Abstract
Robert Chin and Kenneth Benne spent key years in the middle of their careers working and collaborating with each other. Chin came from a social psychology background while Benne was from an educational philosophy background. During their time together, they founded an interdisciplinary Human Relations Center at Boston University, cowrote a seminal book on planned change with Warren Bennis and, within that text, developed three key strategies for implementing a planned change. Even in their organizational change work, there was always a social undertone to their work. Perhaps more important than the seminal work in planned change that is still referenced today was their individual and collaborative goal to help others accept and leverage – and not just tolerate – diversity in the social system. This chapter discusses their individual influences and motivations, their collaborative work and contributions to the change community, and how their work, both together and separate, inspired others.
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References
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Further Reading
Adams, M., Blumenfeld, W., Castaneda, C., Hackman, H. W., Peters, M. L., & Zuniga, X. (Eds.). (2013). Readings for diversity and social justice (3rd ed.). Routledge.
Benne, K. D., Bradford, L., & Lippitt, R. (1950). Group dynamics and social action. Anti-Defamation League of B’Nai B’rith.
Bennis, W. G., Benne, K. D., & Chin, R. (1961). The planning of change. Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.
Bradford, L. P. (1976a). The laboratory method: A historical perspective. Group & Organization Studies, 1(4), 415–429. https://doi.org/10.1177/105960117600100404.
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Dunnion, J., & O’donovan, B. (2014). Systems thinking and higher education: The vanguard method. Systemic Practice and Action Research, 27(1), 23–37.
Information on the Human Resource Center at Boston University (http://www.bu.edu/cgcm/research/korean-diaspora-project/institutions/human-relations-center/).
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Barnes, M.A. (2020). Chin, Robert, and Kenneth D. Benne: Change Management Biography. In: Szabla, D.B. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Organizational Change Thinkers. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49820-1_5-2
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Chin, Robert, and Kenneth D. Benne: Change Management Biography- Published:
- 08 September 2020
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49820-1_5-2
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Robert Chin and Kenneth D. Benne: Change Management Biography- Published:
- 03 April 2017
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49820-1_5-1