Paradoxes of Group Life: Understanding Conflict, Paralysis, and Movement in Group Dynamics

By Kenwyn K. Smith

Book Overview

During the past decade, leaders have increasingly relied onself-managing work groups, multifunctional teams, andcross-national executive groups to create the organization of thefuture. Yet groups are not a panacea for organizational problems;conflicts between individuals or factions within a group oftencreate seemingly contradictory situations'paradoxes'that canprevent the group from reaching its goals. In this groundbreaking classic, Kenwyn Smith and David Berg offera revolutionary approach to understanding groups and overcoming theproblems that often paralyze group members, the group as a whole, and relations among groups. They explore the hidden dynamics thatcan prevent a group from functioning effectively. And they show howan apparently paradoxical suggestion'for example, inviting asuccess oriented group to risk failure, or affirming the benefitsof going nowhere to a group focused on moving ahead'can breakaction barriers, overcome conflicts, and improve groupperformance. Smith and Berg offer a different way of thinking about groups thatwill open new avenues of inquiry for professors and students ofgroup behavior, and they propose many innovative ideas that willprove valuable to consultants, trainers, therapists, and others whowork with groups on a regular basis.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 078793948X
• ISBN13: 9780787939489
• Release Date: October 1997
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.03 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.0" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

A true companion on the road to no-where

Smith and Berg have wrouth - written is too modest - a briljant insighful and wise guide tour behind the coulises of our lifes. It is the best guide book I know to the place you live in: the group. You can use it in almost every situation. They show how we are caught in our webs, our own frames of mind, our relational swamp. Such is life and it is getting sucher and sucher all the time. I recommend this book to every one dealing with groups AND individuals, because there is no better way to start to understand what life ' is'.

Constant Companion for Group Work

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.

Aptly titled: This analysis is rife w/ incisive insights.

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!