reveal successful and less than successful routes to building companies that are more flexible and responsive to changing situations.