Abstract
The article “Administrative reforms as routines”, published in the Scandinavian Journal of Management in 1989, draws on the observation that large organizations tend to change their forms often. Its main argument is that the frequency of reforms in organizations depends on the supply of problems, solutions, and forgetfulness. The greater the supply of any of these factors, the more likely it is that reforms will occur. The number of administrative reforms does not seem to have diminished since the article was written almost 20 years ago. If the argument of the article is correct, these continuing reforms should indicate that problems, solutions, and forgetfulness still flourish. It is clear that there are many solutions; new recipes for ways of organizing are continually being published, and the management consultancy industry continues to thrive. It seems that reforms have a strong tendency to fail, leaving important problems unresolved. If reforms solved the problems once for all, there would be little demand for new reforms. And 20 more years of reform experience has not dramatically reduced our enthusiasm for reforming. Forgetfulness continues to abound. The supply of problems, solutions, and forgetfulness cannot be assumed to be the only drivers of reform, however. Rather, they work against a background of more fundamental factors that stimulate reform. One such factor is the concept of organization; another is a culture of ideals, future, and hope.