WORD LENGTH : 600 words EXCLUDING REFERENCES
2. Reflective Task
For details of Reflective Tasks (including how to go about doing them and timing), see Unit Outline Section 7.2.
RT3: Emotional dimensions of organisations
The papers by Baum, Hirschhorn and Yiannis (see e-reserve) and also Dunning, James. & Jones (2005) [referred to above and available via Multisearch] use some terms which may be not be familiar, including 'social defences against anxiety'; 'splitting', 'introjection' and 'projection'; 'boundaries'; 'reparation'; 'basic assumption group'; ‘organisational paranoia’; ‘obsessive–compulsiveness’ and ‘oedipal anxieties’.
(a) Reflect on possible examples of a sample of these phenomena (or others mentioned in the readings on emotion) in your organisation. [I say 'possible examples' because such a discussion can only be speculative--it is difficult to be too definite about this area. All you're asked to do here is to reflect on the meaning of such terms and on the possibility that organisational phenomena you've observed may relate to emotional dynamics such as those listed.]
(b) What do you see as the merits and limitations of taking concepts like these (many of which have evolved from individual psychology) and applying them to groups and organisations?
How are Reflective Tasks assessed?
Assessment of Reflective Tasks is based on your ability to apply, in a critically reflective way, the concepts covered in the module notes, the e-reserve material, the text, and supplementary scholarly material that I post on the iLearn site or that you find.Your response to each Reflective Task will be given a composite rating (representing a combination of Knowledge Development, Application and Presentation, all weighted equally) between 1 and 12. You will also receive brief written feedback. For details of the criteria used to rate Knowledge Development, Application and Presentation, and for all other details of assessment in this Unit, please refer to the Unit Guide Section 7.
Readings:
Dunning, G., James, C. & Jones, N. (2005), Splitting and projection at work in schools. Journal ofEducational Administration, 43(3), 244 – 59.
Baum, H. (2002). Why school systems resist reform: A psychoanalytic perspective. Human Relations, 55, 173-98.
Yiannis, G. (1998). Psychoanalytic contributions to the study of the emotional life of organisations. Administration & Society, 30 (3).
Hirschhorn, L. (1988). The workplace within: The psychodynamics of organisational life. Cambridge, Mass: The MIT Press. Introduction (The psychodynamics of the workplace), pp. 1-15; and Chapter 2 (Boundaries), 31-9.
Fineman, S. (2000). Emotional arenas revisited. In S. Fineman (ed.), Emotions in organisations, London: Sage Publications.
Bolman, L., & Deal, T. Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice and Leadership. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass