The Perverse Organisation and its Deadly Sins begins by examining the nature of perversity and its presence in corporate and organisational life. Then, four chapters examine the "corporate sins" of perverse pride, greed, envy and sloth, each taking case studies from major organisations suffering their effects. Finally, the book enquires into the nature of the consumer/provider pair as a centrepiece of the perverse cultural dynamics of current organisational life. The emphasis in the book is on perversity displayed by the organisation as such, rather than simply by its leaders, or other members, even though they may embody and manifest perverse primary symptoms to the extent that they at times engage in corrupt or criminal behaviour. What is explored is a group and organisation dynamic, more deeply embedded than conscious corruption. Within the perverse structure some roles become required to take up corrupt positions. They become part and parcel of the way things work. The person may condemn certain practices, but the role requires them. Tensions between person and role may mean that the person in role acts as they would not while in other roles. Such tensions may lead to the dynamics of perversity. This book is important reading for managers, consultants, and all who are interested in the dynamics propelling what seem to be the out-of-control dynamics within contemporary organisational life. It helps us understand how many people in positions of trust may end up abusing those positions. It looks at how we may be collectively perverse despite our individual attempts to be otherwise.

In this book, Bruno Boccara argues that complex and changing psychosocial issues, in particular those related to the societal unconscious, must be assessed and incorporated in public policy analysis through Socio-Analytic Dialogue, a psychosocial approach aimed at understanding and addressing emotional issues surrounding public policies worldwide through empathic dialogue. Taking into account societal level anxieties and defense mechanisms—at both the conscious and unconscious levels—when formulating and implementing policies increases the awareness and understanding of psychosocial issues, and decreases the need, and therefore the likelihood, of societies adopting regressive social defenses. Covering international topics including research from the United States; Tunisia and the Arab spring; discontent and riots in Chile, Israel, and the United Kingdom; and humiliation in Sub-Saharan Africa, the book identifies how country-level psychosocial dynamics impact public policies, and suggests that policies themselves can become social defenses. Two case studies, firstly on the World Bank and foreign aid, and secondly on Bolivia, illustrate how a deep understanding of psychosocial issues can provide new insights on the functioning of organizations (perverse dynamics) and on a country’s policy choices and economic performance. Building upon recent work in sociology and psychoanalysis, the book demonstrates that Socio-Analytic Dialogue has the potential to make a significant contribution to understanding worldwide discontent and anxieties.

This book demonstrates how the transforming experience framework (TEF) model can be used in organisational analysis, research, and consulting. It analyses the use of the TEF for examining both theoretical and practical issues in the field of socioanalysis and systems psychodynamics.

The Handbook of Research Methods in Organizational Change offers innovative and practical information to aid in the successful implementation of research methodologies. Written by a collective of experienced scholars, it provides inspiration for future academics wishing to advance research into human system changes.

With close attention to Wilfred Bion's influence on the literature about groups and organisations, this book explores how containment has been transposed from the clinical setting to enlighten the work being carried out by psychodynamic practitioners and researchers, especially within organisations. In the first part, contributors explore the origins of containment, comparing and contrasting it with similar concepts such as holding. A second part is devoted to addressing the implications of utilising psychoanalytic ideas beyond the couch and bringing them to the social field of groups and organisations. The early days of such ideas, as well as the wide range of methods applied, are also addressed in this section with the aim of giving the reader a more comprehensive base for the application of psychoanalytic knowledge. Finally, the third part provides a detailed view of the different applications of containment in consulting, leadership, therapeutic communities and group relations. Drawing on their own experiences, the authors highlight how psychoanalytic concepts impact their own practice, contributing to a collection that will prove essential for psychoanalysts, managers, policymakers, consultants and researchers in a wide range of professional and clinical settings.

Leading authors within organization studies and also from broader social science disciplines present the state of the art in the rapidly developing field of psychosocial approaches to organization studies and critical management studies.

Organisational development (OD) as a practice involves an ongoing, systematic process of implementing effective organisational change. OD is both a field of applied science focused on understanding and managing organisational change and a field of scientific study and inquiry. It is interdisciplinary in nature and draws on sociology, psychology, particularly industrial and organisational psychology, and theories of motivation, learning, and personality. Organisation Development in Healthcare: A Critical Appraisal for Practitioners provides both an overview of the evolution of OD in healthcare as a field of practice and as a challenge to its future development. It examines the underlying assumptions behind OD and tracks its historical growth in healthcare, with special attention devoted to the UK’s National Health Service. The unusual nature of healthcare organisations delivering human services through the work of professionals who are subject to emotional labor and are addressing society’s wicked problems provides a unique context. A range of challenges for healthcare OD are identified, including questions of conformists or deviant innovation; organisations as machines or systems; hierarchy versus democracy; the importance of power and emotion and possible future ways forward for healthcare OD are suggested. Examples and short case studies from both the UK and the US to illustrate the benefits of OD are included.