Christa Muth (born 24 November 1949) is a German systems scientist, management professor and management consultant. She spent most of her life in
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
and is notable for emphasizing the importance of the intangible aspects in organizations and in business strategies. She coined the term “
Human Systems Engineering
Human systems engineering (HSE) is a field based on systems theory intended as a structured approach to influencing the intangible reality in organizations in a desirable direction. HSE claims to turn complexity into an advantage, to ease innovati ...
” and gave it to a Master of Advanced Studies Program she developed at the
HES-SO
The University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Western Switzerland (french: HES-SO Haute école spécialisée de Suisse occidentale) is situated in Western Switzerland. It is formally accredited by the Swiss Accreditation Council. The universi ...
(University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland). After she handed over the direction of this program to a successor, she developed a new area of interest in the field of “societal innovation."
Muth is a
trans woman
A trans woman or a transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity, may experience gender dysphoria, and may transition; this process commonly includes hormone replacement therapy and so ...
and activist for the
transgender
A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...
community. She was assigned a male gender at birth and lived and published under the names Christophe Muth, Christoph Muth and Chris Muth until she was 58. She transitioned in less than 6 months.
Early life and education
Muth was born in
Rheydt
Rheydt () is a borough of the Germany, German city Mönchengladbach, located in the west of North Rhine-Westphalia. Until 1918 and then again from 1933 (due to a split from Mönchengladbach arranged by Joseph Goebbels, who was born there) through ...
/
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...
, a borough of
Mönchengladbach
Mönchengladbach (, li, Jlabbach ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located west of the Rhine, halfway between Düsseldorf and the Dutch border.
Geography Municipal subdivisions
Since 2009, the territory of Mönchengladbac ...
in a family of textile industrials. Their Lutheran faith led the family of her maternal grandfather to refuse the membership in the Nazi NSDAP Party, which endangered her family and brought troubles during the era of the Third Reich. After the end of World War II in 1945, there came 15 years of booming success and wealth in part due to business with the Allied forces which privileged partners who had not been Nazis. In 1960, when it was clear that the German textile industry would get into heavy troubles under the pressure of Asiatic competition, Muth's mother dropped her job and withdrew out of this branch. She moved with her second husband to the
Lausanne
, neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...
area. Hence, Muth was educated in the French and later in the Italian speaking area of Switzerland. She gained her diploma for access to university in
Bellinzona
Bellinzona ( , , Ticinese ; french: Bellinzone ; german: Bellenz ; rm, Blizuna )is a municipality, a historic Swiss town, and the capital of the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. The town is famous for its three castles (Castelgrande, Montebell ...
. She studied Economic History and Sociology at the
Geneva University
The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin as a theological seminary. It remained focused on theology until the 17th centur ...
where she had the opportunity to work and share ideas with intellectuals like
Edgar Morin
Edgar Morin (; ; born Edgar Nahoum; 8 July 1921) is a French philosopher and sociologist of the theory of information who has been recognized for his work on complexity and "complex thought" ( pensée complexe), and for his scholarly contributio ...
,
Jean Ziegler
Jean Ziegler (; born Hans Ziegler, 19 April 1934) is a Swiss former professor of sociology at the University of Geneva and the Sorbonne, Paris, and former vice-president of the Advisory Committee to the United Nations Human Rights Council. He ...
,
Jean Piaget
Jean William Fritz Piaget (, , ; 9 August 1896 – 16 September 1980) was a Swiss psychologist known for his work on child development. Piaget's theory of cognitive development and epistemological view are together called " genetic epistemolog ...
and
Paolo Freire
Paulo Reglus Neves Freire (19 September 1921 – 2 May 1997) was a Brazilian educator and philosopher who was a leading advocate of critical pedagogy. His influential work ''Pedagogy of the Oppressed'' is generally considered one of the foundat ...
. Muth earned her Ph.D. in 1991 at the Swiss Campus of La Jolla University, San Diego, where she attended lectures with
Paul Watzlawick
Paul Watzlawick (July 25, 1921 – March 31, 2007) was an Austrian-American family therapist, psychologist, communication theorist, and philosopher. A theoretician in communication theory and radical constructivism, he commented in the fields ...
and
Henri Laborit
Henri Laborit (21 November 1914 – 18 May 1995) was a French surgeon, neurobiologist, writer and philosopher. In 1952, Laborit was instrumental in the development of the drug chlorpromazine, published his findings, and convinced three psychiatri ...
. Her doctoral thesis (in German) was about private and public academic education (Erfolg und Marketing von Privatuniversitäten).
