Dyaden,Gruppen und Teams: Die Rahmungen von Coachings und Supervisionen

This article examines what impact three different framings of personal oriented consulting interactions – dyads, groups and teams – have on the consulting situation. Intuitively consultants are aware that it makes a difference if a client is consulted in a face-to-face-interaction “under four eyes”, in the framework of a group which just started to know each other or in a team which is working together on regular basis. However, what are exactly the mechanisms which are working in the three different settings? And what exactly are their impacts on the consulting situation? This article provides first interpretations.     

Eskalierendes Commitment bei Gruppenentscheidungen: Begünstigende Faktoren und Maßnahmen zur Reduktion

Escalating commitment to a course of action that is failing or incurring great costs is at least as prevalent in group decision making as in individual decisions. The first experiment studies factors influencing escalating commitment in groups in the context of social identity and dissonance theory. 36 3-person-groups had to decide about further investigations into a risky urban development project. The amount of investigations as an indicator of escalating commitment depended as well on social identity (strong vs. weak) as on the responsibility for initiating the project (high vs. low). The second study investigated the effectiveness of two interventions aimed at reducing escalating commitment: introduction of an advocatus diaboli and pre-information about psychological insights into escalating commitment. Further, interaction processes correlating with escalation or reduction of commitment are studied.     

Imaginative Erkundung der Organisationskultur einer psychiatrischen Tagesklinik

In this contribution a representation of the organizational culture of a psychiatric day-time hospital is developed by analyzing the symbolic meanings of action taken by professionals during their daily work and their relations to other patients.After a short summary of concepts of symbolic action theory as developed by E. E. Boesch in the framework of cultural psychology, these are applied to data from two meetings of professional supervision. The data reports about imaginations and phantasms of individual team members (from individual interviews) as well as findings from a group discussion. The analysis results in hypothetic constructions of the individual phantasms and of the organizational myths, directing their actions.This finally results in ‘value orientations’ expressing the organizational culture which are especially valuable for the purpose of respectful supervision. The author regards the careful consideration of the dynamics between individual phantasms and group myths as being a central task of good practices of supervision, with the aim to develop the action potential of professionals and their patients in such a way that it is well-adapted to both autonomy and cultural frame.     

Determinanten der Sportaktivität und der Sportart im Lebenslauf

This paper investigates the impact of social class, occupational and family life-course, relocation, age, generation and gender on exercise. Longitudinal, life course-oriented analysis enables identification of the (often diverse) conditions for (re-)uptake and discontinuation of exercise. The paper takes a detailed look at different types of exercise, enabling exploration of the various motivating influences and barriers involved. The database is a retrospective representative survey of the 50 to 70 year old population of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The results show that higher educational qualifications are associated with higher levels of exercise, whereas manual labor and – among women – childcare are associated with lower levels of exercise. With respect to the impact of education, cultural rather than economic capital seems to be the determining influence. Other factors – (un-)employment, partnership, relocation, age and cohort – tend to have more complex effects on exercise. Though being a member of the workforce reduces the likelihood of starting to exercise, it also reduces the likelihood of dropping out. Though partnership encourages the dissemination of exercise, initiation of a relationship is also associated with a higher incidence of discontinuation. Relocation prompts both initiation and discontinuation of exercise. Surprisingly, up to the over-50 age group, increasing age is associated with an increased prevalence of physical activity, especially among women. The results of analysis of social differences in terms of types of physical activity can be used in health programs to provide scientifically founded recommendations for the promotion of specific types of physical activity for lower educational groups, seniors, and other social groups whose lifestyle tends to be inactive.     

Die Anwendung von Introvision zur Verringerung der Belastung durch Tinnitus und Verbesserung der Hörfähigkeit

The following article describes the first empirical study of the effectiveness of Introvision as a pedagogical – psychological intervention for tinnitus. Introvision is based on the theory of subjective imperatives and the theory of mental introference. The intention was to ceace dysfunctional automatical selfregulation- strategies. Studies of the past have shown that dysfunctional selfregulation- strategies are a cause of increased subjective strain of tinnitus. The following pilot study, accomplished within a bigger project was conducted with 13 elder persons suffering from light to moderate tinnitus in a six-week-intervention with Introvision. Comparison to a control group without intervention showed a significant reduction of the tinnitus in the introvision group (STI, p ≤0.022). At the same time the audiometrically measured hearing ability of the Introvisiongroup increased significantly compared to the controlgroup (p≤0.001) while a decrease of the subjective loudness of the tinnitus could be only partially ascertained.     

