-PDF Download- Paradoxes Of Group Life EBOOK

Paradoxes of Group Life

Author: Kenwyn K. Smith

Publisher: Jossey-Bass

Published: 1987-04-23

Total Pages: 316

ISBN-13:

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.

Group Dynamics for Teams

Author: Daniel Levi

Publisher: SAGE Publications

Published: 2015-12-15

Total Pages: 431

ISBN-13: 1483378365

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Incorporating the latest research throughout, Daniel Levi’s Fifth Edition of Group Dynamics for Teams explains the basic psychological concepts of group dynamics, focusing on their application with teams in the workplace. Grounded in psychology research and a practical focus on organizational behavior issues, this engaging book helps readers understand and more effectively participate in teams.

Managing in Uncertainty

Author: Chris Mowles

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-03-24

Total Pages: 189

ISBN-13: 1317550358

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

The reality of everyday organizational life is that it is filled with uncertainty, contradictions and paradoxes. Yet leaders and managers are expected to act as though they can predict the future and bring about the impossible: that they can transform themselves and their colleagues, design different cultures, choose the values for their organization, be innovative, control conflict and have inspiring visions. Whilst managers will have had lots of experiences of being in charge, they probably realise that they are not always in control. So how might we frame a much more realistic account of what’s possible for managers to achieve? Many managers are implicitly aware of their messy reality, but they rarely spend much time reflecting on what it is that they are actually doing. Drawing on insights from the complexity sciences, process sociology and pragmatic philosophy, Chris Mowles engages directly with some principal contradictions of organizational life concerning innovation, culture change, conflict and leadership. Mowles argues that if managers proceed from the expectation that organizational life as inherently uncertain, and interactions between people are complex and often paradoxical, they start noticing different things and create possibilities for acting in different ways. Managing in Uncertainty will be of interest to practitioners, advanced students and researchers looking at management and organizational studies from a critical perspective.

Paradoxes for Living

Author: N. Graham Standish

Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press

Published: 2001-01-01

Total Pages: 204

ISBN-13: 9780664223267

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

"To be strong, we have to be weak." "To become mature, we have to become children." "To live, we have to die." N. Graham Standish challenges readers to explore these and other biblical examples of paradox. With questions for reflection, discussion after each chapter, and helpful appendixes, this book is ideal for either personal or group study.

Entropic Affirmation

Author: Apple Zefelius Igrek

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2018-08-15

Total Pages: 167

ISBN-13: 1498568009

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

How do we conceptualize death when its very nature implies absence and nothingness? It is difficult to put into words precisely because we want our words to help us delineate the world around us, whereas the absence associated with death is the opposite of such delineation. For this reason, death might be said to represent a form of infinite otherness, something radically different from our usual, finite, anthropomorphic way of thinking about the world. With this in mind, Apple Igrek observes an unusual paradox. Some philosophers argue that we should be more open to that which is infinitely other (as with change or death) in the context of ethics, culture, and politics, while others critique this position since we cannot logically say what is more or less open to the immeasurable. It would therefore seem impossible to defend the relevance of what is infinite to ethics while nevertheless acknowledging the validity of the above-stated critique. If we want, in other words, to say that infinite otherness remains relevant to our social and ethical values, we will have a difficult time doing so unless we create a new methodological approach determining how it is possible for pure absence and alterity to play a role in the creation of those values. In this book Apple Igrek takes up the challenge of articulating this new approach explaining how something transcending our finite comprehension (as with death or never-ending change) is nonetheless essential for describing the construction of social values, especially in terms of describing their conflictual and agonistic tendencies.

The Paradox of Choice

Author: Barry Schwartz

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2003-12-22

Total Pages: 287

ISBN-13: 0060005688

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Whether we're buying a pair of jeans, ordering a cup of coffee, selecting a long-distance carrier, applying to college, choosing a doctor, or setting up a 401(k), everyday decisions -- both big and small -- have become increasingly complex due to the overwhelming abundance of choice with which we are presented. As Americans, we assume that more choice means better options and greater satisfaction. But beware of excessive choice: choice overload can make you question the decisions you make before you even make them, it can set you up for unrealistically high expectations, and it can make you blame yourself for any and all failures. In the long run, this can lead to decision-making paralysis, anxiety, and perpetual stress. And, in a culture that tells us that there is no excuse for falling short of perfection when your options are limitless, too much choice can lead to clinical depression. In The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz explains at what point choice -- the hallmark of individual freedom and self-determination that we so cherish -- becomes detrimental to our psychological and emotional well-being. In accessible, engaging, and anecdotal prose, Schwartz shows how the dramatic explosion in choice -- from the mundane to the profound challenges of balancing career, family, and individual needs -- has paradoxically become a problem instead of a solution. Schwartz also shows how our obsession with choice encourages us to seek that which makes us feel worse. By synthesizing current research in the social sciences, Schwartz makes the counter intuitive case that eliminating choices can greatly reduce the stress, anxiety, and busyness of our lives. He offers eleven practical steps on how to limit choices to a manageable number, have the discipline to focus on those that are important and ignore the rest, and ultimately derive greater satisfaction from the choices you have to make.

