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Journal of Education for Business
ISSN: 0883-2323 (Print) 1940-3356 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vjeb20
Book Review
To cite this article: (2007) Book Review, Journal of Education for Business, 82:3, 178-180, DOI: 10.3200/JOEB.82.3.178-180
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.3200/JOEB.82.3.178-180
Published online: 07 Aug 2010.
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178 Journal of Education for Business
BOOK REVIEW
Rouse, William B. (Ed.)
Enterprise Transformation: Understanding and Enabling Fundamental Change
Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley, 2006
527 pp.
ISBN: 0471736813, Price: $75
his book of readings is about the change process and how leaders in organizations often need to transform not only themselves but also those around them. The premise of the text reflects the viewpoint that enterprises today are likely to be in a flux of con-tinual change whether they are in the private, public, or nonprofit sector. Gen-erally, global competition, technology, and government deregulation drive change. Therefore, the contributors to the text generally argue that there is enormous value attributed to transform-ing an organization, especially as mar-kets change.
In this regard, William Rouse, the edi-tor of the publication, has put together an impressive list of authors that provide success stories of those organizations that have undergone substantial change over the past decade. Companies used to illustrate how transformation adds value to an organization are Reebok, Lock-heed Martin, UPS, and Wal-mart. The text contributors provide ample evidence of the positive results of undertaking the effort to transform an organization into a more effective operation.
The text targets those serious leaders of change presently employed in the pri-vate, public, or nonprofit sectors and advanced undergraduates at the univer-sity level interested in accelerating their careers by becoming change agents. The assumption made by Rouse is that change is not only a good thing but also now required for an organization to remain a viable entity in the market-place. However, the text may also be useful for graduate students (particular-ly those in business administration)
seeking to advance their knowledge about transforming their organizations. In this regard, the text targets those indi-viduals with considerable business experience seeking their master of busi-ness administration (MBA) or equiva-lent degrees through accelerated execu-tive graduate programs. Therefore, the audience for this text is rather extensive.
Enterprise Transformation offers the reader the opportunity to obtain multi-ple perspectives of the change process. The text contributors include not only those from the academic community, but also business executives and change consultants. As pointed out in the text, change is more than simply modifying existing work patterns in an effort to do something better. In the view of Rouse, change often involves performing tasks entirely differently and even doing dif-ferent kinds of work.
Structurally, the text is divided into four parts. Part 1 includes three chapters that introduce the reader to forces that prompt organizational transformation. A brief overview of the transformation process enables the reader to gain an intriguing perspective of change method-ology for reinventing an organization.
Part 2 includes eight chapters that focus on how to change the work cul-ture within organizations found in both the manufacturing and service sectors. At this point in the text, William George, a contributor to the text, com-pares several important aspects of trans-formational leadership with those of transactional leadership. Also, there is an introduction of the Six Sigma methodology, including its history and application.
Part 3 of the text includes six chapters addressing issues that a change agent generally must confront at one time or another, such as coping with a financial crisis, handling work conflicts, and deal-ing with taxation ramifications.
Part 4 includes five chapters that pro-vide an in-depth view of how change principles have been applied in
well-known companies such as Rubbermaid and Interface—with an added twist of incorporating academic institutions, such as Georgia Tech, into the mix.
The primary strength of the text is the many references documenting how undertaking the transformation process has impacted on an organization’s abili-ty to not only survive but also grow to the next level. In addition to the organi-zations indicated above, there are refer-ences to such highly publicized compa-nies as UPS, Home Depot, Target, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, and Nike, among oth-ers. Another series of examples of a suc-cessful transformation being undertaken include academic institutions such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Harvard University (especially the Harvard Business School), and Uni-versity of Pennsylvania.
Finally, even references to the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Supreme Court, and the U.S. Internal Revenue Service add to the litany of examples of where insti-tutions have undergone or are in the process of undertaking a significant transformation.
Another strength to the text is an in-depth analysis of what are labeled as critical points that change agents must often address. These include what is referred to in the text as business processes and value streams, outsourc-ing, and asset management. Business processes reflect those decisions by change agents that impact core activities that are crucial to achieving specific organizational objectives. In this regard, one objective is to add value to the prod-uct and services sought out by cus-tomers. In this text, outsourcing is gen-erally perceived as being transformative in itself. This topic relates to the capa-bility of an organization to keep produc-tion costs in line with price pressures in the marketplace.
