Abstract
A recurrring theme in organization studies is the finding that a lot of change efforts in organizations fail. This so in spite of the extensive attention paid to "the human factor" since the twenties of the last century. Therefore the question may be posed whether perhaps the attention for the human factor was not sincere enough. As the philosopher Levinas's main focus is "sincere attention for the other", the question is introduced whether Levinas can, through his thinking of the other, throw light on these issues. Searching for an entrance by which to connect Levinas's thinking to managerial themes, Chapter 1 finds two topics which may serve as connecting points. These topics are: the problematic nature of rationality, and the radical resistance which is associated with the totalising impact of that rationality and that manifests itself in – in Levinas's terminology – the Face. Arguing along this lines Chapter 1 formulates as associated meta-question for the book as a whole: what is the contribution Levinas has to offer, through his discussion of the issues of problematic rationality and resistance to encapsulation, to the thinking in organization studies about change problems?