Critical Review

Critical Review

Introduction

Almost every organisation especially the success ones in the world have been changed or had many innovations in order to survive or leading the industries. Among all those changes, not every innovation has been successful. In fact a large number of them are resulted as failure. The reason is simply because the environment around or inside any organisation is too complex. Not surprisingly there are many approaches available for organisations to chose from, however it is vital for managements to choose the most suitable ones to achieve a desirable outcome. In this review, there will be a comparison between some articles, ‘General strategies for effecting changes in human systems’ by Robert Chin and Kenneth D. Benne (General strategies), and three chapters in a textbook all explaining the theories of change in three approaches (Theories of change).

Summary

In the article General strategies, Robert and Kenneth conclude that change strategies can be classified into three categories, namely, empirical rational, normative-reeducative and power-coercive. We can consider them as theories of social Change. However, we should note that they have limited their assumptions only to other planned changes. Robert and Kenneth believe that all approaches to planned changes must have the characteristics with utilisation and application of knowledge as a tool, and all changes must be based on behavioural knowledge of change and must utilise people technologies as well. The rational-empirical approach assumes that men and women are rational and practical and will change on their own given the appropriate conditions. The normative-reeducative approach is based on the view that change begins from the bottom up. It focuses on changing the individuals that make up a social system. It is the preferred method of counsellors, trainers, and therapists. The power-coercive approach is associated with political and economical sanctions.

In the other...