This new book on Tavistock Group Relations Conferences contains the collection of papers presented at the Belgirate conference plus two additional papers, representing a collective picture of the current group relations thinking for addressing organisational and societal needs. An international community of group relations practitioners met on the shores of Lake Maggiore, Italy in November 2003 to reflect on and debate contemporary issues in group relations and their application to the changing needs of organisations and society. The conference aimed to study Tavistock Group Relations Conferences via an innovative integration of reflective and didactic elements. There were two keynote lectures and eight side lectures and other group events that focused on the theory, design, role-taking and application of Group Relations Conferences. ‘This volume is a major step forward in the theory and practice of Group Relations Conferences. As the best method available for revealing the impact of deep human experience on group and organizational life, these advances represent invaluable insights about the issues of leadership and authority in today’s world.’ - James Krantz, PhD, Principal, Nautilus Consulting Group, New York City; President-elect, International Society for the Psychoanalytic Study of Organizations; Member, OPUS ‘A fresh look at group relations is needed and this is written with good humour and a genuine wish to learn from experience.’ - Tim Dartington, group and organisational consultant Table of Contents: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABOUT THE EDITORS AND CONTRIBUTORS FOREWORD - Anton Obholzer PREFACE - Louisa Diana Brunner, Avi Nutkevitch and Mannie Sher INTRODUCTION: Group Relations Conferences: reviewing and exploring theory, design, role-taking and application - Avi Nutkevitch and Mannie Sher Part I : Structure, design and learning in Group Relations Conferences CHAPTER ONE Learning from experience and the experience of learning in Group Relations Conferences - Olya Khaleelee CHAPTER TWO Structure and design of Group Relations Conferences: issues and dilemmas - Mira Erlich-Ginor Part II : Themed Conferences and Group Relations Conference methodology CHAPTER THREE Sexual abuse: application and adaptation of basic Group Relations concepts, technique and culture to a specific social issue - Ilana Litvin and Gabi Bonwitt CHAPTER FOUR The ‘Seeon’ Conference: Group Relations as applied to a historical conflict between two professional groups. An exercise in experiencing, understanding and dealing with inter-group and institutional conflict - Ross A. Lazar Part III : The application of Group Relations Conferences methodology to professional roles CHAPTER FIVE Mutuality and interdependence: applications of Group Relations perspectives to issues of career ownership and development - Karen Izod CHAPTER SIX Surfacing the ecology of public school organisations: the centrality of groups and their dependency container - Carl Mack, Jr CHAPTER SEVEN Contradictory demands and basic assumptions: a case study on role taking in a university clinic - Siv Boalt Boëthius Part IV : Researching Group Relations Conferences methodology and outcome CHAPTER EIGHT Multi-level application of Group Relations Conferences learning: staff, members and sponsoring organizations - Allan Shafer CHAPTER NINE Applying Group Relations learning to the daily work of consultants and managers: theorists solve the problems they want to; practitioners solve the problems they have to - Lilian Hupkens Part V : Post-conference reflections CHAPTER TEN The Very Small Group: its role and function in the ‘system in the mind’ - Jan Baker CHAPTER ELEVEN In favor of reinventing the wheel: reflections on the Group Relations model following the first Belgirate Conference - Joseph Triest REFERENCES INDEX Author Biographies: LOUISA DIANA BRUNNER, M.Sc., is a management and organizational consultant. She carries out selection and career counseling for the MBA Courses at the Bocconi School of Management, Milan. AVI NUTKEVITCH, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist, psychoanalyst and organizational consultant. He holds a senior teaching position on the MBA programme of the College of Management in Rishon Le’Tzion. MANNIE SHER, B.A., T.Q.A.P., F.B.A.P., is a Principal Social Scientist and Director of the Group Relations Programme at the Tavistock Institute, London. He manages organisational development and change projects and consults to top management of organisations on the role of leadership in effecting strategic change. Contributors: Jan Baker, Gabi Bonwitt, Mira Erlich-Ginor, Lilian A.j. Hupkens, Karen Izod, Olya Khaleelee, Ross A. Lazar, Ilana Litvin, Carl Mack, Jnr., Anton Obholzer, Allan Shafer, Joseph Triest. Louisa Diana Brunner is a management and organizational consultant. She carries out selection and career counselling for the MBA Courses at the Bocconi School of Management, Milan. Her main areas of intervention and interest are leadership, organizational culture, group relations, team-building, family business, generational transitions and executive coaching. Mannie Sher is a Principal Social Scientist and Director of the Group Relations Programme at the Tavistock Institute, London. He manages organizational development and change projects and consults to top management of organizations on the role of leadership in effecting strategic change. He is a Fellow of the British Association of Psychotherapists (BAP) and a practising psychoanalytical psychotherapist. Mannie has published on subjects of consultancy, leadership, organizational development, ethics and corruption. He is a member of ISPSO, OFEK and OPUS. Avi Nutkevitch is a clinical psychologist, psychoanalyst and oorganizational consultant. He is a full member of the Israel Psychoanalytic Society and teaches at the Israel Psychoanalytic Institute and other postgraduate programs for psychotherapy. He is a founding member and former Chair of OFEK, the Israel Association for the Study of Group and Organizational Processes. He is currently Co-Director and Faculty of the Program in Organizational Consultation and Development: a Psychoanalytic-Systemic Approach. He holds a senior teaching position on the MBA program of the College of Management in Rishon Le’Tzion.
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