The personality of the organisation : a psycho-dynamic explanation of culture and change.

The primary aim of this thesis is to put forward what is believed to be an original conceptualisation of culture relevant to understanding organisational change. There are essentially two interrelated areas of research. The first is an explanation of organisational culture. In this, I seek to show what organisational culture is, how it develops, how it is perpetuated and how it is represented. The second is the application of this concept of culture to the management of change. Here I seek to show the effects of culture on organisational change and how an understanding of it is necessary to achieve this. The conscious and unconscious processes of culture are researched from a psycho-dynamic perspective. Relying on a mixture of personal reflection and psychoanalytic theory concepts of organisation, boundaries, symbolism, learning, socialisation and creativity are put forward as background data which supports an original explanation and understanding of organisational culture. This knowledge is then applied to the management of change: first in a theoretical manner and then to an action research project in the Metropolitan Police Service. The psycho-dynamic model provides the necessary ability to examine the transference and counter-transference within the relationship between consultant and clients. The role of consultant is also viewed in regard to power and ethics. By providing what is considered to be an original conceptualisation of culture, the main contribution to knowledge is to the theory of organisations and the management of change. There are also specific contributions in the application of psychoanalytic theory of symbolism to organisations, and what is considered to be an original conceptualisation of creativity.</p

Systems psychodynamics: The formative years of an interdisciplinary field at the Tavistock Institute. History of psychology

Systems psychodynamics is an interdisciplinary field amalgamating a triad of influences-the practice of psychoanalysis, the theories and methods of the field of group relations, and the task and boundary awareness of open systems perspectives. Although systems psychodynamics is not a new field of study, there has been a general lack of awareness of its roots, how its formative elements have become intertwined over the years, and the role of the Tavistock Institute in developments in the field. This article provides a synthesis of this history and focuses, in particular, on the intellectual foundations of the Tavistock method of working experientially with groups and the application of this method to the study of organizations. Systems psychodynamics is an interdisciplinary field that integrates three disciplines-the practice of psychoanalysis, the theories and methods of group relations, and open systems perspectives. Systems psychodynamics is &quot;a term used to refer to the collective psychological behavior&quot; (Neumann, 1999, p. 57) within and between groups and organizations. &quot;Systems psychodynamics, therefore, provides a way of thinking about energizing or motivating forces resulting from the interconnection between various groups and sub-units of a social system&quot; (Neumann, 1999, p. 57). Although systems psychodynamics is not a new field of study, there has been a general lack of awareness of its roots, how its formative elements have become intertwined over the years, and the role of the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations (Tavistock Institute) in developments in the field. This article provides a synthesis of this history and focuses, in particular, on the intellectual foundations of the Tavistock method of working experientially with groups and the application of this method to the study of organizations. It will discuss the formative years of systems psychodynamics from the late 1800s, with developments in psychoanalysis and theories about groups, until I thank the following people for their assistance in the creation of this article