ABSTRACT
The social intervention aims to bring about change in the behaviour of an individual, in the way an organization operates or in the way larger social groups function. Cultural anthropological studies explain how shamans seek to make anxiety and uncertainty controllable through rituals and symbols. Cultural changes and transitions from one stage of development to another are among the subjects studied in cultural anthropology. Kertzer defines a ritual as symbolic behaviour that is socially standardized and repetitive. Rituals serve to channel emotions, guide new experiences and knowledge, and promote group formation. Depending on the type of engagement, the consultant must demonstrate in the initiation rites that he is independent, forceful and able to defend his own opinions. Cultural anthropologists emphasize the symbolical value of rituals in times of important change. With organizational changes, cultural aspects symbolism, magic, rituals also play a central role.
