BNET Business Dictionary
Business Definition for: Sensitivity Training
- group-based training designed to help participants develop interpersonal skills (see interpersonal communication). Sensitivity training is a form of human relations training, and was developed by Kurt Lewin and others at the National Training Laboratory in the United States during the 1940s. The format most commonly used is a training group, or T-group, consisting of between 7 and 12 people who meet together over a period of about two weeks, normally at a residential training center. The objectives are to develop sensitivity and awareness of participants' own feelings and reactions, to increase their understanding of group dynamics, and to help them learn to adapt their behavior in appropriate ways. Group activities may include discussion, games, and exercises but may also be relatively unstructured. The provision of feedback is a key feature. This type of training has been controversial, as the group interactions can be confrontational, and some have suggested that participants could suffer emotional harm. The popularity of T-groups has declined since the 1960s and 1970s. Sensitivity training is also known as laboratory training. This term emphasizes the way participants are placed in an environment in which different ways of interacting can be tried out.
Additional Resources
- Focus on the Family Voices Disappointment Over Wal-Mart's New Gay Sensitivity Training Policy
- COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., July 2 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The following is a statement of Focus on the Family on the disappointment over Wal- Mart's new gay sensitivity training policy: COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., July 2 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The following is a statement of Focus on the Family on the disappointment...
- Research articles 2003-07-02
- Protective Life Agents Get Beneficiary Sensitivity Training.(Protective Life Insurance Co.)(Brief Article)
- Protective Life Insurance Company's new producer association gives agents the opportunity to participate in specialized training sessions on how to better work with beneficiaries. Protective Life Insurance Company's new producer association gives agents the opportunity to participate in specialized training sessions on how...
- Research articles 2001-09-03
- Lumber's Soft Side.(sensitivity training for Louisiana-Pacific Corp. employees)(Brief Article)
- If it's process improvement you want, try a little tenderness, It paid off for Louisiana-Pacific Corp., which started training its people to be better teammates and to communicate sensitively, even requiring two pieces of praise for each criticism of If it's process improvement you want, try...
- Research articles 2000-02-01
- PC security: Clinton-era `tolerance' and `diversity' training have wrapped the U.S. military in red tape and produced more-sensitive spies at the CIA. The training continues
- An army of "change agents" has been assigned to transform how U.S. soldiers, sailors, airmen and spies think, feel and behave. Supported by political pressure from above and peer pressure from within the system, the change agents are trying to impose a politically correct PC orthodoxy on war-fighters and spooks....
- Research articles 2001-11-12
- Channel Training Strategies In High-Technology Industries
- This article investigates how optimal sales training strategies depend on firm, industry, and channel structure factors, such as sales training productivity, market growth rates, and competitive externalities of training. It build and analyze two new models that account for the dynamics of market growth and thus provide insight into the...
- White papers 2002-06-01
- Gender Plays Role in Religious Sensitivity For Medical Students.
- Byline: Indiana University School of Medicine INDIANAPOLIS, Dec. 14 AScribe Newswire -- Can sensitivity to the role religion plays in a patient's life positively affect physician bedside manner and care of the patient? Yes, for female physicians in training; no, for male physicians in...
- Research articles 2005-12-14
- U.S. Army 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment at National Training Center Learns Arabic with Videogame by Alelo
- LOS ANGELES -- Over 2,000 soldiers of the U.S. Army's 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (11ACR) at the National Training Center in Ft. Irwin (Calif.) will learn how to communicate in Iraq and Afghanistan safely, effectively, and with cultural sensitivity with the Tactical Language & Culture Training Systems by Alelo, Inc.
- Research articles 2007-02-28
- Employers Urge Staff To Show Their Colors
- The article points out that the roustabouts, never known for wearing their emotions on their sleeves, are being asked to wear them on stickers on their hard hats. The stickers have the words, "Start To Understand Me," and next to that, two colored dots, which are supposed to tell co-workers...
