Identity, Compliance and Dissent in Organizations: A Psychoanalytic Perspective

Carr, Adrian

doi:10.1177/135050849851005

Cited by 47 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…From a psychodynamic perspective, the exploitation and production of fear and anxiety is an inherent feature of hierarchical enterprise (Gabriel 1998). In the shadow of the reward system and its sanctions there is a lingering anxiety about losing one's job, esteem and failure to get a promotion (Carr 1998;Fineman and Sturdy 1999). Empirical studies have substantiated that line of theorising.…”

Section: Affective Aspects Of Managerá/ Worker Relationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The appraisal of teachers' performance and its impact on the mutuality of principal-teacher emotions

Yariv¹

2009

School Leadership & Management

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The current study examines the mutual discrete emotions among superiors and their above-and below-average workers within a hierarchical organisation (school). Using a survey method within a random sample of 40 elementary schools in Northern Israel, each principal and four of his or her teachers (two who had been appraised as excellent and two who had been appraised as poorperforming) completed two questionnaires which addressed the teachers' perceived performance and emotions toward the principal/teacher. As expected, the above-average teachers were found to be more favourably professionally evaluated by their superiors than the poor-performing ones. The principals expressed very positive emotions toward them. These highly regarded workers shared mutually positive feelings and similar teacher performance appraisals with their principals. In contrast with the principals' evaluations, the below-average teachers perceived their own performance as very good. Unlike the teachers' mainly positive feelings, the principals experienced mixed emotions. The lower intensity of emotional 'tone' reflects the principals' hesitation about taking any action which might lead to a deterioration in relationships with these teachers. The discussion proposes the theoretical framework of a vicious circle, in which the principal's undelivered direct feedback does not reach the teacher, who mistakenly believes that if nothing is said everything is all right, and therefore maintains his or her high self-esteem and poor performance.

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Section: Affective Aspects Of Managerá/ Worker Relationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The appraisal of teachers' performance and its impact on the mutuality of principal-teacher emotions

Yariv¹

2009

School Leadership & Management

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“…Still, such modes of thinking generally put emphasis on inner psychological processes, based on early development and life history, as central for how work life is experienced and acted upon. This is true even within versions of psychoanalysis where human development and change are taken seriously, as, for example, Erikson's (1968) view on identity, where the ego-ideal is conceptualized as being established and re-established through various identifications (Carr 1998). There is little of change and variation across settings: identity is, during long life periods, relatively stable, and changes mainly during specific development phases.…”

Section: The Various Meanings Of Identitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Making Newsmakers: Conversational Identity at Work

Kärreman

Alvesson

2001

Organization Studies

158

161

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This paper focuses on a single event in an organization -a meeting about the news bills and their presumed sales effects on a Swedish evening newspaper. The paper has three purposes. One is (strictly) empirical and shows in detail some aspects the editorial side of newspaper publishing. We show how shared meanings and a joint identification is accomplished, facilitating newspaper editorial work. A second purpose is methodological and illustrates the option of doing in-depth studies of micro events as a way of making organizations visible. Arguably, some situations in organizations may be seen as the organization 'written small' and the close and detailed interpretation of these may, if combined with sufficient background and context knowledge, open up a window for a broader understanding of organizations. The third, and most significant, purpose is to develop ideas about identity and identity construction in a specific work organizational context. In particular, we take an interest in how the self-regulation of identity may suppress consideration of aspects and modes of thinking, acting and feeling that run against dominant processes of identity construction. The meeting is viewed as a vehicle for manifesting, clarifying and solidifying identity constructions through conversations around the news bills' sales capacity. The intensity of the work with identity construction is seen in the context of the work organization and production schedule, where infrequent interaction and a quick speed create a lack of possibilities for developing shared understandings and support for the decisions made. The pressure to safeguard a distinctive social identity means that there is little space for broader reflections and considerations threatening a coherent identity constructing conversation.

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“…As a result, part of the worker's task in these institutions is to "live this contradiction" (Hoggett et al, 2006). Indeed, past research has found that public sector workers often incorporate aspects of their work into their identity (Super, 1980;Carr, 1998). This was certainly the case in our study where professionals aligned themselves with their work, their connection to teams and clients, and the changes being carried out.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 66%

The Emotional Consequences of Organizational Change

Grenier¹,

Bidgoli²

2015

cswr

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This paper explores the emotional experiences of professionals in a health and social care setting during a process of reform in the Canadian province of Quebec. Characterized as “new public management” or “new managerialism,” public health and social care services in a number of countries have undergone reforms since the early 1980s that focus on efficiency and cost reduction (Nadeau, 1996; Hornblow, 1997; Gross, Rosen, & Chinitz, 1998, Anell, 2005; Levine, 2007; Wimbush, Young, & Robertson, 2007). Although differences exist between the cultural and political contexts within which reforms are implemented, reforms regularly involve changing institutional and organizational structures, the implementation of standard procedures, and the generation of outcome measures for service. The process of reform, and the body of knowledge on organizational change however, tend to overlook the flux of emotions that take place in the everyday lives of professionals. This paper reflects on data from 25 individual interviews collected from a critical ethnography of one health and social care setting during a period of provincial health-care reform in Quebec, Canada (2004-2012). The paper provides an in-depth focus on the emotional consequences of reform as an attempt to understand and expose the human costs of change. Three patterns that professionals used to adapt to change and conflict are discussed: internalization of the reform mandate; rationalization; and creating distance between the reform and their professional or personal selves. Important in their own right, the emotions produced in a period of change provide lessons on the general stressors that surround reform, and demonstrate how health and social care professionals are often caught between policy intentions, professional values, and their personal ambitions.

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Identity, Compliance and Dissent in Organizations: A Psychoanalytic Perspective

Cited by 47 publications

References 17 publications

The appraisal of teachers' performance and its impact on the mutuality of principal-teacher emotions

The appraisal of teachers' performance and its impact on the mutuality of principal-teacher emotions

Making Newsmakers: Conversational Identity at Work

The Emotional Consequences of Organizational Change

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