Restructuring as gratification

Almost everyone does it. It is pleasurable for some, apparently, and stressful for others—you only have to watch people at it. Others find it painful. A relatively small number is opposed to it, and will fight hard to stop it happening. But they are few, and most people simply grin and bear it. Restructuring is so pervasive, in fact, that observers could be forgiven for thinking it is the only change tool available. In the health sectors of Britain, New Zealand, Canada, the USA and Australia the activity seems virtually continuous. Primarily it consists of regular mergers, altering the responsibilities between central and peripheral bodies, setting up new agencies that trigger domino-like changes to the official responsibilities of other agencies, constantly tweaking organizational charts and re-orienting who reports to whom.