Behavior, Technology, and Organizational Development: Eric Trist and the Tavistock InstituteEric Trist was a psychologist, social scientist, and a leading figure in the field of organizational development. He was a founding member of the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations in London and spent many years in United States academia. This book delves into Tristâ s life to examine the evolution of his work and how he applied social science theory, knowledge, and methods to the organization of working life and its management. Richard Trahair outlines Tristâ s socio-technical theory of organization and how it applies to the turbulent environment that modern managers face. Trahair begins with Tristâ s educational career in England and his attitude toward American and English education. He also describes Tristâ s work to improve the United Kingdomâ s Armyâ s method of selecting men for officer training in wartime, and his role in the establishment of the Civil Resettlement Units in England. In place of the traditional technology-driven bureaucracy of industry, Trist recommended that social science researchers help reorganize industries on socio-technical lines. Trist provided convincing evidence that organizations dominated by traditional attitudes were inefficient and unsatisfactory. He made it clear that seeing workers as little more than costly extensions of machines and the industrial environment as nothing but a set of competitive market forces seriously limited potential for growth. |
Contents
1 | |
2 English Studies at Cambridge | 11 |
3 Psychology Studies at Cambridge | 25 |
4 The American Experience 19331934 | 43 |
5 The American Experience 19341935 | 63 |
6 Back Home in Dundee | 77 |
7 Trists War | 97 |
8 At the Tavistock Clinic | 115 |
13 Marriage Palo Alto and the Split | 191 |
14 Formalizing the Split | 207 |
15 Back to America | 221 |
16 ThreeGeneration Family | 233 |
17 Projects in the United Kingdom the Americas and Canada | 245 |
18 Working Style and Future View | 267 |
19 Retirement to York | 281 |
20 Final Years | 297 |
Other editions - View all
Behavior, Technology, and Organizational Development: Eric Trist and the ... R. C. S. Trahair No preview available - 2015 |
Common terms and phrases
academic Ackoff Alan Trist America April August Bartlett became Beulah Trist Bion Board Bridger Britain British Cambridge Carolyn Center coal colleagues conversation with Trahair Council December discuss Document Dover County School Dundee economic Elliott Jaques Emery’s English environment Eric L Eric Trist Eric’s established February Fred Emery funds Glacier Human Relations ideas industrial Institute’s January Jaques July June Ken Rice Kurt Lewin later learned Lewin London Management Committee March Meeting National Coal Board November October Oeser Oeser Archives Office organization organizational Pembroke College Pharos planned problems psychiatry psychology Research and Training Rice role Search Conference September social science Society socio-technical system Sofer Sutherland Tannenbaum task Tavistock Clinic Tavistock Group Tavistock Institute thought TIHR Minutes Training Committee Trist felt Trist in conversation Trist to Trahair Trist wrote UCLA United University of Melbourne Virginia wanted Wilson workers WOSBs York