Product Description

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

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #100910 in Books
• Published on: 2006-07-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 480 pages

Review
"Overall, the book is well planned and presented. True to the editors′ preference, each chapter is essentially a story about approach to a particular problem." (PsycCritiques, 09/06/2007)

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

Customer Reviews

Another classic work from the doyens of LGI
Barbara Bunker and Billie Alban wrote the original work on Large Group Interventions (which is the title too) summarising the various approaches that Organisational Development consultants could adopt when working with large groups. They have now followed that classic work with another brilliant book, which uses a plethora of case studies to examine the ways that Large Group Interventions can be conducted. Crisply written and extremely well organised this is a very readable book which will become a classic in its own right in years to come.