Why is managing change difficult? Organisational renewal and the cybernetics of effective enterprise

Change is used in this paper as a context for reflecting on management. Following Watzlawick and his colleagues, the concept of first and second-order change is adopted in order to distinguish between two essential types of change and the question of why is managing change difficult is addressed. Four factors are identified at the heart of this difficulty. They include the Complexity factor, the Epistemic factor, the Structural factor, and the Inertia or Vested-Interest factor. Antidotes to the four factors are briefly discussed, and organisational learning, interpreted as a system's ability to amplify its internal variety is suggested as the most potent means of transcending limitations of existing programming and ensuring constant organisational renewal.