READERS WILL HAVE different reasons to pick up this book. Those reasons will dictate how you might use this information. Our preference, of course, is for you to read the book the way we intended. To paraphrase Alice in Wonderland, the best place to start is at the beginning and then stop when you get to the end. For general readers, that would be our recommendation.
Teachers and practitioners, however, may want to use the book a little differently. Teachers may want to use the book as a primary or supplemental text in organizational behavior, organization development, or human resource management. Because the book is structured by actions organizations should take to succeed, you can either re-arrange existing notes to fit this new thematic setup or complement current texts with select chapters from the book.
We wrote the book with teachers in mind. The developmental principles we provide are connected to the questions students have when they first encounter organization development interventions: “What are we trying to achieve?” And “How do these fit into the entire organization as opposed to being one-off modifications?” We start with and organize around the question “Why?” We give developmental tools and approaches a home with purpose. We believe those connections between the how’s and why’s will provide a stickier and more vibrant learning experience.
Practitioners or consultants on assignment may want to comb through the book for ideas related to a particular project. Potential approaches and change tactics are scattered throughout the book, and a change-agent may want to assemble ideas from different parts of the book as needed using the index as a guide. Certain chapters likely will be closer to some readers’ interests than other chapters. For example, if you are looking for ways to enhance employee development, the chapters on personal growth (chapter 8) and empowerment (chapter 9) will contain most of the discussion and references you will be looking for. If you are trying to get teams to work more harmoniously, you will want to look to the chapter on cooperation (chapter 4). If, like most organizations, you are wanting to get the most out of your diversity efforts, our chapter on diversity and inclusion (chapter 7) as well as our discussions on systems throughout the book will be helpful.
And, finally, we are easy to find online. Write to us if you have a question or want to discuss an issue we examine in the book more fully. Our electronic pathway is always open and, if you are close to New York or New Haven, so are our doors.