Stokes provides a guide for information systems professionals who need to manage changes driven by new technology, competition, products, customer needs, mergers, and market sizing in order to survive. The book is introduced with a Machiavellian analogy as a forerunner of the contemporary change agent.

The purpose of the book is to create a practical resource for those who are introducing, managing, and coping with change. This requires the management of changes against a multi-field background of management, behavioral science, organizational behavior, social psychology, and human factors as well as high technology.

After introducing the key issues, the author brings into focus what systems professionals and managers should know and do to cope with technical and operational changes. The suggestions on becoming business-oriented not only are aimed at success for professionals but appear in the context of career growth and survival. The book is structured well for system professionals who need to view the current environment positively as members of strategic business units where the leadership is bottom-line oriented and imbued with managerial perceptions.

The author adeptly uses a true case study to place the information systems function in the throes of multiple changes requiring the use of situation and force-field analyses to bring about changes needed for the organization to succeed. The author carefully lays the groundwork to achieve the benefits of Kurt Lewin’s force-field analysis as a tool for analyzing and solving problems. Stokes applies Lewin’s technique through a series of suggested worksheets to bring about a seven-step change process.

Resistance to change has long been recognized. The author mentions several ways to reduce this resistance. The techniques covered include increasing communication about the change; emphasizing the benefits of the change; enhancing psychological contracts; providing generous education, training, coaching, mentoring, and reinforcement; and developing support structures among departments and people experiencing change.

The author also covers more recent concepts such as outsourcing, the balance between decentralization and centralization, and CASE technology. The book is well organized into 15 short chapters with helpful figures, charts, and illustrations. It has an excellent table of contents and a detailed index. One of the best features of the book is the material on strategies for introducing and managing change, which shows these strategies as a continuum rather than as two polar positions. It depicts the strategies as ranging from nondirective to direct or dictatorial, with high participation characterizing the nondirective strategy and low participation being characteristic of the dictatorial strategy. The book compares well with related material in the field.

This guide is one of the few books that should be on the desks of knowledge workers, professionals, managers, and technical consultants. This book opens doors and will give information system professionals the important tools for success.