Diversity Management – Mittel zur Anti-Diskriminierung,neoliberales Phänomen oder alter Wein in neuen Schläuchen?

Diversity Management is getting more and more popular. This development is being criticized by agents of the gender-approach. They object that the diversity approach lacks a sufficient theoretical foundation and that it is a neoliberal concept. In this article we try to analyze the concept of diversity management with the means of the sociological systems theory and to put it in relation to the gender approach. Thereby we show that diversity management is an approach of organizational development which can proof useful for both the employees and the company.     

Die Bedeutung von Introvision für die Gestaltung von Veränderungsprozessen in Gruppen und Organisationen

The ability of mental self regulation is becoming more and more important to shape change processes. Change agents often experience, especially in potentially difficult situations, limits of self regulation by volition. Imperating oneself as an effort of self control by unconditional commandments has a blocking impact on mental self regulation. Introvision supports mental self regulation in a mode of calmness, which can be described as operating effortless and deliberately. In an attitude of calmness it is possible not to slide into inner conflicts, even when facing difficult situations. Instead it is possible to make use of one‘s whole action repertoire and include the context of change processes. calmness also has a positive impact on group dynamics. The atmosphere becomes more relaxed, dialog ability and the capability of problem solving is supported.     

Expatriation: Entsendung ohne Wiederkehr?

The paper follows the process of expatriation from the application until the return from a foreign assignment. Phases of expatriation are shown and interpreted. The investment into intercultural trainings will be related to their benefit. Finally some hypotheses will summarize at the end the mingle of intercultural paradoxes, organizational dilemmas and emotional roller-coaster.Considering group dynamic aspects, sending employees abroad shows some interesting aspects: the interplay of disintegration, integration, reintegration, the loss of affiliation and membership as well as gaining new belongings, and finally and always, the loss of one sole cultural identity. Furthermore group dynamic experiences enable people to cope with emotional and structural uncertainties, staying socially agile in the intercultural situation, where the context of communication and cooperation has yet to be created and developed by the people involved.     

Entwicklung pädagogisch professionalisierender Selbst- und Sozialkompetenz mit Introvisionsberatung

This article develops, a model of pedagogical professionalization based on the Introvision method.This model was realized and tested at the School of Education, University of Hamburg, as an Introvision-Counseling module (5 courses within a period of 18 Months).The course assessment results, measured with different questionnaires confirm the hypothesis that the Introvision-Counseling module develops the ability of self-reflection, self-regulation, social interaction and counseling. Furthermore, the learning dynamics of the course attendees lead to the creation of two different new course designs: one short course directly teaching Introvision and another more complex one focusing on Introvision-counseling competence.     

Interkulturelles Training

With proceeding internationalization and globalization of society the demands of working life have changed in the last decades. To meet these demands executives and professionals cooperating with foreign partners abroad or in Germany need the central key qualification of intercultural competence. This important key qualification does not evolve automatically from intercultural experiences, but has to be acquired during an extensive learning process, which is mainly organized in intercultural trainings. This text first describes what intercultural competence is and how it is developed. Based on scientific findings on developmental stages of intercultural competence central aspects of intercultural trainings are covered in detail. Objectives and methods of various intercultural training formats are outlined to illustrate the conceptualization and outcomes of learning effective trainings. The text concludes with future developments of intercultural training in the light of expatriates facing increasing demands regarding the quality of their work. Trainee groups will become more culturally heterogeneous, more trainings will be needed that moderate acculturation processes while staying abroad, training contents and methods have to be adapted according to local customs, modern information technology will play a major role, and family members coming along have to be involved in the training process.     

Der Entwicklungsraum als Ort professioneller Gestaltung im Coaching – Stabilisierung und Destabilisierung als Elemente eines nachhaltigen Veränderungsprozesses

The following contribution is preoccupied with the question of, what conditions, for example what framework is necessary, in order to coach clients in a skilled and sustainable manner – sustainable in the sense of aware, balanced ,and very important long-lasting – supportive to development. Coaching in the following will not be considered as an attempt to optimize achievement or viewed as an instrument towards the short termed attainment of goals, but on the contrary as a process of development , which swings between the stabilization and the destabilization of the client. In this article we will consider the level of the settings and the interventions.     