The Eight Paradoxes of Great Leadership

Author: Tim Elmore

Publisher: HarperCollins Leadership

Published: 2021-11-02

Total Pages: 241

ISBN-13: 140022831X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Become a next generation leader—rich in emotional and social intelligence and orchestrating outstanding collaborative results—by mastering these eight status quo-shattering paradoxes. The Eight Paradoxes of Great Leadership unpacks the fresh strategies and new mindset required today from a next generation leader. Author Dr. Tim Elmore helps leaders of all kinds navigate increasingly complex, rapidly changing environments, as well as manage teams who bring a range of new demands and expectations to the workplace that haven’t been seen even one generation prior. After working alongside John C. Maxwell for twenty years, Tim offers counter-intuitive paradoxes that, when practiced, enable today’s leader to differentiate themselves and better connect with their team and customers. The book furnishes ideas that equip leaders to inspire team members in a way a paycheck never could. Having trained hundreds of thousands of young professionals to develop into leaders—Dr. Elmore shares the secrets of next generation leaders who have practiced the unique paradoxes outlined in this book and inspired their team members in a way that a paycheck never could. In The Eight Paradoxes of Great Leadership, readers will: Learn how today’s team members require a combination of different qualities from their leaders than they did in even the recent past; Grasp the importance of eight key paradoxes that are critical for next generation leaders to put into practice right now; Be inspired by historic and modern-day leaders who lived the eight paradoxes; and Understand how they too can lead with the eight paradoxes, guiding them to emotional and social intelligence that resonates with their teams and leads to outstanding collaborative results.

The Three Paradoxes

Author: Paul Hornschemeier

Publisher: Fantagraphics Books

Published: 2007-07-02

Total Pages: 81

ISBN-13: 1560976535

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

The Three Paradoxes is an intricate and complex autobiographical comic by one of the most talented and innovative young cartoonists today. The story begins with a story inside the story: the cartoon character Paul Hornschemeier is trying to finish a story called "Paul and the Magic Pencil." Paul has been granted a magical implement, a pencil, and is trying to figure out what exactly it can do. He isn't coming up with much, but then we zoom out of this story to the creator, Paul, whose father is about to go on a walk to turn off the lights in his law office in the center of the small town. Abandoning the comic strip temporarily, Paul leaves with his camera, in order to fulfill a promise to his girlfriend that he would take pictures of the places that affected him as a child. Each "chapter" of the story is drawn in a completely different style, with strikingly unique production and color themes, and yet, somehow, despite (or perhaps because of) this non-linear progression, it all comes together as one story: a story questioning change, progress, and worth within the author's life.

Paradoxical Thinking

Author: Jerry L. Fletcher

Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers

Published: 1997-06

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 9781881052807

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Taking advantage of contradictory elements in oneself and one's situation can lead to better performance all around. In this guide, the authors present a five-step process for using paradoxes to find solutions to a wide range of problems. Includes case studies showing how real people have used paradoxical thinking to solve real problems.

Life in Organizations

Author: Prasad Kurian

Publisher: Notion Press

Published: 2021-02-05

Total Pages: 143

ISBN-13: 1637816189

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

We live in a world of contradictions. Paradox is a central dimension of the life in organizations. Decision-making in organizations is becoming more and more paradoxical with the increasing amount of uncertainty and stress in the environment, shifting priorities and conflicting objectives. We constantly need to deal with the tensions between the old and the new, the individual and the collective, process focus and flexibility, performance and development, internal and external demands, and, change and stability. Paradoxical thinking enables us to respond creatively to the challenges in organizational life and to find more meaning and fulfillment. This book is an exciting journey through the paradoxes, dilemmas and possibilities in the various aspects of organizational life, including joining the organization, getting things done, building capability, planning careers, rewards and recognition, finding meaning and purpose, creating ownership and the sense of belonging, leadership and followership, and, exiting the organization. It will help the readers to respond effectively to the complex challenges in organizational life by leveraging the principles of paradoxical thinking. This book will be of interest to anyone who works in business organizations. It also provides additional insights for business leaders, people managers, and human resource professionals.