ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book reviews a range of major theories and models of organizational change. A significant proportion of the literature envisages organizational change from a problem-solving orientation, as compared with an innovative orientation. The book focuses on a large, acute teaching hospital in the Midlands of the UK. The hospital was a mature and relatively efficient organization prior to reengineering, near the top of the efficiency league tables for provincial hospitals. The book is based on a study which reviews the changes instituted by the then Conservative government with the intention of introducing a market in health care. The study focuses on the strategy making and actions of the reconstituted boards of acute hospitals and primary care areas. The book argues that to date, the theories of transformational or frame-breaking change are under-developed.
