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The Relational Lens

The Relational Lens

The Relational Lens

Understanding, Managing and Measuring Stakeholder Relationships
October 2016
Hardback
9781107155763
AUD$91.95
inc GST
Hardback
USD
eBook

    Drawing on the authors' combined years of experience in both private and public-sector organisations, this practical book highlights the importance of relationship building between individuals, groups and organisations in diverse contexts. It will make a valuable read for business professionals and graduate students in fields as varied as change management, leadership, organisational psychology, and organisational behaviour. Employing the Relational Proximity® framework, it provides tools for informing assessment of the relational impact of policy and management decisions, enabling evaluation of organisational relationships, providing a language for constructive discussion of strained relationships, and integrating a range of models and perspectives within one process. Using real-world case studies and models, the conditions within which people are more likely to form and conduct effective relationships are also examined. This combined approach provides the language and concepts to enable constructive discussion and actionable solutions in building trust and sustainable value.

    • Provides an overview of why relationships are important and helps readers understand cultural and institutional challenges to developing effective relationships
    • Gives a generic framework for assessing relationships within and between organisations which can be used to analyse any type of relationship in any sector
    • Integrates a wide range of insights from different sectors and disciplines, enabling the reader to understand how relationships are influenced or anticipate the impact of decisions

    Reviews & endorsements

    'What the authors do quite successfully in this volume … is to explain how components of their relational proximity framework fit together with more ephemeral concepts such as trust, empathy, commitment and respect. This book has been many years in the making but arrives at just the right time.' Vincent Neate, Social Value and Intangibles Review

    'The Relational Lens is a well-written book. It will appeal primarily to an applied and lay audience, but it references a good deal of psychological research. Its main contribution might be that it adds fuel to the burgeoning fire around the focus on interpersonal relationships in the organization. For this reason, it should be taken seriously by anyone who wants to understand the complexities of organizational life, relational life in particular.' Richard D. Harvey and Andrew Bleckman, PsycCRITIQUES

    See more reviews

    Product details

    October 2016
    Adobe eBook Reader
    9781108110754
    0 pages
    0kg
    18 b/w illus.
    This ISBN is for an eBook version which is distributed on our behalf by a third party.

    Table of Contents

    • Introduction. The dark matter of organisations
    • 1. The value and importance of relationships
    • 2. Why organisations should think relationally
    • 3. How to measure relationships
    • 4. Directness - high touch organisation
    • 5. Continuity - connection across time
    • 6. Multiplexity - context for breadth
    • 7. Parity - power, balance, fairness
    • 8. Commonality - overlap of purpose
    • 9. What relational proximity builds
    • 10. Relationships between stakeholders
    • 11. Managing, measuring, reporting, regulating
    • Epilogue.
      Authors
    • John Ashcroft

      John Ashcroft is Research Director at the Relationships Foundation and co-author of Relationships in the NHS (with Geoffrey Meads, 1999) and The Case for Interprofessional Collaboration in Health and Social Care (with Geoffrey Meads, 2005).

    • Roy Childs

      Roy Childs has worked in organisations at senior levels for more than twenty years focusing on developing capability and building relationships. He is an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society and a Chartered Occupational Psychologist.

    • Alison Myers

      Alison Myers is an experienced consultant, facilitator and trainer. She has been a senior managing consultant with Accenture's Change Management and Human Performance practice and is now an ordained Anglican minister.

    • Michael Schluter

      Michael Schluter is an economist and social entrepreneur who has launched ten not-for-profit organisations and was awarded a CBE in the Queen's New Year's honours in 2009. He co-authored The R Factor (with David John Lee, 1993) and The Relational Manager (with David John Lee, 2009).