cover image Aftershock: Helping People Through Corporate Change

Aftershock: Helping People Through Corporate Change

Harry Woodward, Wilson Learning Corporation, Woodward. John Wiley & Sons, $35 (256pp) ISBN 978-0-471-62478-3

This study is primarily for middle managers, who are responsible for implementing policy changes decided on by those at the top. It surveys a range of employee reactions to the end of the old system, the period of transition and the beginning of the new order; these reactions find workers disengaged, disoriented or disenchanted. A support system is presented, recognizing that individuals in the transitional corporate structure have certain basic needs: empathy, understanding and help in moving on. These can be supplied if managers direct colleagues and subordinates with concrete suggestions for steps to take. Based on a seminar of the Wilson Learning Corporation, a training firm, the book should prove helpful to those involved in corporate change. (January 12)