Moreover, asset management relates to how change agents may redeploy land, labor, and facilities to generate greater efficiencies. These topics are
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discussed in great detail and there are continual references to organizations that have successfully addressed these issues as change took place.
Finally, another intriguing aspect to the text is the analysis of different cata-lysts for generating (and also accom-plishing) change in an organization. In this instance, Basole and Demillo, two contributors to the text, refer to such catalysts as “transformation archetypes” (pp. 223–248). One such archetype reflects companies like General Electric and IBM that transformed their entire business model by completely disman-tling old ways of doing things.
Another archetype is when an organi-zation either acquires or merges with another enterprise, resulting in a com-plete transformation, such as Tennen-baum Capital and Lockheed Martin. Lastly, a third archetype for transforma-tion reflects an enterprise that actually forces its competitors to transform. Illustrations of this phenomenon are Amazon, CNN, and e-Bay, which rede-fined how books may be marketed, how news can be delivered 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week, and how an online com-munity that links selling, payment, and shipping electronically can be built respectively.
The end of chapter case studies and numerous analytical tools introduced throughout the text enable readers to enhance not only their understanding of the transformation process but to actual-ly test themselves when attempting to put those techniques into action.
At the conclusion of the text, the final five chapters consist of the reporting of transformation case studies that give the reader special insight as to the how to infuse a corporate culture into accepting change.
A weakness in the text is the lack of attention to social responsibility issues as they relate to change outcomes. Because change has a tendency to bring about chaos in an organization, it also impacts how employee complaints are handled and how workers are maneuvered about, whether outsourced or downsized or fired. Because local communities are typically affected by change, a discus-sion of social responsibility issues is important. Although there is a reference to customer-relations management and
customer satisfaction considerations, the analysis is more about generating profits rather than respecting standards of decency and ethical treatment.
In conclusion, the text may be char-acterized as a significant instructional aid for clarifying the transformation process. A wealth of examples provides an impressive learning environment for updating the reader as to the most cur-rent thinking in change methodology. In this regard, Rouse, the text editor, did a superb job of bringing together an assortment of scholars to communicate best practices of many enterprises in all three sectors: nonprofit, for profit, and private.
The methods and tools presented enable the reader to have a framework for entering into the change process with some degree of confidence. Although not a panacea for addressing all issues relating to the change process, Rouse provides a very comprehensive analysis of enterprise transformation.
Forgang, William G., and Einolf, Karl W.
Management Economics: An Accelerated Approach
New York: M. E. Sharpe, Inc., 2007, 218 pp.
ISBN-10:0-7657-1778-1. Hardback, $78.95
The authors promise a book that delivers an accelerated learning strategy to analyze economic principles that enhances decision making on the part of those who are either preparing to enter into a management position or those who are presently employed. The study of managerial economics traditionally requires advanced quantitative skills to effectively apply economic principles for resolving business issues. However, Forgang and Einolf rely on a nonmathe-matical approach of study under the rubric of management economics.
In other words, the authors view the study of economics as an art whereby critical thinking becomes more signifi-cant when arriving at a decision. There-fore, the learning strategy espoused in their book suggests that to learn about economics, readers do not necessarily have to subject themselves to a scientif-ic approach (i.e., using mathematscientif-ical
models to arrive at the best solution). This subtle, but important, discrepancy between positioning the text as a book on management economics versus man-agerial economics serves as the back-drop for the instructional tools present-ed and for a description of their use in decision making.
The text is written for the adult learn-er who may be seeking an undlearn-ergradu- undergradu-ate business degree (or perhaps a master in business administration [MBA]) and prefers to learn about economic princi-ples through a 7-week one-semester accelerated or online course. The authors reflect the perspective that the quality of business, as well as personal decisions will be greatly enhanced by applying both basic micro- and macro-economic principles. By better under-standing micro- and macroeceonomic effects on outcomes of decisions, peo-ple can make more decisive choices. The text also differs from others because it is less theoretical, thus pro-viding a more insightful (or realistic) view of the organizational environment in which professionals make decisions. The accelerated or online course often results in limiting the interaction between the instructor and the student, thus relying on the self-discipline of stu-dents themselves to stay up-to-date with their readings and assignments. Howev-er, the authors have been successful in building a sustainable learning environ-ment. To meet the demands that both accelerated and online formats place upon faculty to assure learning, Forgang and Einolf have designed an intriguing array of pedagogical features.
