LEAVITT′S DIAMOND AND THE FLATTER LIBRARY: A CASE STUDY IN ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE

Outlines Leavitt′s Diamond, which postulates that it is rare for any change to occur in isolation. Of four interdependent variables– tasks, structure, technology, and people – change to only one or two of the variables will cause problems. Applies Leavitt′s theory to the changes which have taken place in the Management Information Centre of the British Institute of Management over the past ten years, which included relocation, computerization and charging, all of which impacted on services immediately. Changes to the organization structure took place only much later. The case study also shows the impact on staff and services when structure becomes the first of the variables to be changed and concludes with some comments on the significance of management style in managing change.