- White papers 2003-01-01
- [ Health briefs ]
- Health briefs Valeo to recognize Topeka Transit Valeo Behavioral Health Care will have a recognition event honoring Topeka Transit at 1 p.m. today at Topeka Transit administrative offices at 201 N. Kansas Ave. Valeo and Topeka Transit have worked together for the past year...
- Research articles 2002-10-28
- Special Bariatric Patient Needs: The Hospital.
- * Suitable exam tables * OR tables meeting OSHA standards * Hoya lift * HoverMatt * Special surgical instruments * Large size beds * Access to beds accommodating super-obese ...
- Research articles 2001-09-01
- Office Romances Increasingly Out in the Open
- Office romance may have been around for as long as there have been offices, but what was once a clandestine secret to be kept hidden from the disapproving eyes of HR, has become a more and more acceptable and open part of working life, the NY Times reports this week....
- Blog posts 2007-10-12
- Six Sigma Is Just A Fad
- Most likely you've heard that many people think Six Sigma is just a "fad" - a fashion that sweeps the world with great excitement for a brief period of time, usually less than a year, and then disappears. What are some fads that have come and partially gone in the...
- White papers 2003-01-01
- Training Emotional Intelligence For Conflict Resolution Practitioners
- Emotional Intelligence EI is the mental ability that provides emotional sensitivity to an individual. EI plays a vital role in conflict resolution. It enables individuals to perceive rational behind any idea or perspective and, thereby, helps in resolving conflicts. The paper emphasizes on orienting the conflict resolution practitioners in the...
- White papers 2002-07-01
- CAIR Welcomes TSA Hajj Sensitivity Training
- To: FOREIGN EDITORSTo: FOREIGN EDITORS
- Research articles 2006-12-27
- Sensitivity training
- FORMER ILLINOIS SENATOR Paul Simon, who died last December, was the son of a Lutheran missionary and an avowed liberal Democrat. I served as campaign manager for Simon's 1984 primary race for the Senate, and directed a staff that was young, aggressive and often frustrated at Simon's determined grip on...
- Research articles 2004-09-21
- Sen. Robert Byrd, ex-Klansman
- Ex-Klansman Robert Byrd, the senior senator from West Virginia, casually used the phrase "white nigger" twice on national TV this weekend. Enraged civil rights groups organized a protest campaign against Sen. Byrd and demanded that he undergo sensitivity training...not. The ex-Klansman, you see, is a Democrat. Democrats can join hate...
- Research articles 2001-03-12
- Men gone wild
- From The Washington Post: "Decaf coffee, sensitivity training, roadside assistance, hybrid cars: These indicators of rampant 'metrosexuality' are enough to make real men fear for their very existence, say the macho editors at Niaxim magazine. So they filed a petition with Interior Secretary Gale Norton and the Fish and Wildlife...
- Research articles 2005-01-01
- section:business
- Ford agrees to $7.75 million sexual-harassment settlement The Associated Press CHICAGO -- Ford Motor Co. agreed to pay $7.75 million Tuesday to as many as 900 women to settle complaints that they were groped and subjected to crude comments and graffiti at two Chicago-area plants....
- Research articles 1999-09-08
- Air Force guidelines on religion encourage sensitivity
- The Air Force, in a directive on religious expression released Monday, cautioned against most public prayer and urged leaders to be sensitive about sharing their faith. The long-awaited guidelines, praised by some and blasted by others, are part of the Air Force's response to claims the Air...
- Research articles 2005-08-30
- The Shadow University: The Betrayal of Liberty on America's Campuses.(Review) (book review) (book review)
- THE SHADOW UNIVERSITY: THE BETRAYAL OF LIBERTY ON AMERICA'S CAMPUSES. By Alan Charles Kors and Harvey A. Silverglate. New York: The Free Press. 1998. Pp. xi, 415. $27.50. The acquiescence of top academic leaders to the regime of speech codes, secret kangaroo courts, and...
- Research articles 2000-05-01
