ABSTRACT
I. IMPORTANCE AND NATURE OF CHANGE The last several years have been a tumultuous period in business from the introduction of new technology to the globalization of economies to the rapid turnover and constant demand for new products and services at lower costs. The rapidly changing conditions in today’s business environment have made unprecedented demands on organizations and their leaders that often require radical rethinking of purpose and priorities, vision of the future, and even the structure and function of the organization itself. In other words, “change” as a constant state has become the norm for the business environment. Organizations that are unable to swiftly change and adapt quickly become obsolete. Change is not uniform between organizations. In fact, it presents itself on a continuum.1 The most successful organizations are managed by individuals proficient at managing change. For each story of successful organizational change, however, there are two or three or more about failure. Change has become a dilemma for many corporations.
