--- title: Our company --- # Company [^ ](https://iea.symlog.com/company#beginning) ## What is the Interaction Effectiveness Assessment®? The Interaction Effectiveness Assessment® (*iea*) is a powerful and valid self-assessment based on your answers to a twenty-six item questionnaire. You are asked to respond to the question: "In general, what behavior do you actually show when interacting with others?"++ The interpretive report returned to you may have up to three sections. Each includes suggestions on what behaviors you might want to modify, and how potentially to improve the quality, satisfaction, and productivity of your interactions with others. ##### Role Type ## RT The[ Role Type](https://iea.symlog.com/assessments/role-type-report) provides the foundation of your report in the form of one of twenty-six possible Role Types in social interaction. Your Role Type is the generally consistent and characteristic behavior you tend to exhibit in your interactions with others. Knowing more about the roles you are likely to take in your interactions helps to understand and improve the impact your behavior has on others. ##### Interaction Pattern ## IP The [Interaction Pattern](https://iea.symlog.com/assessments/interaction-pattern-report) analysis displays the pattern of your behavior in nine critical areas of social interaction. The shape of your own pattern is, in many ways, an indication of how flexible and adaptable you are in adjusting your behavior to fit various situations. Your responses are compared to an optimal pattern, and suggestions are given on how to improve your flexibility in areas where you might over or underemphasize certain behaviors. ##### Effectiveness Profile ## EP The [Effectiveness Profile](https://iea.symlog.com/assessments/effectiveness-profile-report) details your actual responses to the twenty-six item questionnaire and compares your results to an effective range for each behavior. The analysis includes behaviors that you might currently show too often, or not often enough, with hints on how to modify. #### Your individualized *iea* builds a comprehensive picture of how potentially effective your current behavior is How others are likely to respond to your behaviors, and how you might go about modifying your behavior in order to increase your interaction competence. Each report is accompanied by an extensive[** workbook**](https://iea.symlog.com/solutions/workbook) to help you better understand your feedback and help you formulate a specific development plan to which you can commit. [Learn more about the workbook](https://iea.symlog.com/workbook) #### ++ A "Simplified English" version of the iea (iea-SE) is also available to professionals working with individuals who have a limited understanding of English. The rating instructions, along with the twenty-six items probing various behaviors, use phrasing (4th grade level) to make it easier for those with a limited English vocabulary to complete the self-assessment on-line. The written reports that result from the ratings, however, contain the same level of language proficiency (i.e. 9th grade) as the standard *iea*. The reports are comprehensive and extensive and may require some assistance in reading certain portions of the text. Although we recommend using the standard iea whenever possible, both forms produce equally reliable results. If you are interested in using the "Simplified English" version, select *iea*-SE when ordering. [Read iea informational flyer](https://iea.symlog.com/hubfs/PDFs/iea/iea%20informational%20flyer.pdf) [![Iea informational flyer](https://iea.symlog.com/hs-fs/hubfs/IEA%20Brand%20assets/Graphics%20and%20icons/Iea%20informational%20flyer.png?width=538&height=701&name=Iea%20informational%20flyer.png) ](https://iea.symlog.com/hubfs/PDFs/iea/iea%20informational%20flyer.pdf) ## SYMLOG Consulting Group SYMLOG Consulting Group (SCG) is the publisher of the Interaction Effectiveness Assessment® (*iea*). The *iea* is the newest offering in an extensive line of professional products offered by SCG. SCG was founded in 1983 by [Robert J. Koenigs, Ph.D.](https://iea.symlog.com/company#principals) and [Margaret A. Cowen, Ph.D.](https://iea.symlog.com/company#principals), with the support and assistance of [Robert F. Bales](https://iea.symlog.com/company#principals), Ph.D. More professionals use SYMLOG-based products to assess and guide value-based change than any other measurement system in the world. The SYMLOG Consulting Group approach is worldwide as well as interactive. It created a data bank that made possible a search for general laws of social interaction far beyond anything thus far known. Since its inception, SCG’s research base contains over 1,000,000 profiles drawn from applications in seventeen languages, in sixty countries, on six continents. Its corporate office is located in San Diego, California. SCG maintains a professional staff to coordinate and provide support services to an international network of over 1,000 Certified SYMLOG Consultants [Contact us](https://iea.symlog.com/contact) ## Principals ![Principal - Robert J Koenigs](https://iea.symlog.