The Psychosocial Studies Group (UWE) & Chaos Management (UK) Ltd. present a one-day professional development workshop on Saturday, February 24, 2001
The Problematic Moment Approach:
Finding underlying meaning in organizational discourse
Overview
"The fact that silence can hint at tensions or undesirable ideas arising is fascinating. Silence being moments of one's true self coming
through, and speaking as a way of hiding is a powerful idea. To be able to interpret the silence would be a great key to successful communication."
(Comment from a past participant, June 1999)
Organizations cannot be perceived but perhaps they can be felt. We have observed that there are moments in organizational life when it
seems that order is juxtaposed with disorder and people get a glimpse of the forgotten, the unseen, or the repressed. These are moments when learning about the underlying meaning in organizational discourse is
possible. Here "discourse" refers to the language generated in an organizational context and to the internalized social structures and conventions people draw upon in the production and interpretation
of meanings.
Content
This workshop explores a new approach to finding underlying meaning in organizational discourse by using the actual dialogue generated in
groups. Analysis focuses on what happens in a "problematic moment." A problematic moment is typically a moment of silence experienced by a group that marks a disruption to a particular
discourse of values, beliefs, and assumptions being constructed by the group. It occurs in the division between the group's conscious and unconscious.
In this workshop we will show how video playback of a problematic moment enables group members to reflect on the meaning of that moment and to
learn something about the dynamics of the group and its organizational and societal context. Video playback also allows members to notice habitual responses that may be triggered at such key moments and
provides an opportunity for change and development.
Who will benefit most?
Managers, human service practitioners, trainers and group workers interested in expanding their application of theories of covert and unconscious
processes to current groups and organizations; organization change consultants interested in making interventions in organizations at the level of discourse; in fact anyone who wants to know more about what happens
in groups and how that connects to organizations and society.
What you will learn
Participants will learn to:
- Understand the theory and practice of the Problematic Moment Approach as a way to finding underlying meaning in organization discourse.
- Discuss the benefits and limitations of the approach for working with groups and organizations.
- Assess the potential application of the approach for participant's own field of practice.
About the staff:
James A. Cumming, from England, UK, and Vermont, USA, is a Director of Chaos Management (UK) Ltd. with over twenty five years experience working as an international educator and
consultant in technical, intercultural contexts within both public and private sectors in Europe, Asia, Africa, Middle East and the United States. He brings extensive experience facilitating multicultural and
multinational groups and addressing issues of language, culture and power differences. He also specializes in creating effective conditions for dialogue, learning and change in groups, organizations and
communities, using approaches such as the Future Search Conference. He is adjunct faculty at the School for International Training (Vermont).
Evangelina Holvino, from Puerto Rico and Vermont, USA, is a Senior Research Faculty at the Center for Gender in Organizations, Simmons Graduate School of Management. She has
worked in the USA, Europe, Southeast Asia, West Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean since 1979, specializing in collaborative approaches to organization change and social justice. She has consulted to a
wide range of for-profit and non-profit organizations in areas such as: developing a nation-wide network of health change consultants in Nigeria, developing and conducting `managing differences and power'
educational programs. Evangelina is also president of Chaos Management (UK) Ltd. She has served as faculty at the School for International Training in Vermont and the American University/NTL Master's
Program in human resource management.
Venue: Room 4E13, Frenchay Campus, University of the West of England.
Cost: £39 inclusive of tea and coffee --- Lunch £11
Applications to Angela Brooks, 0117 344 2246
Click HERE for a printable application form.
Email [email protected]
