Edgar H. Schein

Kurt Lewin's change theory in the field and in the classroom: Notes toward a model of managed learning

This paper discusses some of Lewins basic dictums and their influence in the authors work and that of others. Specifically, the paper expands on Lewins change model. It also discusses process consultation and clinical research and describes a design to teach the management of planned change. The paper concludes that planned change might be better conceptualized as managed learning.

The Role of the Founder in Creating Organizational Culture

Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom, is said to have sprung full-blown from the forehead of Zeus. Similarly, an organizations culture begins life in the head of its founder, springing from the founders ideas about truth, reality, and the way the world works.

Psicología de la organización

Edgard H. Schein, profesor de la Escuela de Direccion de Empresas de Sloan, en el Instituto de Tecnologia de Massachusetts, ha publicado en 1970 esta obra que ahora acaba de ser traducida al castellano por Editorial Prentice-Hall International. El libro contiene siete capitulos, que cubren un total de 150 paginas, aproximadamente (se incluye un glosario y los indices acostumbrados). En el capitulo 1 se habla de la Psicologia de la Organizacion como nueva disciplina cientifica. Se define a la organizacion como «un sistema social complejo que debe ser estudiado como un sistema total si queremos comprender la conducta individual de una manera meridiana». Por otra parte, «una organizacion influye en muchos grupos que engendran sus propias normas acerca de lo que es una conducta adecuada y correcta: dichas normas se generalizan a la cuantia y al tipo de trabajo que va a realizarse». El area de la psicologia de la organizacion se halla en trance de un inusitado desarrollo, y ello se debe, en primer lugar, a los cambios espectaculares que se han producido en el seno de la empresa, las nuevas fuerzas que se han engendrado en nuestra sociedad en trance de crisis y el avance de las ciencias de la conducta y en especial de la psicologia industrial, cuyo enfasis se realiza mas sobre el ser humano que sobre las cecnicas de trabajo que este emplea. En el capitulo 2 vuelve a definirse la organizacion como «coordinacion racional de las actividades de un cierto numero de personas que intentan conseguir una finalidad y objetivo comun y explicito mediante la division de las funciones y del trabajo y a traves de una jerarquia de la autoridad y de la responsabilidad. Se habla de los metodos de seleccion del personal que va a formar parte de una organizacion y de los problemas de la integracion de las diversas unidades de una organizacion compleja. En el capitulo 3 se detalla mas especificamente las tecnicas de reclutamiento psicometrico y seleccion. Uno de los paragrafos ilustra el conjunto de experiencias que se derivaron de los famosos estudios Hawthorne

Process consultation, action research and clinical inquiry: are they the same?

Clarifies a confusion existing in the field of consultation and organization development between formal research and data‐driven inquiry on the one hand and clinical research and client‐driven inquiry on the other. Illustrates the difference between the two approaches by showing the effects of particular approaches to data gathering. Shows how the clinical approach is synonymous with process consultation by being driven by the client′s agenda and argues that the clinical approach is more appropriate for consultation and organization development projects.

Attitude Change During Management Education

The role of the professional school as a socializing institution is examined in an empirical study of student attitudes in a management school. Two types of students are tested on a multidimensional attitude survey prior to entry into the school and again at graduation. Initial positions of the students and attitude changes are related to the attitudes of the school faculty and groups of managers. Edgar H. Schein is professor of organizational psychology and management, Sloan School of Management, MIT.

Empowerment, coercive persuasion and organizational learning: do they connect?

Although organizational learning is often defined as the result of many individuals learning generatively in an organizational context, the argument is made that such learning is de facto coercive persuasion. Generative learning by the individual requires free choice of exit if and when cognitive redefinition becomes painful. When organizations demand such redefinition as part of culture change programs they are de facto creating a situation of coercive persuasion. We must then examine our moral position with respect to both the methods of learning and the ultimate goals of the change effort.

On Dialogue, Culture, and Organizational Learning

C onsider any complex, potentially volatile issue-Arab relations, the problems between Serbs, Croats, and Bosnians, corporate decision making, getting control of the U.S. deficit or health care costs, labor/management relations, and so on. At the root of the issue we are likely to find communication failures and cultural misunderstandings that prevent the parties from framing the problem in a common way, and thus make it impossible to deal with the problem constructively. Clearly, we need ways of improving our thought processes, especially in groups where the solution depends on people reaching at least a common formulation of the problem. It is for this reason that governments, communities, and organizations are focusing increasing attention on the theory and practice of dialogue. Proponents of dialogue claim that it holds promise as a way of helping groups reach higher levels of consciousness and thus be more creative and more effective. At the same time, the uninitiated may view dialogue as just one more oversold communication technology-or nothing more than a new variant of sensitivity training. My goal in this essay is to provide one perspective on dialogue, based on my own direct experience with it. I hope to show that di-

Five traps for consulting psychologists: or, How I learned to take culture seriously.

In this article, the author identifies the major traps that consulting psychologists fall into because they do not take cultural and sociological factors into account when working with complex social systems. Too many of the consulting models coming out of psychology assume that what works at the in

Douglas McGregor: theoretician, moral philosopher or behaviorist?

Purpose – McGregor was the consummate process consultant, but his behavior was derived not from his philosophy of participation but from his theory of human behavior. He was a Theory Y person who found in an academic setting that the managerial style resulting from this set of assumptions was ideally suited to what an academic environment needed. Douglas McGregor was a theoretician, moral philosopher or behaviorist. This reflection aims to provide an analysis of the interconnections between assumptions, values and behavior and an analysis of how his behavior impacted both his theory and value system.Design/methodology/approach – This paper provides an analysis of the interconnections between assumptions, values and behavior.Findings – Some of the misunderstanding of McGregors views is based on the failure to see him above all as a theoretician.Originality/value – McGregor displayed the patience to wait for the right time, to lead by asking the gentle questions, to focus on small changes in process rather...

Reactions, Reflections, Rejoinders, and a Challenge

I t is incredibly exciting, confirming, and stimulating to read the articles in this issue that the Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, David Coghlan, and Rami Shani have produced. As an aging scholar and practitioner, I am more aware than ever of how much I depend on feedback, affirmation, and critique. I found each of the pieces in this issue to be an important stimulus to rethink parts of my work and to add information and ideas that I hope will increase readers’ knowledge, insight, and practical skills. Each of the articles deals with a different aspect of my work, and I therefore comment on each separately before trying to pull together some more general thoughts that this whole issue has stimulated.