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| Stress management and organization development: Effects of Transcendental Meditation on psychological, physiological, and organizational variables at the worksite > | | Broome, J. R. N. (1995). Stress management and organization development: Effects of Transcendental Meditation on psychological, physiological, and organizational variables at the worksite. University of Cape Town (South Africa). Dissertation Abstracts International (58-09A, p. 3592).
Abstract
This study evaluated the effectiveness of a stress reduction
intervention (SRI) offered to employees at one worksite where 80 were
employed. 41 Volunteers (aged 21-65) participated in Transcendental
Meditation (TM), and 18 (aged 19-46) in Progressive Muscle Relaxation
(PMR). Two groups did not attend the SRI. These were 11 non-volunteers
for the SRI (aged 25-58) who served as on-site controls, while 16
outside attendees (aged 27-44) of a personal productivity workshop
served as off-site controls. All subjects completed a standardised
stress symptoms questionnaire (SCL-90-R) before and after the SRI.
On-site subjects also had blood pressure, heart and breath rates
measured by a trained nurse and completed a company climate
questionnaire--before and after the SRI. Structured interviews were
conducted at three-year follow-up. The hypothesis that test groups would
show significant reductions in psychological stress symptoms was
supported at 6 weeks.
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| Effects of the Transcendental Meditation program on psychological, physiological, behavioral and organizational consequences of stress in managers and executives > | | DeArmond, D. L. (1996). Effects of the Transcendental Meditation program on psychological, physiological, behavioral and organizational consequences of stress in managers and executives. Dissertation Abstracts International, (57-06B, p. 4068).
Abstract
Although behavioral stress management programs are commonplace in
corporations, stress remains a major problem. Accordingly there is a
lack of agreement about what stress reduction methods, if any, are
effective. Moreover, there has been a lack of empirical research
examining the value of such programs for managers or executives. A
three-month prospective study examined the effects of the Transcendental
Meditation® technique on stress-related self-report, physiological and
observer measures. The subjects were 76 executives, managers and other
professionals of managerial rank in a mid-sized U.S. medical equipment
developer and manufacturer.
Subjects who elected to learn the TM technique were compared to controls
from the same organization and similar in age, education level, race,
marital status, hours worked per week, job type and level of
responsibility in the organization. The experimental attrition rate was
1%. The TM group improved significantly relative to controls on measures
of mental health (p =.04), perceived stress (p =.01), physical
complaints (p =.02), vitality (p =.002), healthful behaviors (p =.03),
serum cholesterol (p =.03) and a composite measure of observer-rated
contribution to the organization (p =.01), as indicated by planned
contrasts utilizing analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). The effect sizes of
the TM technique were comparable to those found in previous research
involving non-managers. The findings are further supported by evidence
from seven prior meta- analyses that the TM program has effect sizes two
or three times as large as various other methods used to reduce stress
or to unfold human potential, even in randomized controlled studies
where the results could not be attributed to self- selection. Source:
DAI, 57, no. 06B (1996): p. 4068 | |
| The Transcendent Organization > | | Gustavsson, B. (1992). The Transcendent Organization. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden.
Abstract
Organizations are human constructs, and unless the organizational
analysis takes into account a wider discussion of the relationship
between the subject and the object the analysis ends up in relativism,
anarchism, and confusion. There is a danger when we make the
organization objective to such extent that it is viewed as an entity
outside ourselves. Understanding of an organization is a collective
phenomenon given by the prevailing fundamental assumptions in society,
and is transferred by symbols, including language.
It is argued that there is a need to go beyond, to transcend, the
objective understanding of the organization. To transcend the objective
status of the organization does not mean to replace one objectification
with another, but to transcend to more abstract and holistic levels in
consciousness. It is suggested that pure consciousness, the most
fundamental and abstract level of consciousness, is fundamental and
common to all humans and also unites mind and matter, as some quantum
physicists suggest. The existence of a collective consciousness is also
shown, as indicated by the so-called field-effects of consciousness in
several studies. Collective consciousness is defined as the average
degree to which the individuals in a group reflect pure consciousness.
It is argued that collective changes in the in the behavior and
perception in groups of people are possible.
The general perspective of consciousness and collective consciousness is
applied more specifically to organizations. The Transcendent
Organization exists — beyond the concrete objects we call organization —
in the collective consciousness of the members of the organization in
the dynamic interplay between the knowers, known, and process of
knowing. The meanings expressed in the goals, visions, and "culture" of
the organization form a particular collective consciousness of the
organization. It is also argued that the level of the collective
consciousness of the organization determines the quality of its behavior
in terms of adapting to the environment, creativity, and the members?
autonomy.
