Ralph Grossmann – författare

Education, Research, Health, Social Security and other 'public goods' are organized by a mix of organizations, partly publicly-funded, partly private enterprises, partly public-private partnerships. The quality of the services relies greatly on the coordination and collaboration of these specialized organizations. How can cooperative relationships be built that guarantee trustful communication, binding decisions, and productive team-work? How can collaboration and competition be balanced? What are the differences between loose-coupled networks and tightly built collaborations and which type is the best solution for which tasks? How can mergers be managed as result of such collaboration? How must organizations prepare themselves and their internal structures to engage in trans-organizational collaboration?This volume investigates the potential and challenges inherent in collaborative ventures. It is based on the authors’ rich experiences derived from consulting engagements and research projects in publicly-funded service organizations, non-profit organizations, public-private partnerships, and for-profit enterprises. The focus is on the role that management consultants can play in facilitating such collaborative ventures. Especially within the European context, this particular organizational form is becoming an increasingly common and powerful type of organizational system, and, as such, interventions that can ease and expedite their performance demand our attention and scholarship.As the authors skillfully document and illustrate, cooperative relationships and networks function according to their own underlying logic, which is typically grounded in a spirit of collaboration and negotiation. As they argue, the resulting dynamic reflects a different perspective on building interpersonal, intergroup, and Interorganizational relationships, one that is removed from historic attempts at coordination through tight hierarchical control, which, as they underscore, is often 'inflexible, bureaucratic, and incapable' of achieving the level of commitment and dedication necessary for success.Collaborative ventures involve goals that must be jointly pursued, the partnerships must strive for levels commitment, involvement and motivation from their members that go well beyond those that hierarchical top-down structures typically provide. As the authors convincingly demonstrate, such high levels of collaboration do not emerge on their own. Mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, partnerships, and strategic alliances are often launched with great fanfare, only to fall well short of pre-venture expectations. To truly work in practice, collaborative relationships and networks must be deliberately formed, developed, organized, and guided. Yet, as this volume amply illustrates, the underlying process is infused with a number of tensions – from the challenge of balancing collaboration and competition, to the appropriate mix of loose-tight controls and linkages, to ensuring commitment from members to the partnership while they maintain allegiance to their primary organization.This volume appeals to an international market. It is part of an effort to continue to learn across cultural perspectives, focusing on current thinking in the European context. The reader will become intrigued by the Austrian approach to organizational intervention, especially in the context of interorganizational settings.

Education, Research, Health, Social Security and other 'public goods' are organized by a mix of organizations, partly publicly-funded, partly private enterprises, partly public-private partnerships. The quality of the services relies greatly on the coordination and collaboration of these specialized organizations. How can cooperative relationships be built that guarantee trustful communication, binding decisions, and productive team-work? How can collaboration and competition be balanced? What are the differences between loose-coupled networks and tightly built collaborations and which type is the best solution for which tasks? How can mergers be managed as result of such collaboration? How must organizations prepare themselves and their internal structures to engage in trans-organizational collaboration?This volume investigates the potential and challenges inherent in collaborative ventures. It is based on the authors’ rich experiences derived from consulting engagements and research projects in publicly-funded service organizations, non-profit organizations, public-private partnerships, and for-profit enterprises. The focus is on the role that management consultants can play in facilitating such collaborative ventures. Especially within the European context, this particular organizational form is becoming an increasingly common and powerful type of organizational system, and, as such, interventions that can ease and expedite their performance demand our attention and scholarship.As the authors skillfully document and illustrate, cooperative relationships and networks function according to their own underlying logic, which is typically grounded in a spirit of collaboration and negotiation. As they argue, the resulting dynamic reflects a different perspective on building interpersonal, intergroup, and Interorganizational relationships, one that is removed from historic attempts at coordination through tight hierarchical control, which, as they underscore, is often 'inflexible, bureaucratic, and incapable' of achieving the level of commitment and dedication necessary for success.Collaborative ventures involve goals that must be jointly pursued, the partnerships must strive for levels commitment, involvement and motivation from their members that go well beyond those that hierarchical top-down structures typically provide. As the authors convincingly demonstrate, such high levels of collaboration do not emerge on their own. Mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, partnerships, and strategic alliances are often launched with great fanfare, only to fall well short of pre-venture expectations. To truly work in practice, collaborative relationships and networks must be deliberately formed, developed, organized, and guided. Yet, as this volume amply illustrates, the underlying process is infused with a number of tensions – from the challenge of balancing collaboration and competition, to the appropriate mix of loose-tight controls and linkages, to ensuring commitment from members to the partnership while they maintain allegiance to their primary organization.This volume appeals to an international market. It is part of an effort to continue to learn across cultural perspectives, focusing on current thinking in the European context. The reader will become intrigued by the Austrian approach to organizational intervention, especially in the context of interorganizational settings.

