Search results

While individuals productively use repetition to learn and develop new skills and competencies, they also engage in compulsive and counterproductive repetitions. This article makes a contribution to the literature on organizational learning and change by offering an exploration of the human proclivity for repetition and psychosocial phenomenon of the compulsion to repeat. The article links psychoanalytic theory with organization learning and change, to address the question: How is the tendency for repetition, constructive and destructive, addressed in organizational change processes? A case example is presented and discussed throughout this exploration of organizational change and the compulsion to repeat.

In this article, the author offers a psychoanalytic perspective of violence and aggression in the workplace. With particular focus on public sector organizations, such as the postal service, the author submits that shame and injustice are at the emotional core of the problem. Following a statistical summary of violence in the workplace and an overview of the social and behavioral science research, the author provides a psychodynamic schema for analyzing the potential for violence at work. The model presented combines what the author refers to as a toxic mix of oppressive cultures and persecutory identities at work In conclusion, the author provides a brief description of his organizational change methodology.

The primary argument in this article is that the ability of any public organization to withstand the storms of political pressure and change stems from the character of leader-follower relations. Ultimately, the personal, political, and ethical integrity of public administrators depends on the degree of organizational resilience of public agencies. This resilience relies on the effective leadership of change. To enhance and clarify this perspective, the author uses Hobbesian and Rousseauian political theory as metaphors of organizational experience. From a psychodynamic perspective, this article attempts to explore more deeply the private world of public administrators undergoing organizational change.