Paradoxes of Group Life: Understanding Conflict, Paralysis, and Movement in Group Dynamics

During the past decade, leaders have increasingly relied onself-managing work groups, multifunctional teams, andcross-national executive groups to create the organization of thefuture. Yet groups are not a panacea for organizational problems;conflicts between individuals or factions within a group oftencreate seemingly contradictory situations?paradoxes?that canprevent the group from reaching its goals.

In this groundbreaking classic, Kenwyn Smith and David Berg offera revolutionary approach to understanding groups and overcoming theproblems that often paralyze group members, the group as a whole,and relations among groups. They explore the hidden dynamics thatcan prevent a group from functioning effectively. And they show howan apparently paradoxical suggestion?for example, inviting asuccess oriented group to risk failure, or affirming the benefitsof going nowhere to a group focused on moving ahead?can breakaction barriers, overcome conflicts, and improve groupperformance.

Smith and Berg offer a different way of thinking about groups thatwill open new avenues of inquiry for professors and students ofgroup behavior, and they propose many innovative ideas that willprove valuable to consultants, trainers, therapists, and others whowork with groups on a regular basis.

KENWYN K. SMITH teaches at the University of Pennsylvania in the School of Social Work, and in executive programs at the Wharton Business School. He has devoted his career to the study of organizational change, group and intergroup dynamics, and conflict management. Over recent years, Smith has focused his studies on how organizational dynamics impact the physical and emotional health of employees DAVID N. BERG maintains a private practice in organizational psychology and also teaches in the department of psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine. A professor of organizational behavior for fifteen years, Berg continues to work as a consultant to various organizations and groups. He is the deputy editor of the Journal of Applied Behavioral Science and has an abiding interest in group and intergroup relations, as well as organizational diagnosis. He lives in Bethany, Connecticut.