Structures and processes in administrative change

A central debate in organizational theory concerns factors which bring about change. Nils Brunsson argues that reform can be regarded as part of organizational stability and routine rather than of change. One effective way of stopping reforms is to try to implement them, he writes. In this reply a framework of administrative change is presented and used in questioning Brunsson's conclusions. The main criticism concerns the role which an organization's members are given in organizational change, and the unspoken assumption that they always act cynically.