ABSTRACT
In 1946 in Nottingham, under the auspices of the Industrial Welfare Society, the Institute held an exploratory residential conference using Wilfred Bion's methods. The organization is an open system with regard to its environment and is both "purpose-oriented" and "learning- and self-reviewing." The responsibility for inviting people to take part as staff members in the Practice of Management courses rests with the Management Development Adviser, assisted in this task by the Tavistock consultant. At the first plenary session the staff allows time for questions, however trivial these may seem, without creating an undue sense that time is an expendable commodity. Staff roles, like course design, are conceived as enabling resources; in addition to the importance of what a staff member does is the way in which it is done. The members and staff come back to the same conference centre for a period of two and a half days.
