Despite enormous changes in the economy and the labor force since the previous edition of this classic text was published in 1994, one thing has remained constant: change itself. As the pace of change has accelerated in nearly every aspect of business life, due in no small measure to the connectivity revolution, reorganizations, downsizings, and rightsizings have become more and more frequent. And yet neither managers nor employees seem any more prepared to deal with such changes than they did a decade ago. Hence the need for this new edition, which, like the previous one, seeks to help people understand and cope with organizational change. New for the Third Edition are the Focus On sections of each chapter, which apply the theories to contemporary cases of stunning change in corporate America, including those at Napster, Microsoft, Ford, and GE.

PATRICK E. CONNOR is Professor of Organizational Analysis, Atkinson Graduate School of Management, Willamette University in Salem, Oregon.

LINDA K. LAKE is a consultant in Kirkland, Washington, a suburb of Seattle, working with start-up and emerging firms in the health services industry. She also chairs the Washington State Board of Health.

RICHARD W. STACKMAN is Assistant Professor of Business Administration at the University of Washington, Tacoma.