Large Group Interventions: Change as Theater

There is a long literature and rich lore about the process of organization change and its engagement in large group intervention. This article takes a fresh look at this process through the lens of theater. It draws from a case study covering 5 years in a food business in Holland where a series of m...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of applied behavioral science 2005-03, Vol.41 (1), p.122-138
Main Author: Mirvis, Philip H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aesthetics
Drama
Employees
Food
Leadership
Netherlands
Organizational change
Performing arts
Studies
Theater
Theatre
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Summary:There is a long literature and rich lore about the process of organization change and its engagement in large group intervention. This article takes a fresh look at this process through the lens of theater. It draws from a case study covering 5 years in a food business in Holland where a series of memorable events served to launch, guide, and punctuate a corporate transformation. The author, who contributed to some of these events, goes “behind the scenes” to illustrate how the performing arts can energize and deepen largescale change. Aseries of questions for practitioners aims to stimulate thinking about their own use of dramaturgy. The article concludes with brief consideration of the implications of change as theater for theory and practice.
ISSN:0021-8863
1552-6879
DOI:10.1177/0021886304272654