Group & Intergroup Relations in Living Human Systems

摘要

Understanding group and intergroup relations in living human systems takes three orders of conceptual framework. The first pertains to those aspects of groups that share properties with all living systems. The second deals with properties of three levels of human systems--individuals, groups, and organizations. And the third uses concepts uniquely suited to the phenomena of group and intergroup relations in organizations. The concept of parallel processes explains interdependence of phenomena at the different levels of analysis and provides a means to relate dynamic processes in human systems and in the diagnostic process itself. As presented in chapter one, the philosophy of clinical social science dictates that investigators examine themselves as well as the phenomena they study. Therefore the concepts presented here are intended for use not only by investigators to understand groups and social systems but also to observe and change themselves, if appropriate, as they conduct research. The theory applies to the researched and to the researcher.