Handbook of Large Group Methods : Creating Systemic Change in Organizations and Communities

Written by the founders of the field of Large Group Interventions and the coauthors of the classic book on the topic, Handbook of Large Group Methods provides a much awaited comprehensive overview of the new methods and illustrates how these methods are being applied today. Large Group Interventions are methods used to gather a whole system together to discuss and take action on the target agenda. That agenda varies from future plans, products, and services, to redesigning work, to discussion of troubling issues and problems. The Handbook of Large Group Methods takes the next step in demonstrating through a series of cases how Large Group Methods are currently being used to address twenty first century challenges in organizations and communities today, including: Working with widely dispersed organizations, and the problem of involvement and participation Working with organizations facing a serious business crisis Working with organizations in polarized and politicized environments Working in community settings with diverse interest groups Working at the global level and adapting these methods for cross cultural use Embedding and sustaining new patterns of working together in organizations and communities The authors offer a comprehensive overview of Large Group Methods currently in practice, including new methods such as Appreciative Inquiry, The World Café, and AmericaSpeaks. They also address the use of interactive technologies, graphic facilitation, scenario planning, and conflict resolution strategies in large groups.