The Character of Organizations: Using Personality Type in Organization Development

By: William Bridges and Sandra Krebs Hirsh

Sign Up Now! Already a Member? Log In
You must be logged into Bookshare to access this title. Learn about membership options, or view our freely available titles.

Synopsis: An enormous consulting industry has sprung up promising to help organizations overhaul themselves to meet today's competitive pressures. Yet far too often, such change efforts fail. The solution, according to best-selling management author William Bridges, lies in identifying, understanding and working with what he calls organizational character. Just as people have personalities, Bridges explains, organizations - as well as their departments and teams - have characters. An organization's character shapes how decisions get made and new ideas are received, how employees are treated and change is accepted or rejected - all factors that affect company performance. Using examples from McDonald's, Hewlett-Packard, GE and other companies, Bridges identifies 16 organizational character types using the framework of MBTI© personality types and shows how these influence an organization's growth and development. With a foreword by Sandra Krebs Hirsh and a new preface by the author, this updated edition of the time-tested classic includes the Organizational Character Index, Bridges' popular tool for assessing the character of your own organization or team.