Crafting a Human Resource Strategy to Foster Organizational Agility: A Case Study

Abstract A decade ago, the Chief Executive Officer of Albert Einstein Healthcare Network (AEHN), anticipating a tumultuous and largely unpredictable period in its industry, undertook to convert this organization from one that was basically stable and complacent to one that was agile, “nimble, and change‐hardy”. This case study, while briefly addressing AEHN's approaches to business strategy and organization design, focuses primarily on the human resource strategy that emerged over time to foster the successful attainment of organizational agility. Although exploratory, the study suggests a number of lessons for those who are—or will be—studying or trying to create and sustain this promising new organizational paradigm. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.