This book presents – for the first time in the English language - the concept of systemic organization development and its use in management and consultancy. It demonstrates in a succinct and compact way, how the systemic approach, in its up-to-date version, is well suited to describe and handle complex challenges in diverse organizations of all sectors of society.First, the authors sketch out the crucial role organizations play today and the increasing importance of their ability to change.The central theme of the book is thus the design of organizational change processes with the help of different tools. These tools deal cautiously with employees, clients and cooperation partners in order to ensure sustainable success of an organization.In the final chapters the authors delve into specific attitudes during the change process, such as the building of trust and the allowing of emotions. Several cases illustrate how the concept and the tools promote organizational development. The book well provides a practical guideline.Additionally, the book talks about important aspects managers have to pay attention to, such as dealing with concerns and resistance. The values of the systemic concept like sustainability, selective participation and growth from inside are convincingly exemplified.The book is theoretically sound and grounded by the authors’ long management and consulting experience and their research activities with the university background. It is addressed mainly at actors in corporations, not-for-profit and public organizations, who’s task it is to organize, design and effectuate change while the daily business continues alongside. These actors may be leaders, managers, experts, consultants, project managers or employees.

This book presents – for the first time in the English language - the concept of systemic organization development and its use in management and consultancy. It demonstrates in a succinct and compact way, how the systemic approach, in its up-to-date version, is well suited to describe and handle complex challenges in diverse organizations of all sectors of society.First, the authors sketch out the crucial role organizations play today and the increasing importance of their ability to change.The central theme of the book is thus the design of organizational change processes with the help of different tools. These tools deal cautiously with employees, clients and cooperation partners in order to ensure sustainable success of an organization.In the final chapters the authors delve into specific attitudes during the change process, such as the building of trust and the allowing of emotions. Several cases illustrate how the concept and the tools promote organizational development. The book well provides a practical guideline.Additionally, the book talks about important aspects managers have to pay attention to, such as dealing with concerns and resistance. The values of the systemic concept like sustainability, selective participation and growth from inside are convincingly exemplified.The book is theoretically sound and grounded by the authors’ long management and consulting experience and their research activities with the university background. It is addressed mainly at actors in corporations, not-for-profit and public organizations, who’s task it is to organize, design and effectuate change while the daily business continues alongside. These actors may be leaders, managers, experts, consultants, project managers or employees.

Wie kann das von wissenschaftlichen Instituten produzierte Wissen in die Entscheidungen und Arbeitsweisen anderer Systeme wirksam eingebracht werden? Welcher Stellenwert kommt in einer Gesellschaft, deren Probleme in wachsendem Maße hochspezialisierte Organisationen bearbeiten, der Qualifizierung und Aufklärung von Personen zu? Was bedeutet es, wissenschaftliche Arbeit als Intervention in soziale Systeme zu begreifen? Dieser Band beschreibt die Konzepte, Ideen und Methoden, die das IFF verwendet, um diesen Herausforderungen zu begegnen. Die Überlegungen stammen aus den Erfahrungen in den Arbeitsgebieten des IFF: Ökologie, Schulentwicklung, Organisationsentwicklung des Gesundheitswesens und Reform der Universität. Das Buch soll Wissenschaftler, Führungskräfte und Professionelle zum fachlichen Diskurs, aber auch zu organisatorischer Selbstreflexion anregen.

Die Entwicklung von Krankenhäusern ist ein höchst aktuelles und weitgehend ungelöstes Problem. Erstmals wird anhand internationaler Fallbeispiele Auskunft über konkrete Reorganisationsprojekte in Krankenhäusern und Gesundheitseinrichtungen gegeben. Die Autoren beleuchten klar und verständlich den Stellenwert von Organisationsentwicklung für die komplexen Steuerungsanforderungen des Krankenversorgungssystems. Die Praxisbeispiele vermitteln einen guten Überblick über unterschiedliche Zugänge und Problemstellungen von Veränderung; sie bieten eine praktische und theoretisch fundierte Orientierung aus erster Hand. Darüber hinaus konturiert das Buch exemplarisch das Profil einer "intelligenten Organisation". Ein gesellschaftlich zukunftsweisender Umgang mit öffentlichen Gütern wie Gesundheit, Bildung, Sicherheit, soziale Integration u.a. stellt hohe Anforderungen an die dafür eingerichteten Organisationen und ihre Steuerung. Diese Beiträge sind beispielhaft für intelligente Organisationen in anderen Sektoren.

Anhand 14 konkreter Fallbeispiele zeigt dieses Buch, wie Organisationsentwicklung in der Praxis wirklich funktioniert. Wie kann das Organisieren betrieblicher Veränderung gelingen? Was sind dafür relevante Bedingungen? Wo liegen die Scheiternsfallen? Welche Instrumente und Tools funktionieren, welche funktionieren weniger und warum? Die Fallbeispiele greifen dabei auf ein breites Repertoire an Methoden zurück und sind in einer Vielzahl verschiedener Kontexte angesiedelt, so dass Leserinnen und Leser einen profunden Eindruck der praktischen Organisationsentwicklung gewinnen.

Die elf Beispiele beschreiben solche Veränderungsprozesse und zeigen welche Bedingungen, Haltungen und Handlungen erfolgreiche Veränderung in Organisationen unterstützen und wie die Konzepte und Instrumente praktisch angewendet werden.