Professional experience in the post ’68 context
In the post ’68 movement, Muth opted for a politically liberal attitude promoting alternative businesses rather than violent confrontation with the system. In her view, these businesses had the advantage to develop an in depth understanding of the realities and constraints in management rather than judging and condemn. She initiated several businesses or assisted interested groups in the launch. The condition for her participation was always a participative or better self-governed management model (
autogestion). The objectives of the initiatives in which she participated invariably focused on sustainability, empowerment and creating jobs for those who were in trouble finding appropriate work in line with their values.
Despite her values and intentions, Muth was harshly criticized because of her management style which was perceived by some as pseudo-democratic and authoritarian.
Some of the businesses she started made it to survive until today, the most notable and where she had a leading role as founder-manager for 6 years is probably Voyages APN in Geneva, originally a travel agency and coach transport company in the legal form of a cooperative. Ten years after her departure from this company the staff took over the company, discarded the form of the cooperative and instated private ownership.
Development of management and strategy concepts
Later, Muth was active in technology valorization, M&A, succession management and organization development. From a methodological point of view, Muth was strongly influenced by Systems thinking (
Frederic Vester
Frederic Vester (November 23, 1925 – November 2, 2003) was a German biochemist, and an expert in the field of ecology.
Biography
Vester was born in Saarbrücken, and studied chemistry at the universities of Mainz, Paris and Hamburg. From 1955 ...
and
James Grier Miller
James Grier Miller (19167 November 2002, California) was an American biologist, a pioneer of systems science and academic administrator, who originated the modern use of the term "behavioral science", founded and directed the multi-disciplinary ...
), the model of the triune brain (
Paul D. MacLean
Paul Donald MacLean (May 1, 1913 – December 26, 2007) was an American physician and neuroscientist who made significant contributions in the fields of physiology, psychiatry, and brain research through his work at Yale Medical School and the ...
), Existential Analysis (
Viktor Frankl
Viktor Emil Frankl (26 March 1905 – 2 September 1997)
was an Austrian psychiatrist who founded logotherapy, a school of psychotherapy that describes a search for a life's meaning as the central human motivational force. Logotherapy is part ...
) and by the sociological research carried out by
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Mihaly Robert Csikszentmihalyi (, hu, Csíkszentmihályi Mihály Róbert, ; 29 September 1934 – 20 October 2021) was a Hungarian-American psychologist. He recognized and named the psychological concept of " flow", a highly focused mental ...
.
In her role as main researcher and developer for the Leonardo 3.4.5 methodology she condensed this knowledge into a tool intended to help organizations to master complexity and to assess organizational strategies in relation with mental patterns of management teams. This methodology was developed as a Eureka project with the participation of research teams in Switzerland, UK, Italy, Germany and France.
From 2003 to 2009, Muth was President of the Association of the Swiss Printing Industry. At this time she committed herself to reorient the printing industry to Sustainable Development providing the branch with analysis and concepts for survival in the context of globalization. The Association became leader in industrial sustainability policies ( free printing), refusing the alibi of compensation certificates.
Contributions to the changes in the Swiss universities system
In 1993, Muth was hired as a consultant to esig+ (Ecole Suisse d’Ingénieurs de l’Industrie Graphique et de l’emballage – Swiss College of Engineering for the Printing and Packaging Industry). The School had the ambition to become the first College at University level to achieve an ISO 9001 quality certification. To do so a turnaround in the organization culture and in the teaching methods was necessary. Hence her blend of knowledge in
neuroscience
Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions and disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, development ...
, learning biology, psychology, systems sciences and organization development was the perfect match. During the quality certification, esig+ became the main model for
Rolf Dubs who was at this time the mentor of the Swiss Confederation for the development of the Universities of Applied Sciences. Muth was asked for extensive input about her futuristic vision of teaching and leading academic institutions. She participated as a member of the esig+ management staff in the whole process of development in
Rolf Dubs’ work group.
Muth strongly advocated to include soft skills and social competence in academic curricula and to transform the teaching methods and relations between faculty and students accordingly. Many innovations in the academic context, like the possibility to do diploma or master thesis’ in groups are due to her determination to challenge and oppose academic traditions.
In 2000, esig+ was merged into
HEIG-VD
The School of Engineering and Management Vaud or the ''School of Business and Engineering Vaud'' (abbrev. HEIG-VD, in the official French form Haute Ecole d'Ingénierie et de Gestion du Canton de Vaud) is a public university in Yverdon-les-Bains, ...
as department
Comem+ (Communications Engineering Management) and Muth was asked to package the type of knowledge she used for the turnaround of esig+ in order to make it transmissible and teachable in a Master of Advanced Studies (MAS).
