The two books compared in this paper provide examples of what it takes to become a successful leader. The author’s provide insight and ideas that can be used in today’s world. Management styles are always changing due to technology, and changes in people. John Kotter’s eight-stage process for change is invaluable.

Kotter’s book brings real life issues and situations to light, by putting the reader in an environment that they are familiar with. He does this by providing examples that the reader can relate to on the job as well as providing concepts for the reader to understand. These concepts and ways of thinking integrate nicely with the Organizational Behavior and Management text that is used to help in the understanding of how organizational behavior effects our lives on a professional as well as social level. The eight themes in the Kotter’s book relate closely to the concepts of Organizational Behavior and Management.

Establishing a sense of urgency can relate closely with most aspects and themes of Organizational Management.

The third theme in Kotter’s book is developing a vision and strategy. He discusses the characteristics of an effective vision. He says that an effective vision should be imaginable, desirable, feasible, focused, flexible, and communicable. He also lists what he feels it takes to create an effective vision: first draft, role of the guiding coalition, importance of teamwork, role of the head and the heart, messiness of the process, time frame, and end product. Of these components, I felt there was a strong relationship between the role of the guiding coalition and importance of teamwork. This goes with the textbook theory of the importance of how groups are organized and the importance of what each group’s purpose is. When creating a vision, people tend to assume that this is done on an isolated level. That is a misconception that Kotter talks about. It is not up to a CEO to create a vision by himself. At least, not in this time period. By using teamwork, and groups, a vision can be created for the organization. The textbook talks of three types of formal groups, which exist: command, task, and team. In the example that I brought up, Kotter would be referring to a formal team group as a way to create a vision, and keep that vision on track and in focus. A team according to the text is a formal group compromised of people interacting very closely together with a shared commitment to accomplish agreed upon objectives. This will go a long way in establishing, creating, and maintaining vision and strategy.

The eighth theme in Kotter’s book discusses the anchoring of new in approaches in the culture. Although this is the last theme in Kotter’s eight-stage process for change, it is probably one of the hardest for an organization to do. It requires multiple steps, the coordination of employees at all levels of an organization, an understanding of the present and past culture, and an understanding of norms of group behavior. Kotter discusses the fact that people sometimes become unaware of how powerful culture can be in the organization that they belong to. He gives three reasons for why culture is so powerful: Because individuals are selected and indoctrinated so well; because the culture exerts itself through the actions of hundreds of thousands of people; and because all of this happens without much conscious intent and thus is difficult to challenge or even discuss. People are not only hired because they have the academics or experience, but also because they are billed to be able to fit into the culture that currently exist in the organization. But in order for change to be successful in an organization, Kotter points out that the culture may need to change and may take time for change and requires much leadership from so many people. A lot of organizations try to change the culture or perception of the organization up front. The textbook reinforces Kotter’s philosophy about culture. Kotter’s key features to a successful change in culture are: Come last, not first; depends on results; requires a lot of talks; may involve turnover; and make decisions on succession crucial. People try to change the culture of an organization in the beginning of a change process, or new approach. That way of thinking needs to be reevaluated. Culture takes time to change, and sometimes it is difficult to change. It cannot be done at the start of an initiative. It has to be understood by top executives, and trickled down the ranks. It is possible that some people are unable to adapt to a changed or new culture. In those instances, you have to get rid of people who give a resistance to change. Even with a new culture established, it old cultures can slip back in if existing processes, such as promotion, are not changed to coincide with the new culture. It is only fair to say that culture, even old cultures take time to evolve. After being in an organization for a long period of time, people tend to adapt

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