Final answer:
Organizational inertia involves factors like lack of vision, resistance to change, and culture that discourage innovation and flexibility. Large bureaucracies, such as state governments, exemplify the struggle with rapid change due to entrenched systems that may also perpetuate power imbalances.
Step-by-step explanation:
The sources of organizational inertia, which is the difficulty an organization faces when trying to change, include a variety of factors such as Lack of Vision and Direction, Resistance to Change, and Organizational Culture. These factors contribute to discouraging new ideas, limiting day-to-day flexibility, and creating a large bureaucracy within the organization. In such environments, there may also be a lack of incentive to work hard or improve, as the culture itself does not support these values. This can make an organization slow to respond to new challenges and opportunities, similar to turning a large tanker around mid-ocean.
Issues like state governments facing budget crises illustrate how entrenched bureaucracies struggle with rapid change. The nature of bureaucracies, often established in times when privilege and power were held by a select few, can perpetuate existing power imbalances by recognizing merit in a way that favours traditionally privileged groups.