What is Change?

The section on "What is Change?" in the textbook (page 315) talks about the multiple meanings of the word "Change". One definition that is proposed in the textbook is: "the difference(s) between two (or more) successive conditions, states, or moments of time."

In the context of an organization, I would also add the word "significant" to describe the kind of difference(s) that constitute change. For example, there may be insignificant changes in an organization that may be "change" as per the above definition, but that may not be very relevant to the organization as a whole - for example, a corner cubicle in the corner may carry a new painting on its wall, or there may be a coffee machine that has run out of coffee, or a document that no one reads may be corrected for spelling mistakes. These could be labeled "change" according to the above definition, but they aren't very relevant to understanding an organization.

Hence the alternative definition in the textbook that is more apt in the context of an organization is: "the process by which alteration occurs in the structure and function of a social system". This definition makes it clear that a modification needs to occur in the STRUCTURE and FUNCTION of a social system (like an organization) for change to be relevant.