Description
Book SynopsisIn this classic text, pioneering organizational consultant Edwin C. Nevis presents an approach to organizational consulting which is grounded in Gestalt theory. Nevis brings his well-known insight, conceptual clarity and decades of experience to bear on the entire spectrum of concerns facing organizational consultants in a wide variety of settings.
Beginning with the development of the Gestalt approach and the Cycle of Experience model, Nevis traces the implications of Gestalt theory for such areas as organizational assessment, modes of influence in organizations, dealing with resistance, developing relationships, working at the boundary and the matter of the consultant''s presence. The conceptual framework provided in this groundbreaking work gives organizational consultants a powerful tool for understanding and influencing the behavior of organizations, and at the same time invites them to actively partake in the ongoing development of their unique indi
Table of Contents
Preface. Development and Application of the Gestalt Figure-Ground Model. The Gestalt Cycle of Experience as an Orienting Principle. A Gestalt Model of Organizational Intervention. On Presence: The Consultant as a Learning Model. The Desired Skills of a Competent Intervener. Gestalt Awareness Process in Organizational Assessment. Evocative and Provocative Modes of Influence in the Implementation of Change. On the Meaning of Resistance in Organizational Settings. Developing Relationships with Clients: Organization Consulting as Contrasted with Psychotherapy. Marginality, Autonomy, and Affiliation: The Precarious Balance. Epilogue: Learning to Deal with Regret.
