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"Fix the Women": An Intervention into an Organizational Conflict Based on Parallel Process Thinking

Department of Management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104

Valerie M. Simmons

Department of Psychology at Oakes College, the University of California at Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064

Terri B. Thames

Counseling Center at San Jose State University, San Jose, CA 95192.

This article discusses an intervention into an organizational conflict expressed by fighting between two women in a troubled unit of a state hospital. After gathering data through observations and interviews with the staff, the authors prepared a diagnosis and intervention based on parallel process thinking, which postulates that conflict in one part of a system may surface elsewhere, sometimes in a different form that disguises its source. The women's hostility was thought to be actually fueled by feelings of competitiveness among the three senior men in the unit. An intervention using a microcosm group methodology was conducted, which resulted in the women's repairing their relationship and other improvements in the unit's morale and performance. The authors conclude that parallel process thinking, and methods of diagnosis and intervention based on its tenets, have relevance for managing human behavior in all arenas.

The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, Vol. 25, No. 1, 11-29 (1989)
DOI: 10.1177/0021886389251002


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