The Psychology of Organizations and Workplace Issues: Resolving Everyday Conflicts introduces theories about the psychic life of organizations. It differentiates and clarifies both the objective structural elements and the subjective emotional elements. The objective part involves the conditions emerging from the describable features of the organization. The subjective perspective addresses the often more hidden emotional influences and manifestations in the organization: this will be amplified by what is now termed the psychology and social psychology of organizations. Contributions from leading authors in the field will cover the following themes: the organization in the tension field of psychic life and as a field of emotional experiences, individual and group unconscious, regular and irregular psychological processes and their influence on daily work functions, organization's environment, specific concepts of the psychology of organizations, organizations and workplace issues, social sciences, and social psychology. This book is written for everyone interested in the field of organizations. It shows how psychological processes occur in organizations and how they cast their influence throughout.
Bernd Huppertz is an organizational consultant and coach for organizations, families, individuals, and their advisors in private practice.
Foreword by James Krantz Acknowledgments Introduction by Bernd Huppertz Part I: The Organization: Its Part in the Tension Field of Psychic Life Chapter 1 - Everyday Life in Organizations (by Bernd Huppertz) Chapter 2 - Certain Elements of the Organization (by Bernd Huppertz) Part II: The Organization as a Field of Emotional Experiences Chapter 3 - Organization and Organizing from Structure to Flux (by Antonio Sama) Chapter 4 - Hierarchy and Leadership (by Anton Obholzer) Chapter 5 - The Objective and the Subjective Sides of Organizations (by Leslie B. Brissett) Part III: The Individual Unconscious and the Group Unconscious Chapter 6 - Unconscious Anxieties in Organizations (by R. D. Hinshelwood) Chapter 7 - The Individual Unconscious (by R. D. Hinshelwood) Chapter 8 - The Group Unconscious and Group Relations (by Susan Long) Part IV: Regular and Irregular Psychological Processes and Their Influence on Daily Work Functions Chapter 9 - Members of the Organization: Their Relations, Functions, and the Systems Psychodynamic Framework: Boundary, Authority, Role, and Task (by David Lawlor and Mannie Sher) Chapter 10 - The Social Psychology of Organizations: Systems and Systems Psychodynamic (by Mannie Sher and David Lawlor) Part V: The Environment Chapter 11 - The Organization in Its Environment: Open Systems and Social Ecology and Complexity (by David Lawlor and Mannie Sher) Part VI: Some Specific Concepts of the Psychology of Organizations Chapter 12 - Psychological Background: Theories as They Relate to Organizations with Special Reference to the Socio-Technical System (by Mannie Sher and David Lawlor) Chapter 13 - The Organization in the Mind (by David Armstrong) Part VII: Summary and Outlook Chapter 14 - Organizations and Workplace Issues in the Context of Social Sciences and Social Psychology: Summary and Outlook (by Bernd Huppertz) Appendices-The Long Journey in the Development of Work, Organizations, and Their Workplaces Appendix A - A Short History of The Long Journey of the Early Organization of Activities Providing Self-Sufficiency, Work, Exchange, and Trade (Over 2.5 Million Years) (by Bernd Huppertz) Appendix B - The Short History of Work and Organizations and Its Workplaces: The Development of Organizations during the Modern Age up to the Present (Over More than Two Hundred Years) (by Bernd Huppertz) Index List of Contributors
Sigmund Freud once said, "were we fully to understand the reasons for other people's behavior, it would all make sense." People interested in the psychodynamics of organizational life, who are prepared to go beyond the more well-trodden paths, would be wise to read this book. By doing so, the reader will acquire deep insights into the psychic life of organizations. -- Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries, Distinguished Clinical Professor of Leadership Development and Organizational Change, INSEAD, France & Singapore This is an impressive book and a fascinating read. Bernd Huppertz has gathered together an excellent group of contributors with a wealth of knowledge and experience. They shed new light on the unconscious and systemic aspects of organization and leadership and do so in a way that is highly engaging. I can thoroughly recommend this volume. -- Mark Stein, University of Leicester Illuminated and thoughtfully explored in this book are the deep, often irrational and sometimes seemingly mad currents that run through and between organizations and broader society; currents that we each know in our gut and our emotional life. From illumination possibilities of how to creatively lead, manage, and influence in the face of such complexity are brought forth. The history of work is provided, so necessary to comprehend the present, and then, with precision and care, dimensions of organizational life are explored using the depth of ideas from systems thinking and psychodynamics and their interface. So not only are we given concepts and methods for framing and influencing the complexities of working in organizations, but we also have the joining together in one place of the central concepts that form the systems psychodynamic discipline. This book is invaluable for those entering this field of work and for all who wish to lead and manage with deep insight into the complex reality of organizational life. -- Wendy Harding, National Institute of Organisation Dynamics Australia (NIODA)