Human Systems Engineering
In 1999 Muth received the assignment from the university to create a Master Program for extended education focused on intangible factors in organizations. She coined the term
Human Systems Engineering
Human systems engineering (HSE) is a field based on systems theory intended as a structured approach to influencing the intangible reality in organizations in a desirable direction. HSE claims to turn complexity into an advantage, to ease innovati ...
and set up the first conceptual lineaments of the iter studiorum. Later, Prof. Marie-France Bourdais joined her to design, to promote the final version of the program and to run it with the first cohorts of students. HSE became quite popular and received a warm welcome from business and financial press. Later it was enriched with several specialization courses. After directing HSE until 2008, Muth organized her succession before her transition and handed the direction to her colleague Prof. Marie-France Bourdais.
Transition
Muth was aware of her
gender dysphoria
Gender dysphoria (GD) is the distress a person experiences due to a mismatch between their gender identitytheir personal sense of their own genderand their sex assigned at birth. The diagnostic label gender identity disorder (GID) was used until ...
since her earliest childhood and attempted several times to transition without success; rigid values in her social, professional and family context, shame and fear prevented a coming out. Well informed psychological help was not available at this time, practitioners just felt uneasy being confronted with this type of request. As a first attempt to transition at the age of 32 Muth lived 4 months as a woman, but this attempt failed as she felt that her passing was not sufficient and there was no support nor perspective for a professional life as a trans woman.
After a long period of bedridden sickness at the age of 57, she realized that there was no escape from facing her fate if she wanted to survive. In the meantime, an informed community had established on the Internet where she found the necessary information about how to handle her case, about knowledgeable practitioners and experienced surgeons. From the final decision to surgery only one year lapsed. Muth had her surgery with Dr. Preecha Tiewtranon in Bangkok before her social and professional coming out, which she did 4 months later. The whole process took place under the public eye, as Muth went on lecturing and facing her professional responsibilities.
During her transition, Muth has been followed with the camera by Laurence Périgaud, a member of the Anthropology Institute of the University of Neuchâtel. Her documentary film was selected for the Swiss international festival Visions du réel. « Between Two Spirit - Becoming a Woman at Sixty » shows a successful transition as search of freedom and individuation as Jung intended it.
Since her transition, Muth takes an active part in the debate around transgender issues and is an active member of the TGNS (TransGender Network Switzerland).
Societal innovation
After her transition, Muth developed a new area of academic interest in societal innovation, arguing that too many ideas about how to solve societal issues are just discarded or forgotten because of conservative mindsets in business and politics. Hence she started the “Houses of ... Initiative”, intended to illuminate societal problems and demonstrate their solutions. On this basis she was asked to join the committee of the Project 2020 of Alliance F, the Central Swiss Women's Association.
In the field of societal innovation, Muth has issued three thesis’:
[Dorier R, Muth C., Comment utiliser la complexité - Outils, attitudes et compétences à développer, jobindex media ag, 2010]
* All business which fulfils three conditions (big business, well-documented knowledge taught in universities and well-established know-how documented sufficiently in quality systems) will leave the industrialized countries for the emerging countries.
* The future of the presently industrialized countries depends on their innovation capacity and skills for managing complexity.
* A de-globalization will take place sooner or later, depending on the capability of entire branches to switch to sustainability and to impose the respective rules and procedures as compulsory standards.
Presently, at the
HEIG-VD
The School of Engineering and Management Vaud or the ''School of Business and Engineering Vaud'' (abbrev. HEIG-VD, in the official French form Haute Ecole d'Ingénierie et de Gestion du Canton de Vaud) is a public university in Yverdon-les-Bains, ...
, Muth teaches these topics, works as adviser for politicians, writes and is active in research.
Home life
Muth lives as single in
Yverdon-les-Bains
Yverdon-les-Bains () (called Eburodunum and Ebredunum during the Roman era) is a municipality in the district of Jura-Nord vaudois of the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is the seat of the district. The population of Yverdon-les-Bains, , was ...
, a thermal resort in the Canton
Vaud
Vaud ( ; french: (Canton de) Vaud, ; german: (Kanton) Waadt, or ), more formally the canton of Vaud, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of ten districts and its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat of arms b ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muth, Christa
1949 births
Living people
Transgender scientists
Transgender women
Swiss business theorists
Swiss LGBT people
Systems scientists
Women systems scientists
University of Geneva alumni
People from Yverdon-les-Bains
Transgender academics
21st-century LGBT people