Partizipatives Gesundheitslernen in Organisationen

In workplace health promotion programs, participative learning processes are considered as central. A very popular instrument in German-speaking countries is the so-called health circle, which is often organizationally und financially supported. Learning processes initiated by health circles should be sustainable, which means it is important not to interrupt learning cycles. In order to analyze the learning processes and especially the learning cycles, the present study uses ten problem-centred interviews about workplace health promotion in general, 15 interviews regarding health circles in particular and two multi-data case studies.     

Ein Ansatz zur Förderung von Reflexionskompetenz: Fallarbeit in 7 Schritten

This article describes a didactical model for higher education purposes focusing on the development of theory driven and self driven ‘case reflection competence’. We (Telse Iwers-Stelljes and Renate Luca) have developed this procedure in the last 6 years and formative evaluated it in different investigations. Starting point of this project were the actual results on studies of antinomical conditions of professional teachers and students in the classroom environment and the intention to find a humanistic psychologically-oriented access to handle them. In the following, we are going to describe 1) the theoretical foundations of our researches to explain the context of our model, 2) its methodical implementation and 3) a case reconstruction based on an example reflected by one of our students.     

Kooperation zwischen Organisationen

The success of organizations stands very often in direct correlation to other organizations. The more differentiated, the more subtlety organizations and their tasks are the more this applies: and this applies equally for both profit and non-profit organizations. The way an organization behaves and co-operates with other organizations crucially influences the success factor. And must, as such, be taken extremely seriously and placed in the focal point of organizations’ management strategies and their dynamic processes of change.This contribution is the product of the joint reflections of the authors advisory functions in and with organizations, and closely examines the process of helping to build successful co-operative relationships between organizations. They (the authors) will present their opinions upon what makes co-operative relationships work effectively. The authors will refer to the theory of company control and the systemic development of co-operative strategies, as well as a dynamic group understanding of social dynamics. And demonstrate that the coming together of these various standpoints, results in a new and tenable form of productive co-operation between organizations. In consequence, it furthermore exhibits, how innovative possibilities, like the construction of the co-operative relationship, with adequate control instruments, can be appropriately supported: In concrete terms we will present the from the authors developed intermediary balanced scorecard (BSC). The last section of our article is devoted to the discussion of effective success factors, which, from practical experience, can be regarded as relevant in the forming of the processes of co-operation.     

Stabilisierung als Führungsaufgabe in Organisationsentwicklungsprozessen

The notion of continuous change in organizations assumes that change has no stipulated transitional stages but is a process of perpetual flow. The process of change has come to be seen as a never ending demand on the competence and talents of organizations and persons. In order to be capable of meeting the continuous challenge on their flexibility “organizations” need, more than ever before, to have stable and socially integrated structures. Managers must therefore – in the sense of Lewins dictum “to transform passive participants into active participants” (Fatzer 2002,S:136) – and in order to successfully bring about the processes of change, increasingly occupy themselves with the themes of stabilization and institutionalization. Stabilizing structures, individual roles and management learn and development processes,and the method of evolving them, are critical factors towards the success of every organisational developmental process.     

Stop Making Sense! Erfolgreiche Teamkooperation in globalen Kontexten

With the ongoing globalization process and hierarchical organizations being extended by network oriented principles of governance, the effective team cooperation becomes a success criterion for the management of complex organizations. Group dynamics and organizational theory establish well known variables that have to be addressed for assuring the performance and effectiveness of team work. This article extends these findings by a focused analysis of characteristics of multinational teams. Moreover, success criteria for uncovering the available potential within international teams are explored. On the basis of ethnologic and system-theoretically considerations, the current status quo concerning the manifold integration efforts (such as the prevalent team building programs) will fundamentally be questioned as well as alternatives developed. Finally, the risks and opportunities of a difference oriented mindset will be illustrated on the basis of a concrete and practical example.     

