Intellect

Download the OTSC Notes for Contributors

The International Journal of Organizational Transformation and Social Change (OTSC) is timely in its appearance in that there is now a general awareness in both societies and organisations that change is endemic. In the 1980s, the Business guru, Tom Peters, wrote a book in which he examined the nature of enterprise excellence, and he listed the top ten companies ranked according to their profitability. He later realised that it was more adaptability than profitability but that was important. This, perhaps coupled with positive and proactive perspective, can come under the heading of the learning/intelligent organization. The two are connected, but while learning organizations are more associated with knowledge management, intelligent organisations are more concerned with viability and draw on cybernetics and systems. These subject areas are close to the interests of this Journal.

The Journal looks to research on the shaping of organisational theory - through more traditional areas like human resource development and management systems - that has led to some interesting changes in recent years. Organizational theory has at its base the sociological ideas that concern the interests of societies. Interestingly, as the subject has developed, ideas are now being fed back into sociology that have impact upon the way we see societies. The distinction between societies and organisations is now expressible in terms of scale and focus or level. The population of an entire nation state might see culture at a macroscopic level just as the population of an organisation might see the same at a microscopic level. In this way, societies can be seen as macroscopic organizations and common principles can be applied: the Journal encourages such a perspective.

The Journal is also concerned with the change imperative for autonomous organizations that pursue their own purposes and interests - and over time take actions that interactively define where they are going in the complex world in which they exist. Their future pathways are often influenced by change that may either derive from within the organization or externally. It is in such conditions that there is an imperative to manage the change process that derives from both competitive and evolutionary influences.

The Journal looks to change as an increasingly strategic agenda item in many organizations in both private and public sectors. It may be incremental, and while this may be of short-term benefit, an unevaluated continuing process of incremental change can mean that its tracking and coherence can be lost; worse, it can seriously weaken an organization. Change may be radical too, when an organization needs to determine new purposes in the way it addresses competitive and environmental change, often resulting in new structures, processes, and a need for management cohesion and knowledge integration. It can also be transformational, involving a paradigm shift for the organization - a very special type of change with high stakes.

In all of these cases the relationship between organizational behaviour, structure and culture may be central.

Cultural and ethical issues are of Journal interest, including, for instance, studies on joint alliances, and organizational transformation. System and cybernetic approaches to such issues will be welcomed by the Journal, as will those of human resource development. Ethnomethodological approaches to culture will also be welcome, as will those taking an action learning and research perspective. Consistent with these approaches, the orientation of articles submitted should adopt a subjective epistemology, like constructivism or critical theory, though more traditional positivist approaches will also be welcome.

The editor welcomes submissions of scholarly work for following issues of the journal. For more information on deadlines and formats please contact Maurice Yolles.

Coverage

• Innovative approaches to organizational transformation and social change
• Methodologies and their paradigms, use of combined methods, as well as action learning and research.
• Cultural dynamics, knowledge processes, knowledge tracking, organizational paradigms, political processes
• Organizational structures and processes, and their relationships to political and cultural considerations
• Cultural differences in the management of people and change
• Ethics and ideology in organizational processes and control
• Cultural minority processes, paradigm clashes, approaches to arbitration
• Issues of empowerment and emancipation relating to change

Readership

OTSC is read by academics working in the area of management, organizational behaviour, social psychology, organizational anthropology, human resource development. It is relevant to business schools and university departments across the world, including Europe and the USA. It is also directed towards those who make policy and their advisors, and to managers.