By comparing peasant revolutions in Hunan and Jiangxi between 1926 and 1934, Revolutions as Organizational Change offers a new organizational perspective on peasant revolutions. Utilizing newly available historical materials in the People’s Republic of China in the reform era, it challenges the established view that the great Chinese revolution of the twentieth century was a revolution “made” by the Chinese Communist Party (the CCP). The book begins with a puzzle presented by the two peasant revolutions. While outside mobilization by the CCP was largely absent in Hunan, peasant revolutionary behaviors were spontaneous and radical. In Jiangxi, however, despite intense mobilization by the CCP, peasants remained passive and conservative. This study seeks to resolve the puzzle by examining the roles of communal cooperative institutions in the making of peasant revolutions. Historically, peasant communities in many parts of the world were regulated by powerful cooperative institutions to confront environmental challenges. This book argues that different communal organizational principles affect peasants’ perceptions of the legitimacy of their communal orders. Agrarian rebellions can be caused by peasants’ attempts to restructure unjust and illegitimate communal organizational orders, while legitimate communal organizational orders can powerfully constrain the mobilization by outside revolutionary agents such as the CCP. “In this thorough comparative account of the peasant risings in Hunan and Jiangxi and the role of the Communist Party, Professor Zhang casts new light on both the risings themselves, and what they can tell us about peasant risings in general. This work is strong in both theory and detailed historical research.” —Richard Rigby, professor, China Institute, Australian National University “Professor Zhang has beautifully crafted a comparative study of divergent peasant revolutions in two Chinese regions during Mao’s long revolutionary war. He brings to this task a broad and deep knowledge about revolutionary theory, and also a razor-like analytical sensibility, which enables him to examine the pros and cons of existing perspectives.” —Timothy P. Wickham-Crowley, associate professor of sociology, Georgetown University

With the growth and advancement of business and industry, there is a growing need for the advancement of the strategies that manage these modernizations. Adaptation to advancement is essential for the success of these organizations and using the proper methods to accomplish this essential adaptation is paramount. Organizational Transformation and Managing Innovation in the Fourth Industrial Revolution provides innovative insights into the management of advancements and the implementation of strategies to accommodate these changes. The content within this publication examines social engagement, cyber-journalism, and educational innovation. It is designed for managers, consultants, academicians, researchers, and professionals, and covers topics centered on the growth of businesses and how they change alongside the economy and infrastructure.

There is only one thing certain about the future - it will be different. It is now recognized that for companies to survive, change must become an integral part of the plan. This work aims to show how to build organizational competence to sustain both evolution and revolution.

"In the 20th and 21st century revolutions have become more urban, often less violent, but also more frequent and more transformative of the international order. Whether it is the revolutions against Communism in Eastern Europe and the USSR; the "color revolutions" across Asia, Europe and North Africa; or the religious revolutions in Iran, Afghanistan, and Syria; today's revolutions are quite different from those of the past. Modern theories of revolution have therefore replaced the older class-based theories with more varied, dynamic, and contingent models of social and political change. This new edition updates the history of revolutions, from Classical Greece and Rome to the Revolution of Dignity in the Ukraine, with attention to the changing types and outcomes of revolutionary struggles. It also presents the latest advances in the theory of revolutions, including the issues of revolutionary waves, revolutionary leadership, international influences, and the likelihood of revolutions to come. This volume provides a brief but comprehensive introduction to the nature of revolutions and their role in global history"--

This text explores the experiences of tempered radicals. These are people who want to become valued and successful members of their organisations without selling out on who they are and what they believe in.

People face a bewildering choice of new organizational design options. New organizational forms are sweeping across businesses, now that information technology enables better communication, both internally and across boundaries. This book helps managers to navigate the new landscape, by providing a concise and practical overview of forms like holacracy, the Spotify-model, platform organizations, multidimensional organizing and ecosystems. It discusses these forms and provides a user guide, showing when they are effective and when to avoid them. Short insightful excursions explain how the organizational revolution affects issues like human resource management, the changing role of middle management, planning and control and self-organization. Finally, the book guides you through the question how to design new forms and how to implement them. Practical examples and enlightening case studies show the struggles and successes you face in working in this new environment. Self-organized, dynamic and externally oriented structures replace hierarchical, predictable and internally oriented structures. The business unit and the matrix that dominated the twentieth century are making way for new forms of organizing. This book is the first complete overview of new organizational forms in the information economy. It is an indispensable guide to profit from the opportunities new organizational forms present.

World-renowned economist Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, explains that we have an opportunity to shape the fourth industrial revolu­tion, which will fundamentally alter how we live and work. Schwab argues that this revolution is different in scale, scope and complexity from any that have come before. Characterized by a range of new technologies that are fusing the physical, digital and biological worlds, the developments are affecting all disciplines, economies, industries and governments, and even challenging ideas about what it means to be human. Artificial intelligence is already all around us, from supercomputers, drones and virtual assistants to 3D printing, DNA sequencing, smart thermostats, wear­able sensors and microchips smaller than a grain of sand. But this is just the beginning: nanomaterials 200 times stronger than steel and a million times thinner than a strand of hair and the first transplant of a 3D printed liver are already in development. Imagine “smart factories” in which global systems of manu­facturing are coordinated virtually, or implantable mobile phones made of biosynthetic materials. The fourth industrial revolution, says Schwab, is more significant, and its ramifications more profound, than in any prior period of human history. He outlines the key technologies driving this revolution and discusses the major impacts expected on government, business, civil society and individu­als. Schwab also offers bold ideas on how to harness these changes and shape a better future—one in which technology empowers people rather than replaces them; progress serves society rather than disrupts it; and in which innovators respect moral and ethical boundaries rather than cross them. We all have the opportunity to contribute to developing new frame­works that advance progress.