Experiential Learning in Organizations: Applications of the Tavistock Group Relations Approach

This is an authoritative sourcebook on a major strand of Group Relations Theory - "learning from experience". This approach was developed jointly from psychoanalytic and open systems theories, including those of Bion, Kegan, Klein and Freud. It will be invaluable for all those involved in working with groups and organisations.The papers in this collection look at the underlying theory and the practical application of learning from experience. They address the broad issues of authority, leadership and organisational culture, whilst concentrating on other issues in-depth, such as inter-group conflict, and gender and race relations in the workplace.Contributors:Thomas N. Gilmore; Laurence J. Gould; Larry Hirschhorn; Ross A. Lazar; Susan Long; Eric J. Miller; Debra A. Noumair; Lionel F. Stapley; and Mark Stein.

About the Author :
Laurence J. Gould PhD was the director of the Socio-Psychoanalytic Training Program, The Institute for Psychoanalytic Training and Research (IPTAR). He was also the founding co-director of the Program in Organizational Development and Consultation in Israel, and a founding member of the International Society for the Psychoanalytic Study of Organizations (ISPSO). Dr Gould was a co-editor of 'The Systems Psychodynamics of Organizations' (Karnac, 2001), and 'Experiential Learning in Organizations' (Karnac, 2004). In addition, he was the founding co-editor of 'Organizational and Social Dynamics'. Dr Gould practised psychoanalysis and organizational consultation in New York City. He passed away in 2010. Lionel Stapley PhD is an organizational consultant and the Director of OPUS (An Organisation for Promoting Understanding of Society) an educational charity that seeks to encourage the study of conscious and unconscious processes in society and institutions within it. He heads up the OPUS Group Processes Program; and is an organisational consultant working in the public and private sectors in the UK and in other countries with individuals, groups and sometimes whole organisations. He has a particular interest in organisational culture and change. He is also a member of the International Society for the Psychoanalytic Study of Organizations, a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Personnel and Development (CFIPD), and a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Management (FCIM). Mark Stein BA, MPhil, MSc, PhD, is a Programme Director of the Professional Management Programmes at the University of Reading, a visiting tutor at the Tavistock Clinic and an associate of OPUS. Previously he has held posts at the London School of Economics, The Tavistock Institute, the South Bank University and Brunel University.

Review :
'This book will be required reading for all who are interested in the theory and practice of working with groups and organisations, as well as those who have a serious interest in the area of experiential education and group relations training: MBA and other management students, managers, consultants, personnel and training professionals, researchers in group and organisational behaviour and educationalists. It will appeal, therefore, to a wide variety of professionals and students who are broadly interested in group and organisational psychology, as well as those who are already conversant with the theories and practice of GRT and its applications.'- Lionel Stapley, from the Introduction