Some of the suggestions of the Transcendent Organization are studied
empirically on managers and employees practicing meditation in two top
management teams and in one company. The results illustrate that the
taken for granted notions of organizations were transcended, that change
processes coming from within the organization were started by raising
the level of consciousness, and that field-effects of consciousness were
indicated in small groups. | |
| Elements of entrepreneurial success: The links among inner competencies, inner development and success > | | Herriott, E. M. (2000). Elements of entrepreneurial success: The links among inner competencies, inner development and success. Dissertation Abstracts International, (60, no. 12B, 6398).
Abstract
This exploratory study inquired into the link between changes associated
with personal development and competencies relevant to business success
in a group of entrepreneurs in Fairfield, Iowa. The Fairfield
entrepreneurs are part of an entrepreneurial community in the rural
Midwest, which has enjoyed considerable success. In addition, the vast
majority of the Fairfield entrepreneurs are long-term practitioners of
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's Transcendental MeditationÎ (TM) and TM- SidhiÎ
program, two well-documented techniques for facilitating stress
management, promoting health, and fostering personal growth.
The study sought to assess whether the entrepreneurs exhibited any
common inner competencies, which had played a role in their success, and
whether any of these competencies were linked to the inner growth the
entrepreneurs had enjoyed as a result of the TM and TM-Sidhi practice.
To answer the research questions, an exploratory qualitative study was
conducted using the techniques of grounded theory.
The results of the study suggested that a number of the competencies
widely thought to be linked to success might be developed and/or
augmented through the practice of the TM and the TM-Sidhi program. This
suggests that many, if not all, of these competencies are not fixed,
in-born personality features, but might instead be part of an inherent
developmental potential.
The results further indicated that the TM technique develops a number of
qualities not commonly observed in the literature. These included
superior stress management skills, which seemed to derive from an
expansion of the internal resources that the person had to draw on. Many
interviewees also exhibited a type of functioning, which appeared to go
beyond the 'normal' range of human experience. All study participants
reported frequent use of intuition; a sense of being in tune with a
cosmic stream of evolution; and awareness of a more holistic,
all-encompassing level of truth and reality. This in turn was expressed
in more universal values, which embraced the wider interests of
employees, community, or environment as a whole.
Based on the findings of the study, a theory of the nature and origin of
competencies was presented. Source: DAI, 60, no. 12B (2000): p. 6398 | |
| The impact of Transcendental Meditation practice on medical expenditures > | | Herron, Robert Emmanuel. (1993). The impact of Transcendental Meditation practice on medical expenditures. Dissertation Abstracts International, (53, no. 12A, 4219).
Abstract
Despite attempts to contain health care spending, these costs have
continued to grow rapidly. Consequently, new strategies are needed. In
response to this need, this research evaluated the impact of Maharishi
Mahesh Yogi's Transcendental Meditation (TM) program on medical
expenditures. Over 500 studies conducted worldwide indicate that TM
practice produces a unique state of restful alertness that improves
mental and physical health. Biochemical and psychological research shows
that TM practice also eliminates stress that degrades the immune system
and increases disease susceptibility. Previous cross- sectional
research (Orme-Johnson, 1987) found that TM practitioners have lower
medical care utilization than nonmeditating control groups. This
longitudinal study evaluated the possible effect of TM practice on
medical expenditures as measured by payments for physicians' services.
In 1991 meditators in Quebec, Canada were mailed questionnaires that
asked for their health insurance number that enabled the government to
retrieve the monthly physicians' expenses from 1981-1990 for 599
subjects. A mail survey of nonrespondents was also conducted. The data
was controlled for age, sex, inflation (physicians' fee index),
year-specific variation and season, and was analyzed three years before
and after subjects started TM practice. During the pretest the
physicians' expense differences were nonsignificant between TM subjects
and the averages of all enrollees of the same age and sex in the Quebec
health insurance plan. During the posttest TM subjects' real (inflation
adjusted) expenses declined 12.4% annually over three years (cumulative
change: approximately 36%). The sample was subdivided to analyze those
who incurred high costs in the pre-TM period regardless of age. During
the posttest high-cost cases exhibited real expense declines that
averaged 18% annually. This effect is not due to regression to the mean.
