The idea to create a "forum" or "meeting place" where it would be possible to exchange ideas on how business firms and other human organisations actually function, arose in the mid 80s.
At the beginning of the 1970s , Jose M. de Anzizu, consultant and professor in academic Barcelona institutions, studied the new theories on organisational change and development in the United States (MIT and Harvard). On his return, he put them into practice successfully in various organisations, one of them a family services firm he inherited and turned around.
The Centre for Organisational Studies (COS) was created in 1989 with the collaboration of professionals from different countries. At the beginning, it was financed exclusively by the Foundation Jose M. de Anzizu.
The objective of COS is to promote the study, research and exchange of ideas in the field of management with the final aim of developing organisations that are more efficient in human, economic and social terms. It wants to mix people from different professions (academics, consultants and managers) and different cultures and to be complementary of other institutions (Universities, Business Schools, Professional Associations etc.) Apart from some specific activities (Public forums, Local Meetings, sponsoring of projects etc.),the main activity of COS is the organisation of an annual or bi-annual Round Table open to a selected group of managers, academics and consultants where they can openly discuss topics of world-wide interest. Since its creation in 1989, the following Round Tables have been held:

• Organisational and cultural aspects of Mergers and Acquisitions (Barcelona and Louvain)
• Management in Eastern European Countries (Warsaw and Berlin)
• New Organisational forms (Barcelona and Amsterdam)
• Corporate Governance (Barcelona)
• The future of the managerial job (Barcelona and Nantes)
• Managing Cultural Diversity: Making It Work (Collbató, Spain)
• Creating culturally competent firms: strategies for gaining from cultural pluralism (Ashridge, UK)

As a consequence of these meetings, several working documents and books have been published.
One of the main characteristics of COS is its international standing. The COS Mailing List includes around one thousand "associates" who work in Europe, America, Asia and Africa. There is a similar proportion of managers, consultants and academics. The Secretariat of COS is located in the premises of EADA International Development Center, in Barcelona.
The people who have been most influential in the development of COS are from different countries and most of them enjoy great prestige in their professions. Among them are: Jose Luis Alvarez (Instituto de Empresa, Spain), Max Boisot (Cambridge University, UK), Harald Burmeister (IESE, Barcelona), Bernadette Conraths (former EFMD Director, Brussels), Aïssa Dermouche (Dean of Audencia, Nantes, France), Bob Garrat (consultant, Hong Kong), Gay Haskins (London Business School), Richard Holroyd (manager, UK), Penny Jones (consultant, UK), Thomas Lupton (former Dean at Manchester Business School, UK), Melcior Mateu (Universidad Autonoma, Barcelona), David Parcerisas (EADA, Barcelona), Edgar Schein (MIT, USA), Christopher Schoch (consultant, US), Ian Turner (Henley Management Centre, UK), Leopold Vansina (University of Louvain, Belgium).