The Handbook of Large Group Methods: Creating Systemic Change in Organizations and Communities - Hardcover

Bunker, Barbara Benedict; Alban, Billie T.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0787981435 ISBN 13: 9780787981433

Publisher: Jossey-Bass, 2006

Synopsis

Large Group Interventions are methods used to gather a whole system together to discuss and take action on the target agenda. That agenda varies from future plans, products, and services, to redesigning work, to discussion of troubling issues and problems. The Handbook of Large Group Methods takes the next step in demonstrating through a series of cases how Large Group Methods are currently being used to address twenty-first-century challenges in organizations and communities today, including:

• Working with widely dispersed organizations, and the problem of involvement and participation
• Working with organizations facing a serious business crisis
• Working with organizations in polarized and politicized environments
• Working in community settings with diverse interest groups
• Working at the global level and adapting these methods for cross-cultural use
• Embedding and sustaining new patterns of working together in organizations and communities

About this title

From the Inside Flap

Written by the founders¿of the field of Large Group Interventions and the coauthors of the classic book on the topic, Handbook of Large Group Methods provides¿a much-awaited¿comprehensive overview of the¿new methods and illustrates how these methods are being applied today.

Large Group Interventions are methods used to gather a whole system together to discuss and take action on the target agenda.¿That agenda varies from future plans, products, and services, to redesigning work, to discussion of troubling issues and problems.¿The Handbook of Large Group Methods takes the next step in demonstrating through a series of cases how Large Group Methods are currently being used to address twenty-first-century challenges in organizations and communities today, including:

• Working with widely dispersed organizations, and the problem of involvement and participation
• Working with organizations facing a serious business crisis
• Working with organizations in polarized and politicized environments
• Working in community settings with diverse interest groups
• Working at the global level and adapting these methods for cross-cultural use
• Embedding and sustaining new patterns of working together in organizations and communities

The authors offer a comprehensive overview of Large Group Methods currently in practice, including new methods¿such as Appreciative Inquiry, The World Café, and AmericaSpeaks.¿They also address the use of interactive technologies, graphic facilitation, scenario planning, and conflict resolution strategies in large groups.

From the Back Cover

Praise for The Handbook of Large Group Methods

"There is nothing more important in a complex, global interdependent world than to have some road maps and driving instructions on how to manage change in large systems. Bunker and Alban have provided the essential concepts of Large Group Methods, case examples, and, most important, prescriptions for how to manage large systems change successfully. This is a must-read for all enterprise managers."
—Edgar H. Schein, Sloan Fellows Professor of Management-Emeritus, MIT Sloan School of Management

"This book offers an exceptional look at large group process, brought to life by powerful stories from real organizations and communities. There's no better way to understand the methodology and its potential. This extraordinary collection of stories demonstrates the power of large group processes in a variety of organizational settings. I can't imagine a better way to understand the methodology and its potential to impact organizations of all kinds."
—June Delano, senior practice leader, The Monitor Group

"Using these methods and involving large groups of employees Working Together has been central to American's Turnaround Plan during these challenging times in the airline industry."
—Jeff Brundage, senior vice president, Global Human Resources, American Airlines

Edition details

• Publisher: Jossey-Bass
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0787981435
• ISBN 13: 9780787981433
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 480