Burnout als Gruppenphänomen. Ein soziologisch – gruppendynamischer Beitrag zum Wandel der (Team-)arbeit

This paper addresses changes in work processes from a sociological perspective. Organizations have been undergoing dramatic changes with regard to long term membership and individual recognition. The new paradigm of the individual as self-entrepreneur creates stress for team members when attempting to live up to this new standard of conduct and work-ethic. Lacking recognition in the work place leads to exhaustion and burnout. The author suggests a new interpretation of this process. As opposed to traditional wisdom burnout is perceived as a form of “legitimate reaction to overload”. This reaction can be understood as an adequate response to the larger societal and organizational context – at the individual and at the group level alike. A new stage-model developed by this author to cope with burnout at the group-level is introduced. Work teams with burnout symptoms display deviant behaviors and may be disintegrating. This process can be taken as an indicator pointing to an imbalance of externally imposed demands and resources available within the team. Lacking adequate opportunity structures for the development of interpersonal relations, teams moving towards burnout are deprived of this exit option. In many cases the team process freezes at an early stage of burnout: what remains is a continuous overload.     

Beratung virtueller Teams im interkulturellen Kontext – ein Bericht aus der Praxis

Tasks are nowadays increasingly assigned to teams composed of members from different cultures who have to work together regardless of country borders or time zones. This causes special challenges for all parties involved in such work settings. Consultancy has accordingly to face the resulting increase of complexity: within the scope of an intercultural consulting process it becomes vital to take into consideration the often postulated focus on both differences and commonalities as well as to consider the dynamics within team processes. This article tries to reflect our work with “virtual teams” which consist of members having different cultures. We try to combine popular intercultural models with a systemic-constructivistic approach as well as with knowledge about group dynamics in order to make sure that a productive outcome is possible in a consulting process. In doing so we work on three levels: individual reflection with the participants’ own culture which is then combined with those of the other team members and then finally the group’s specific team culture is addressed and discussed. At the end of the article we summarize implications for consulting and management when working with virtual teams in an intercultural setting.     

Eskalierendes Commitment gegenüber Mitarbeitern: Ein Rahmenmodell

Zusammenfassung:  Oft werden zus?tzliche Ressourcen in Mitarbeiter investiert, obwohl sie die in sie von ihren Vorgesetzten formulierten Erwartungen nicht erfüllen, und augenscheinlich die Trennung von ihnen die angemessene Entscheidung w?re. Ein solches Verhalten kann als „eskalierendes Commitment“ bezeichnet werden (Staw, 1997). In diesem Beitrag wird untersucht, welche Konsequenzen es hat, dieses „Festhalten“ an wenig geeigneten Mitarbeitern tats?chlich als „eskalierendes Commitment“ zu beschreiben. Hierzu werden zum einen Erkenntnisse aus der bisherigen Forschung zum eskalierenden Commitment herangezogen, zum anderen werden ausgehend von Kernmerkmalen einer Arbeitsbeziehung vier weitere Faktoren diskutiert, die eskalierendes Commitment gegenüber Mitarbeitern verst?rken k?nnen: (1) Sympathie, (2) Prognoseungewissheit bzgl. des vermuteten Potentials des Mitarbeiters, (3) dem Mitarbeiter unterstellte Motivationsprobleme und (4) M?glichkeiten zur Reinterpretation der Anforderungen an den Mitarbeiter. Abschlie?end werden Deeskalationsstrategien diskutiert

Das Profilstudienprogramm: <Emphasis Type="Italic">Konfliktberatung für Pädagoginnen und Pädagogen</Emphasis> des Instituts für Psychoanalyse an der Universität Kassel. Ein psychoanalytisch-pädagogischer Ansatz

Zusammenfassung  Der Aufsatz stellt das Profilstudienprogramm ‚Konfliktberatung für P?dagoginnen und P?dagogen‘ an der Universit?t Kassel vor. Dabei handelt es sich um ein freiwilliges Studienangebot für Lehramtsstudierende. Die Ausbildungsziele werden auf Grundlage von aktuellen Untersuchungsergebnissen zu den Gründen von Frühpensionierungen im Lehrerberuf im Kontext von psychosozialen Belastungen und berufsrelevanten Pers?nlichkeitsmerkmalen erl?utert. Im Anschluss daran werden die Bedeutung der Berufswahlmotivation sowie die Schulung der F?higkeit zur Selbstreflexion als ein wesentlicher Teil der Professionalisierung im Lehreramtsstudium hervorgehoben. Die verschiedenen Seminarbausteine werden vorgestellt. Abschlie?end wird die Bedeutung des Profilstudienprogramms für die Lehrerbildung diskutiert.