The authors encourage student dis-cussion in a variety of formats to teach them how to apply basic economic prin-ciples within a business framework. For example, in the online course alterna-tive, text exercises are discussed through an electronic chat room. Com-plementary to this strategy, students are engaged in searching for information on the Internet and then analyzing it within an economics framework. In the 7-week classroom-accelerated format, exercises involve a similar data analysis require-ment to address issues often found in organizations. To further assist the learning process, discussion questions appear at the end of each chapter,
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enabling the adult learners to self-test their command of the topics.
The authors also use case studies to present issues in management that often required economic analysis for making informed decisions. These case studies are instrumental to the online discus-sions conducted via chat rooms but are also useful for promoting similar class-room exchanges for those participating in the 7-week accelerated format. The use of application boxes for providing realistic examples of resolving issues found in management, marketing, and finance is another intriguing instruction-al strategy the authors adopted. By con-necting economic principles to real-world practices, the adult learner is directed to apply basic mathematical skills while proceeding through a prob-lem-solving process.
Because accelerated courses typically last 7 weeks or less, the authors have designed a text that includes just seven chapters. Chapters 1–3 focus on pre-senting macroeconomic principles relat-ed to aggregate output, pricing, money supply, and other financial issues. At the conclusion of the initial chapter of the text is an interesting introductory illus-tration of how a regression analysis may be used for predicting outcomes.
In chapters 4–7, the authors intro-duce microeconomic principles, such as supply and demand, production costs, and profit maximization. Even though the text represents a compact version of study, the pace of instruc-tion, intensity of coverage, and empha-sis on learning in small-group formats enable faculty to literally design their own version of the course, whether a 7-week accelerated version, an online interactive version, or even a typical 13-week course.
In addition, within the seven-chapter format, Forgang and Einolf integrate the study of economic principles via three instructional stages. The first stage pro-motes the premise that economic princi-ples affect everyone’s life in some way, whether a manager in business or an individual making personal decisions regarding everyday responsibilities. Therefore, the discipline of economics can be adapted in some way by every-one who lives and functions in a free market system.
Building on this perspective, the authors introduce a second stage of study that narrows the learning process to understanding the ways in which those in management organize and analyze data. Finally, the third stage of study links the application of economic theory to resolv-ing real-world issues in management, marketing, finance, and accounting.
Therefore, the strength of the text relates to the authors’ simplicity in pre-senting the material to assist readers in applying economics to both their pro-fessional and personal lives. Numerous tables and figures distributed through-out the text easily refer to what is being described in the text.
The authors assumed that the adult learner is capable of making his way through an array of significant econom-ic issues by using only baseconom-ic mathemat-ical skills. The ability to convert rather challenging contextual material into easy-to-understand formats for the adult learner results in this text’s uniqueness in the field.
There is one weakness of the text: The authors appear to only touch upon some economic principles that are cru-cial to understanding the intricacies of the decision-making process in which management typically engages. For
example, in the concluding chapter of the text, the authors describe how the study of economics may help the reader understand the design and implementa-tion of business strategy. However, the authors may be underestimating the depth of economic understanding one requires to plan, implement, and assess a business strategy. Also, the authors do not fully explain important issues con-fronting management today, such items as outsourcing, distributing factors of production, and global positioning, although there are references to these topics to a lesser degree.
In conclusion, the text merits con-sideration for adoption, but for a spe-cific limited use. I find the text unable to serve as a comprehensive exposure to economics for the traditional 4-year business major or for the MBA stu-dent. The book appears to be more appropriate for those who desire to learn about economics within an easy-flowing format, but not for those who require an in-depth study of the disci-pline. However, Einolf and Forgang do fill an important unmet need for accel-erated and online courses for man-agers, particularly nonbusiness under-graduates, and those entertaining an MBA who presently, for some reason, have limited knowledge of micro- and macroeconomics.
Because the authors take the position that the reader does not require a signif-icant foundation in statistics, or advanced mathematics, the text may appeal to a wider audience by providing a viable alternative for learning some valuable analytic techniques.
James L. Morrison University of Delaware Newark, DE Copyright © 2007 Heldref Publications
