1st Edition

Change, Conflict and Community

By Barbara Kenton, Suzanne Penn Copyright 2009
    288 Pages
    by Routledge

    288 Pages
    by Routledge

    The cost to business of unresolved conflicts is high; tribunals, loss of productivity, resignations and damaged reputations are serious consequences for all concerned. With increased organizational change in the form of changes in leadership, restructuring, downsizing, matrix management, mergers, acquisitions and systems changes comes increased political activity and the potential for either increased learning and growth or tension and unproductive conflict.

    Change agents, HR practitioners and managers need to be skilled at empowering others to use or resolve conflict effectively for a more productive working environment and greater employee satisfaction. Change, Conflict and Community takes readers through the essential theory and hands-on practice of working with change and conflict by considering:

    * How we can increase our understanding of the tensions that often exist when change is ever present in the organization
    * How to work more effectively with the dynamic relationship between change and conflict
    * How the idea of “community” can help us to work with the energy of change and human interaction

    Barbara Kenton is a freelance consultant and Director of WHooSH Whole Systems Health. She is an experienced consultant, mediator, facilitator, coach and trainer with over 25 years' experience as a manager and development specialist working with individuals, teams and organizations both in the UK and internationally. She has published a number of articles on the role of the internal consultant and challenges facing those in HR. She is a qualified workplace and community mediator.

    Suzanne Penn is an independent consultant, facilitator and coach with 20 years' experience in the HR and Organization Development field. She has worked as an internal and an external practitioner across all sectors and industries in the UK, mainland Europe and the US. A previous Assistant Director at Roffey Park Management Institute, she brings to this book particular expertise in leadership development, group facilitation, strategic HR and organizational change and culture.

    The HR Series

    The HR Series is edited by Julie Beardwell, Principal Lecturer in Human Resource Management at DeMonfort University, and Linda Holbeche, Director of Research and Policy at CIPD, and is designed to plug the gap between theory and implementation. The books draw on live examples of strategic HR in practice and offer practical insights into how to transform individual and functional delivery to improve value-added. Intended for serious HR professionals who aspire to make a real difference within their organization, The HR Series provides resources to inform, empower and inspire the HR leaders of the future.

    List of Figures
    List of Tables
    Foreword
    Acknowledgements
    Chapter 1: Introduction
    Chapter 2: Making sense of change
    Chapter 3: Pattern past
    Chapter 4: Change and conflict – a chicken and egg debate?
    Chapter 5: Resolving conflicts
    Chapter 6: From conflict to collaboration
    Chapter 7: Learning through change
    Chapter 8: Energising the organisation
    Chapter 9: Holistically healthy organisations
    Chapter 10:The bigger picture: community
    Introduction to Case Studies
    Case studies
    1. Affinity Sutton
    2. Portsmouth NHS Trust
    3. Red Bee
    4. Hampshire Fire & Rescue Service
    5. O2 – “A better place”
    6. Organisational health from a Gestalt perspective
    7. A change agent’s story

    Biography

    Barbara Kenton, Suzanne Penn