Covert Processes at Work : Managing the Five Hidden Dimensions of Organizational Change (Paperback)

by Robert J Marshak (Author), Ed Schein (Foreword)
Key Phrases: diagnosing covert processes, focal system, prism beliefs, Covert Processes Model, Whiz Tech, Comfort Foods (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Adding these tools…will take both your practice and your clients to a whole new level of capability and impact." -- Karen Boylston, PhD, Managing Director, Duke Corporate Education

Product Description
Organizational change initiatives often fail because they focus exclusively on the rational, overt aspects of change, overlooking the powerful role played by concealed or irrational factors. It’s well known that these covert processes—such as hidden agendas, blind spots, office politics, tacit assumptions, secret hopes, wishes and fears—frequently sabotage change efforts, but up until now nobody has offered a rigorous, consistent way of identifying and dealing with them.

Drawing on over thirty years of experience as an organizational change consultant to global corporations and government agencies, Robert J. Marshak shows precisely how to bring these hidden processes to light and deal with their negative impact. Marshak identifies five different dimensions of covert processes, presents an integrated model to explain the ultimate source of all of them, and shows how to diagnose whether any covert processes might be at work in your organization. He then offers specific tools and techniques for engaging and managing these "under-the-table" processes and for creating the kind of organizational environment in which such hidden dynamics are unable to flourish. Covert Processes at Work is a comprehensive and practical guide that managers, leaders, and consultants can use to deal with the hidden dynamics that are often at the root of many organizational problems.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 188 pages
• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers; annotated edition edition (August 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576754154
• ISBN-13: 978-1576754153
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #112,516 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A stunning book that will transform the field of organizational consulting, September 19, 2006

By	Robert Kramer (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

For the first time, we have a road map to help consultants and managers make discussable anything and everything that has long been considered undiscussable. Move over Chris Argyris. In deceptively simple prose, grounded in the best academic thinking on change management, Marshak presents a brilliant yet amazingly practical model of covert processes at work. No organizational change initiative can afford to ignore the power of unconscious dynamics among executives, managers, and employees. With this book in hand, your chances of success have just shot up a hundred fold.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars TACKLES THE CHALLENGE OF UNDERSTANDING AND ADDRESSING HIDDEN ORGANIZATIONAL DYNAMICS!, September 22, 2006

By	Yvette Borcia and Gerry Stern "Stern's Manage... (Culver City, CA) - See all my reviews

Explores the unseen, unspoken and unacknowledged processes and psychodynamics of organization behavior at the individual and group levels, including hidden agendas, blind spots, politics, mindsets, values, and individual reasoning and motivation, both conscious and unconscious, that account for behaviors, particularly regarding organizational change.

Beyond explaining, the author also tackles the challenge of identifying and addressing these hidden processes. Central to the book is an integrated framework or model for identifying overt and covert dimensions of organizational change and behavior and revealing the sources and manifestations of covert processes.

Much emphasis is placed on diagnosis of these covert processes, but over half the book focuses on how to engage, manage and address these hidden dynamics. Additionally, a chapter is devoted to reframing the reader's ideas about organizational politics. All of this rich content provides the 'thinking tools' needed to achieve desired results.

Anyone involved in leadership, or organizational analysis and change--which, as change consultants as well as reviewers, we are--will find this a fascinating, outstanding book that sheds much light upon the dark undercurrents of organizational life.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dr. Marshak uncovers covert dynamics..., August 25, 2006

By	Elena Feliz "OD Consultant" (Woodside, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Ah, if only the global leaders would read Marshak's book, Covert Processes at Work. Anyone who is a change agent, and that includes managers, consultants, community organizers, CEOs, and yes, Prime Ministers/Presidents should read this book. Why? Have you ever lived in an organization where you are being so rational but can't understand why no one is following your suggestions? This book explains how to go about seeing what is not there (under the table). Have you ever thought that the metaphors people use could be a gateway to gaining clarity? Dr. Marshak explains how this can be done. It provides a framework on how to handle politics and much more. In the chaotic and terrifying world we live in, Bob provides a roadmap to help us to become better interveners with an emphasis on ethics and experience. Every chapter has an application on how it is done in the real world. Buy this book now!