Empowering workers and clients for organizational change, by Cohen, M. B., & Hyde, C. A.

Abstract

Immediately, the authors, Marcia B. Cohen and Cheryl A. Hyde (2014), in Empowering Workers and Clients for Organizational Change disclose the purpose of their text: “to prepare students to engage in organizational change practice from below” (p. xiii). Its central focus is on empowering “low power” workers and clients to create organizational change. The authors start by providing the theoretical underpinnings of organizational change, offer real examples of organizational change, and conclude with three organizational change papers written by Master’s level students. The use of “force field analysis” was a central component of the practical implementation of the change effort presented. However, this text is not meant to serve as a complete guide for workers about strategies to engage in global organizational change, or how to engage diverse cultural, gender, religious, etc., groups in the process of change. The approachable language and systematic structure of the text serves as a useful source for current or recent social work graduates, and as a resource that can be frequently revisited for current practitioners. The concise and practical examples provided within will be useful to professors attempting to teach students how to concretely engage in organizational change initiatives. The text is divided into three subsections. Section I, “Key Concepts and Frameworks,” consists of chapters 1–4 and provides a general overview of the theoretical underpinnings or key concepts contextualizing organizational change. Chapter 4 introduces the central framework used throughout the text which is force field analysis. It continues with Section II, “Case Studies,” (chapters 5–11) which includes multiple examples of agencies who have effectively implemented the use of force field analysis. This subsection (with chapter 11) concludes and further emphasizes the importance of use of force field analysis as a strategy for analyzing change efforts. It also describes how one organization’s attempt at change was unsuccessful, and force field analysis was used to identify where the change effort went wrong. The text concludes with Section III, “The Student as Change Agent,” (chapters 12–14) which consists of three papers written by Master’s Social Work (MSW) students on organizational change. These latter chapters include practical implementation of the conceptual material presented in the former part of the text. I thought that there were three primary strengths that stood out in this text. The first was that the material presented was not made more complicated than necessary. The authors used an approachable writing style that was appealing to both beginning and more advanced social workers. The concepts presented in Section I were thoroughly researched as evidenced by the referenced sections noted at the end of each chapter. The authors were able to take these concepts presented and strategically apply them throughout the rest of the text. Also, the discussion questions found at the end of each chapter would be useful for professors or lay readers attempting to facilitate discussions, and they could help initiate critical thinking for students around the overall topic of empowerment. The second strength was that a variety of interesting agency examples were incorporated throughout the text. This provided practical examples of the application of the overarching force field analysis framework. Agency use of this analysis goes beyond description, and applies empowerment as an action oriented process. The examples provided illustrate how the use of this analysis by programs, or agencies, can identify specific factors and individuals that can help facilitate, or hinder, advancement of empowerment goals. JOURNAL OF EVIDENCE-INFORMED SOCIAL WORK 2017, VOL. 14, NO. 1, 51–52