Professor explores the way organisations are run
16 May 2007
Leaders and managers should not run their organisations like machines, according to Professor Ralph Stacey, who will be giving a public lecture at the University's Salomons Campus, Broomhill Road, Tunbridge Wells on Monday 4th June 2007.
Ralph Stacey, Professor of Management and Director of the Complexity and Management Centre at the University of Hertfordshire
Ralph Stacey, Professor of Management and Director of the Complexity and Management Centre at the University of Hertfordshire, will argue that executives should not underestimate the power of communication and relationships within an organisation.
His lecture, called ‘The Myth of the Organisational Machine’, is one of a series of lectures that are being run at Salomons by the University’s Centre for Applied Social and Psychological Development (CASPD). The aim is to strengthen links with the wider community and cover diverse topics that will be of interest to public audiences in the South East.
Professor Stacey, who is a world-renowned expert on the subject of organisational management, said: “The purpose of this public lecture is to explore how we might make sense of the complexity of relationships between people in organisations and the impact of a management approach that ignores this complexity. The notion that public and private sector organisations can function like machines is a myth. It is a myth that has led to managerialism, marketisation and the public sector. Ways of managing public sector organisations by setting targets, monitoring performance and publicly naming and shaming ‘non-performers’ are increasing the organisational complexity they are meant to diminish. The approach does not take into account the fact that the unexpected can happen and people in organisations can react in messy ways that rely on personal miscommunication and unconscious processes.”
The lecture begins at 7pm and the bar opens at 6.15pm. Tickets are £10 in advance and £15 on the door. Booking forms are online at www.salomonscaspd.org.uk/general/conferences.htm. Alternatively, you may contact Cassy Shillinglaw by calling 01892 507658 or emailing cassy.shillinglaw@salomons.org.uk. A map and directions are available at:www.salomonscaspd.org.uk/general/location.htm.
Notes to Editor
Professor Ralph Stacey
Ralph Stacey is Professor of Management and Director of the Complexity and Management Centre at the University of Hertfordshire. He has done pioneering work applying complexity theory to management. His approach challenges the myth of the manager who is in control of organisations and emphasises instead the importance of relationships at work with all of their complexity.
Professor Stacey is Director of an innovative International Doctorate in Management where managers and consultants from the public and private sector learn to radically shift how they make sense of organisational life by taking their experience at work seriously. Ralph continues to work as an organisational consultant and has written numerous books.
He has devoted many years to addressing the theoretical foundations of how the complexity sciences are used to understand sources of stability and change in organisations. His work on complex responsive processes elucidates a view that shifts our understanding of complexity from adaptive systems to responsive processes of relating. He is the author of a number of books and articles which include ‘Strategic Management and Organisational Dynamics’ (Pitman, 5th edition, 2007), ‘Complex Responsive Processes in Social Understanding of the Individual’ (Routledge 2001) and ‘Complexity and Group Processes: A Radically Social Understanding of the Individual’ (Brunner-Routledge 2003). He is co-author of ‘Complexity and Emergence in Organisations’ as well as the series ‘Complexity and the Experience of Managing in Public Sector Organisations’ co-edited with Douglas Griffin.
Centre for Applied Social and Psychological Development at Salomons Campus
The Centre for Applied Social and Psychological Development (CASPD) is concerned with making a real difference to the development and delivery of services for people with social and psychological problems.
The Centre does this by running an innovative and responsive range of programmes; carrying out consultancy work to assist in the development of health and social care services and teams; undertaking innovative and original research; and ensuring those working in CASPD are involved in practice and providing psychological therapy. The Centre has a national reputation for running the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology.
Background of Salomons
1829 – David Salomons, a financier, bought Broomhill, a very elegant, small villa.
1839 – David Salomons became Sheriff of Kent
1855 – David Salomons became first Jewish Lord Mayor
1873 – On David’s death, David Lionel Salomons, nephew, inherited the estate
1890-94- Stables Block – now Runcie Court (£27,000)
1894-96- Built the Science Theatre
1914 – Welte Organ installed in the Science Theatre
1938 – The name Broomhill was changed to David Salomons House – presented to
Kent County Council by Vera Bryce Salomons
1948 – Property passed to National Health Service
1948-71-Convalescent Home for Women
1975-96-Passed to Regional Health Authority
1996 – Canterbury Christ Church buys Salomons
2006 – Canterbury Christ Church granted full university status.
Contacts
Claire Robinson, Media Relations Officer,
Canterbury Christ Church University,
01227 782391, claire.robinson@canterbury.ac.uk
David Cutts, External Relations Assistant,
Canterbury Christ Church University,
01227 782826, d.cutts@canterbury.ac.uk
Contact Details:
Claire Robinson
01227 782391
Email the Press Office
Printer friendly version