Navigating Change

An interdisciplinary study of NAVIGATING ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE, this book begins with an historical case study, the history of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, of which the author is a member. The historical overview focuses on three key moments in the history of the institute, its initial foundation, its establishment in North America and the renewal of the congregation in response to the Second Vatican Council. This case study is used throughout the book as the primary example of the life-cycle of a religious institute. Information from other religious institutes and general statistical information on religious institutes in the United States is also incorporated to enhance a broader understanding and applicability. Though it may be broader in application, for practical reasons, the discussion is limited to the situation of women's institutes of religious life in the United States. The project turns next to the notion of the life-cycle of an organization, applying studies of this concept to the historical case study presented in the first section, critically evaluating it in view of the central task of understanding the role of law in the life-cycle of a religious institute. Drawn from the field of biology, the application of the concept of life-cycle to an organization came in the mid 20th century from the fields of economics and management studies. Exploring an organization's social system from a longitudinal perspective is particularly helpful in analyzing the role of law in religious institutes, because most of the relevant legal activity of an organization occurs at key moments of institutional change in the life-cycle. Because a religious institute is greater than the sum of its sociological parts, the third section moves to a theological analysis of the…