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Brand%20assets/Graphics%20and%20icons/Principal%20-%20Robert%20J%20Koenigs.png?width=200&height=200&name=Principal%20-%20Robert%20J%20Koenigs.png) #### Robert J. Koenigs ###### Ph.D. President Emeritus and Co-founder *In Memoriam* Learn More ![Principal - Margaret A. Cowen](https://iea.symlog.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Brand%20assets/Graphics%20and%20icons/Principal%20-%20Margaret%20A.%20Cowen.png?width=200&height=200&name=Principal%20-%20Margaret%20A.%20Cowen.png) #### Margaret A. Cowen ###### Ph.D. President and Co-founder Learn More ![Principal - Robert F. Bales](https://iea.symlog.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Brand%20assets/Graphics%20and%20icons/Principal%20-%20Robert%20F.%20Bales.png?width=200&height=200&name=Principal%20-%20Robert%20F.%20Bales.png) #### Robert F. Bales ###### Ph.D. Author / Inventor *In Memoriam* Learn More × ![Principal - Robert F. Bales](https://iea.symlog.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Brand%20assets/Graphics%20and%20icons/Principal%20-%20Robert%20F.%20Bales.png?width=200&height=200&name=Principal%20-%20Robert%20F.%20Bales.png) ### Robert F. Bales ###### Ph.D. ##### Author/Inventor of SYMLOG Robert Freed Bales, Ph.D. (1916-2004), Harvard University, is the author and inventor of the SYMLOG® (a **SY**stem for the **M**ultiple **L**evel **O**bservation of **G**roups) system. In his search for universal features, Bales redefined the fundamental boundaries of social interaction, and established criteria for the behavior and values of leaders and followers. Bales offered a new "field theory," an appreciation of the multiple contexts in which people live. Widely published and one of the most often quoted social psychologists, Bales worked closely with SYMLOG Consulting Group until his death in 2004. His last book, Social interaction systems: Theory and measurement (1999), is the culmination of a half century of work in the field of social psychology. He was a pioneer at the Department of Social Relations at Harvard University and a seminal member of the Harvard Project. Led by Talcott Parsons, Gordon W. Allport, Henry A. Murray, and Clyde M. Kluckhohn, the Harvard Project was intended to establish an integrative framework for social psychology. That framework would take into consideration the interaction, the context and content of communication, and the value-orientation of the participants. Bales devoted his life’s work to developing this integrative framework, and saw this as a personal involvement that went far behavior the classical experimental approach to the study of groups. His work and findings allowed for an understanding of polarizations as they actually exist in interaction -- between conservative and liberal, individualistic and authoritarian, and libertarian and communitarian orientations. Bales repeatedly emphasized that the mental processes of individuals and their social interactions take place in systematic contexts that can be measured. Hence, they permit explanation and prediction of behavior in a more exact way than in past traditions. The significance of his work has been repeatedly recognized by scholars and practitioners alike. He received awards from the American Psychological Foundation (1983), the American Sociological Association Cooley-Meal Award (1983), and the California Psychological Association Award (1999) from the Division of Industrial and Organizational Psychology for his fifty years of work. He maintained an active collaboration with the SYMLOG Consulting Group (SCG) until his death in 2004. × ![Principal - Robert J Koenigs](https://iea.symlog.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Brand%20assets/Graphics%20and%20icons/Principal%20-%20Robert%20J%20Koenigs.png?width=200&height=200&name=Principal%20-%20Robert%20J%20Koenigs.png) ### Robert J. Koenigs ###### Pd.D. Robert J. Koenigs is Co-founder of the SYMLOG Consulting Group (SCG) and served as its President until his death in 2020. He designed and implemented planned change programs for individuals, teams, and organizations since the early 1970's in North America, South America, Asia, Europe, Africa and Australia. He worked closely with a broad range of organizations in the public, private, governmental, and religious sectors. Dr. Koenigs, a Board Certified and Licensed Psychologist, earned a Ph.D. in Psychology from St. Louis University in 1973 and continued his post-doctoral studies as a Research Fellow at Harvard. He subsequently directed international research with colleagues in over sixty countries in seventeen languages. He was a member of the faculties of Harvard University, Boston College, and UCLA. He had extensive teaching experience in psychology, group dynamics, and organizational behavior. Dr. Koenigs worked closely with Professor Bales as a faculty member at Harvard during the development of SYMLOG, and continued their collaboration until Bales’ death in 2004. Dr. Koenigs was among the first professionals to use SYMLOG in applied settings outside of the laboratory where it was developed, and SCG continues to develop and refine the system to this day. × ![Principal - Margaret A. Cowen](https://iea.symlog.