Paradoxes of Group Life: Understanding Conflict, Paralysis, and Movement in Group Dynamics (Jossey-Bass Business & Management) [Paperback]

Kenwyn K. Smith (Author), David N. Berg (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 078793948X | ISBN-13: 978-0787939489 | Publication Date: September 19, 1997 | Edition: 1

During the past decade, leaders have increasingly relied on self-managing work groups, multifunctional teams, and cross-national executive groups to create the organization of the future. Yet groups are not a panacea for organizational problems; conflicts between individuals or factions within a group often create seemingly contradictory situations?paradoxes?that can prevent the group from reaching its goals.

In this groundbreaking classic, Kenwyn Smith and David Berg offer a revolutionary approach to understanding groups and overcoming the problems that often paralyze group members, the group as a whole, and relations among groups. They explore the hidden dynamics that can prevent a group from functioning effectively. And they show how an apparently paradoxical suggestion?for example, inviting a success oriented group to risk failure, or affirming the benefits of going nowhere to a group focused on moving ahead?can break action barriers, overcome conflicts, and improve group performance.

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

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Paradoxes of Group Life is probably the most important volume on group dynamics written within the last twenty years. It has influenced an entire generation of scholars and manager-leaders?often without the explicit recognition it deserves. For those who are ready, this work offers thoughtful, clear and enriching concepts about the most troubling and potentially liberating elements of group life." (Clayton P. Aldefer, Ph.D., ABPP, distinguished professor of organizational behavior, Rutgers University Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology; editor, Journal of Applied Behavioral Science)

"Smith and Berg have provided a new and interesting frame of reference for the study of behavior in groups that is comprehensive, often counterintuitive, and interesting." (Leopold Gruenfeld, professor of organizational behavior, New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell University, Administrative Science Quarterly)

"Professionals and academics will find a very intelligent and valuable examination of many classical theories of personality and group interaction. Involving ourselves in the Smith and Berg model was, without a doubt, educational and intellectually provocative." (Samuel A. Culbert, Graduate School of Management, University of California, Los Angeles, and Oscar Ortsman, Departement des Sciences Economiques, Humaines et Sociales, Ecole Centrale de Paris, Academy of Management Review)

"Paradoxes of Group Life is an empowering book of possibilities....It is a book that proposes that we think about groups in a different way and that by thinking in that way, we open numerous possibilities for altering the nature of social systems. It is in illustrating this way of thinking that this book has done a very good job, and it is in the possibilities that stem from this way of thinking that this book gains a power beyond what its immediate subject appears to be." (Jeffrey D. Ford, associate professor of management and human resources, Ohio State University, Contemporary Psychology)

From the Inside Flap

During the past decade, leaders have increasingly relied on self-managing work groups, multifunctional teams, and cross-national executive groups to create the organization of the future. Yet groups are not a panacea for organizational problems; conflicts between individuals or factions within a group often create seemingly contradictory situations?paradoxes?that can prevent the group from reaching its goals. In this groundbreaking classic, Kenwyn Smith and David Berg offer a revolutionary approach to understanding groups and overcoming the problems that often paralyze group members, the group as a whole, and relations among groups. They explore the hidden dynamics that can prevent a group from functioning effectively. And they show how an apparently paradoxical suggestion?for example, inviting a success oriented group to risk failure, or affirming the benefits of going nowhere to a group focused on moving ahead?can break action barriers, overcome conflicts, and improve group performance. Smith and Berg offer a different way of thinking about groups that will open new avenues of inquiry for professors and students of group behavior, and they propose many innovative ideas that will prove valuable to consultants, trainers, therapists, and others who work with groups on a regular basis.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 1 edition (September 19, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078793948X
• ISBN-13: 978-0787939489
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #378,511 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Constant Companion for Group Work, May 20, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Paradoxes of Group Life: Understanding Conflict, Paralysis, and Movement in Group Dynamics (Jossey-Bass Business & Management) (Paperback)

This insightful book has accompanied me through grad school, two corporate reorganizations and numerous consulting projects. The authors have written an excellent text on the contradictory forces/movements endemic to group life. Their use of paradoxical thought as a lens for thinking about and successfully navigating the territory of group life is both practical and innovative. If you're looking for the usual book about conflict resolution, please look elsewhere. Smith and Berg advocate reclaiming rather than repressing or eliminating the fears and anxieties that define many aspects of group life. Their explanation of concepts such as group paralysis, oscillation, group-as-whole, splitting and individual ambivalence are clear and highly cogent when integrated into a paradoxical framework.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Aptly titled: This analysis is rife w/ incisive insights., August 10, 2001

By 

M. Pardee "Lifelong-Learner" (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Paradoxes of Group Life: Understanding Conflict, Paralysis, and Movement in Group Dynamics (Jossey-Bass Business & Management) (Paperback)

Paradoxes of Group Life is a masterful explication of the concepts its title announces. This readable volume will serve the newcomer to Group Dynamics as well as the more experienced cognoscenti. People are often fundamentally ambivalent about ourselves and our participation in groups. Smith & Berg explain these (often unconscious) dynamics with great clarity and force. Treat yourself to this compelling analysis. I highly recommend their important work!

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent, November 17, 2010

By 

Dominic - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Paradoxes of Group Life: Understanding Conflict, Paralysis, and Movement in Group Dynamics (Jossey Bass Business and Management Series) (Hardcover)

The book is excellent. Very approachable with good analogies. A required work for anyone dealing with groups. That means everyone.