Subjects over fifty years old were also analyzed, and their real
expenses declined 19% annually over three years. There is no evidence of
nonresponse bias. A thorough examination of threats to validity did not
support an alternative hypothesis. These results support the hypothesis
that TM practice reduces medical expenditures. When compared with the
cost effectiveness of other health promotion and disease prevention
interventions, the TM technique showed superior medical expense
reduction capability. Consequently, the Transcendental Meditation
program is recommended as a strategy for reducing health care
expenditures in high-cost groups that incur the majority of expenses in
most populations. ftn Orme- Johnson, D. W. Reference. (1987). Medical
Care Utilization and the Transcendental Meditation Program.
Psychosomatic Medicine. 49:493-507. Source: DAI, 53, no. 12A, (1993):
4219 | |
| Self development and the spontaneous expression of leadership behaviors > | | McCollum, B. C. (2000). Self development and the spontaneous expression of leadership behaviors. Unpublished dissertation, Department of Psychology, Maharishi University of Management, Fairfield, IA. Dissertation Abstracts International, (61, no. 04A, 1509).
Abstract
Efforts to develop leadership consistently fall short of the hopes and
needs of students, trainers, and society. One approach to achieving
larger gains in leadership development is to develop the leader from
within, to develop the leader's consciousness, the leader's underlying
basic awareness.
Although anecdotal evidence supports the value of personal development
for leadership development, little systematic research has documented
its effectiveness. However, in an eight- month pretest-posttest control
group study in one company, fourteen employees including both managers
and subordinates, learned a standard self development program, the
Maharishi Transcendental MeditationÎ program. Results indicated that the
practitioners of Transcendental MeditationÎ grew significantly more
than ten employee controls in their expression of leadership behaviors
(all ps < .05). This growth was measured by the Leadership Practices
Inventory and was expressed in individual and group interviews. The
Leadership Practices Inventory measures five leadership behaviors:
Challenging the Process, Inspiring a Shared Vision, Enabling Others to
Act, Modeling the Way, and Encouraging the Heart.
The conclusion of this study indicates that individuals can develop
leadership behaviors easily, spontaneously, and quickly through the
Maharishi Transcendental Meditation program. This growth was experienced
by employees at all levels of the organization indicating that this
technology is a powerful means for developing leadership throughout an
organization. The theoretical consequences of this study are that
leadership may be easier to develop than previous experience has shown.
Further research is needed to explore the practical consequences of this
Consciousness-BasedSM approach to leadership development. Source: DAI,
61, no. 04A (2000): p. 1509 | |
| The Maharishi Corporate Development Program: Growth of experience and understanding in international top management teams > | | Schmidt-Wilk, J. (1996) The Maharishi Corporate Development Program: Growth of experience and understanding in international top management teams. (Dissertation abstract, Maharishi University of Management). Dissertation Abstracts International, (57-09A, 4031).
Abstract
Popular reports indicate that training in meditation is being introduced
into corporations worldwide, yet systematic analyses of such programs
are rare. Three case studies document the experiences and perceptions of
members of top management teams who learned the Maharishi
Transcendental MeditationÎ technique in the context of
corporate-supported programs. The cases were generated using
semi-structured interviews based on open-ended questionnaires conducted
with 24 persons in managerial positions from a Norwegian company in the
oil and gas industry, a British computer sales subsidiary, and a Swedish
firm in the field of power transmission, and their consultants.
The study revealed the series of decisions that the managers undertook
in authorizing and sponsoring the Maharishi Corporate Development
Program and in their personal decisions and strategies about when, where
and how often to practice the Transcendental Meditation technique and
how to interpret its effects. The managers indicated that (1) their
personal experiences resulting from practice of the Transcendental
Meditation technique and (2) systemic development of the management team
were important factors in their decision to practice this technique on a
regular basis.
Individual-level changes reported across the three cases included
improved mental functioning, health and health-related habits, work
relations, and performance, emotional growth and more enjoyable family
life, which contribute to development of the management team. Team-level
changes reported across the three cases included improved
communication, increased mutual acceptance and awareness of company
needs and values, fewer arguments, move to fact-based decision-making,
greater trust, openness, and happiness, and greater team cohesiveness
and alignment.
The personal outcomes reported by the managers are consistent with
extensive published findings on the Transcendental Meditation program in
the general population and indicate that the Maharishi Corporate
Development Program meets the criteria described in the management
literature for an effective leadership and team development program.
According to Maharishi’s Absolute Theory of Management, these
comprehensive changes spontaneously result from unfolding the organizing
power of Natural Law in the awareness of the manager through practice
of the Transcendental Meditation technique. | |
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