ABSTRACT
To be sure, it is not the iron cage of the business case alone which is responsible for the absence of ‘results’ in the form of structural, systemic changes in organizations. The status quo has been quite rewarding to powerful individuals. The redistribution of power, realignment of structures, and revision of systems all threaten the comfort, continued earning power and professional advancement of those who are dominant in organizations. There is, thus, a genuine conflict of interest, which would motivate the powerful to withhold support for the comprehensive changes outlined by Thomas in Beyond Race and Gender. Henry Corta portrays their efforts as directed elsewhere:
Most CEOs are not necessarily looking for an organizational . . . transformation. They’re not. They’re usually buying the non-intervention deal. . . . And their goals are more to keep the machine producing whatever they’re supposed to produce. If it’s supposed to produce more cars, let’s produce more cars. . . . Very few companies take on major [transformations.] They make piecemeal efforts.
