To read this content please select one of the options below:

Witkin's Cognitive Styles and Field Theory Applied to the Study of Global Managers and OD Practitioners

Research in Organizational Change and Development

ISBN: 978-0-7623-1326-6, eISBN: 978-1-84950-425-6

Publication date: 27 March 2007

Abstract

There has been an upsurge of publications based on Hermann Witkin's ground-breaking work on cognitive styles and human perception differentiated into field-dependent and field-independent styles (Winerman, 2006; Nisbett & Miyamoto, 2005; Nisbett, 2003). This paper builds on current and past research of Witkin (1969) and applies his concepts to the study of global managers and OD practitioners. The goal is to describe core aspects of culture-related challenges, which global mangers and OD practitioners have to overcome, and ends with proposing future research on the possibilities of training global managers and OD practitioners in order to develop integrated perceptual-cognitive ability (IPCA). Such an IPCA competence would allow them to master both field dependent and field-independent perceptual-cognitive skills.

Citation

Yiu, L. and Saner, R. (2007), "Witkin's Cognitive Styles and Field Theory Applied to the Study of Global Managers and OD Practitioners", Pasmore, W.A. and Woodman, R.W. (Ed.) Research in Organizational Change and Development (Research in Organizational Change and Development, Vol. 16), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 191-219. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0897-3016(06)16006-1

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2007, Emerald Group Publishing Limited