Developing Your OrganisationBy Alan Lawrie The book sets out to help not for profit organisations 'build and develop their organisations'. It would primarily be of interest to those in medium to large organisations which are fairly conventionally structured with paid staff, headed by a manager, and governed by a board. It looks at strategy, management, leadership, structures, managing projects, partnerships and change. The question of developing organisations is an extremely complex one, and Lawrie has touched many of the key factors. I might quibble with the lack of depth on some issues, such as the question of effective leadership, but that may just be a function of my own biases. And after all, the book is just a little more than 100 pages long. The staccato style of writing and presentation does not make it easy to follow the logic and make connections, and sometimes the titles are misleading. But the book is peppered with short contemporary case studies, questionnaires and exercises, interspersed with sound advice on a number of matters from this highly experienced consultant. In particular, it draws attention to some of the blocks and barriers which might be preventing change and development. Directory of Social Change and Alan Lawrie have produced a great deal of useful and practical materials for people working within 'voluntary' organisations. Yet for some reason I found I had a luke-warm response to this particular book. However, if you are fairly new to the subject and in a quandary about where and how to start, this could be a good first look at the subject.
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