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Brand%20assets/Graphics%20and%20icons/Principal%20-%20Margaret%20A.%20Cowen.png?width=200&height=200&name=Principal%20-%20Margaret%20A.%20Cowen.png) ### Margaret A. Cowen ###### Ph.D. Margaret Cowen is Co-founder and President of the SYMLOG Consulting Group (SCG). She has a B.A. in Sociology from Northwestern University, professional credentials in secondary education, an M.B.A. from Boston University, and received a Ph.D. in Psychology from United States International University in 1998. Dr. Cowen began her organizational career managing marketing services of the supply division of a large hotel chain. She has been active in the formation of several volunteer organizations and has worked both as an internal and external consultant to firms in the public and private sectors. Dr. Cowen has trained numerous management development programs on six continents and concentrates her consulting efforts on value-based intervention strategies. Her research work focuses on the relationship between an individual’s behavior and the values they are perceived to show in behavior. She is the senior author of the Interaction Effectiveness Assessment™ (iea). Dr. Cowen has been an integral part of the transition from use of SYMLOG in the laboratory to practical applications and is responsible for many of the foundation pieces that make up the SYMLOG system today. In addition, during the last thirty years she has personally trained over 1,000 Certified SYMLOG Consultants worldwide. #### The Interaction Effectiveness Assessment® (iea) uses rating items derived from the SYMLOG system. [SYMLOG](https://symlog-21383726-hubspotpagebuilder-com.sandbox.hs-sites.com) is a *theory* of social interaction with a highly refined system for measuring key components inherent in social interaction. The components consist of three major dimensions of social interaction derived from factor analytic studies. One purpose for the studies that resulted in the formulation of the [SYMLOG system](https://symlog-21383726-hubspotpagebuilder-com.sandbox.hs-sites.com/about-symlog) was to understand better effective leadership, group dynamics, and superior team performance. [![SYMLOG Logo HQ](https://iea.symlog.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Brand%20assets/Logo/SYMLOG/SYMLOG%20Logo%20HQ.png?width=400&height=400&name=SYMLOG%20Logo%20HQ.png) ](https://www.symlog.com) #### The results of the work include: ## 1 ##### A comprehensive theory of social interaction. ## 2 ##### A highly refined measurement system. ## 3 ##### A set of precise tools for analyzing and improving effectiveness for people who live and work in groups of all sizes. #### Using SYMLOG-based products makes available useful, valid, and reliable feedback that enables individuals, teams, and organizations to: - Assess their current capabilities; - Define their future development goals; - Plan and implement change efforts toward improvement goals; and, - Repeatedly measure and guide progress against those goals. × ### Sources A complete bibliography of SYMLOG-related articles and research, relevant to the *iea*, is available through SYMLOG Consulting Group. Contact them at [www.symlog.com](https://symlog-21383726-hubspotpagebuilder-com.sandbox.hs-sites.com). Among the works more prevalent in the development of the Interaction Effectiveness Assessment® instrument are: Bales, R. F. (1950). *Interaction Process Analysis*. Cambridge, MA: Addison-Wesley. Reprinted 1976, University of Chicago Press. Bales, R. F. (1970). *Personality and interpersonal behavior*. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. Bales, R. F., & Cohen, S. P., with the assistance of S. A. Williamson (1979). *SYMLOG: A system for the multiple level observation of groups*. New York: Free Press. Bales, R. F. (1984). Texts for “YOURVIEW,” an interactive computer program. San Diego, CA: SYMLOG Consulting Group. Bales, R. F., Cowen, M. A., & R. J. Koenigs (1986). *Interpersonal Effectiveness Profile*. San Diego, CA: SYMLOG Consulting Group. Bales, R. F. (1999). *Social interaction systems: Theory and measurement*. London: Transaction Publishers. Cowen, M.A. (1998). *The relationship between behavior and value assessment of leader/managers by their coworkers in organizations* (unpublished dissertation). Ann Arbor, MI: UMI. Hare, A.P., Sjovold, E., Baker, H.G., & J. Powers (2008) (eds.). *Analysis of social interaction systems: SYMLOG research and applications*. Lanham, MD: University Press of America,® Inc. ### Ready to try the Interaction Effectiveness Assessment®? [Buy now](https://iea.symlog.com/purchase) [Contact us](https://iea.symlog.com/contact)