Two new books have been published by staff at the University of Aberdeen Business School, and will be launched at a ceremony in the new Business School this evening (Tuesday, December 17).
Professor Patrick Dawson, a leading expert on managing change, has published 'Understanding Organisational Change: the contemporary experience of people at work' with Sage.
Professor Dawson commented: "The one thing that many managers and non-managers would agree on is that we face more change in our companies now than ever before. In this dynamic business environment it is important to know when not to change, as it is when to change. However, most of the literature remains focused on management accounts on how to best manage change with little attention to broader employee experiences - the unheard stories. This book explores the multi-faceted dimensions of change and questions the assumption that stories of successful change provide a fertile ground for identifying lesson on how to 'successfully' manage change. In so doing, it provides a more critical processual account and hopefully moves us on from the often simplistic recipes for success that you find in airport bookshops."
Professor Lorna McKee is widely recognised as an international expert in the impact of work on family life, and how people try to achieve a work life balance. Her new book, Children and the Changing Family: Between Transformation and Negotiation, co-edited with Professor Jensen from Trondheim University in Norway, brings together contributions from distinguished academics throughout the world, exploring how children are coping with the huge changes affecting family life.
Professor McKee said: "Children are often left out of discussions on how for example changing patterns of divorce affect family lives. In this book, we have tried to listen to children's perceptions of divorce and parental employment, and other important issues. I fear that children are sometimes looked on almost as a fashion accessory, with adults frequently living their own lives in a vicarious way through their children. "