Understanding emotion and emotionality in a process of change

Abstract

Aspects of the psychodynamics of organisation change are explored and in particular how emotion and emotionality should be conceived. A case is made to go beyond the dichotomous world of “rational” versus “emotional” and develop a greater appreciation of how the rational and the emotional can be “fused” or act in a co‐existent and co‐dependent fashion where one cannot be understood in the absence of the other. Read through the optic of identity, acts of so called rationality may simply be an expression of a deeper, albeit unconscious realm – psychodynamics in which emotion and emotionality are significant. It is through the optic of identity that the individual’s attachment to the organisation is described and the meaning of behaviour in the midst of change is canvassed. It is noted that, depending upon the degree of identification with the organisation, one encounters behaviours that reflect dislodgement of identity and those more commonly associated with the processes of grieving. Some tentative strategies are advanced in managing these behaviours.

Chapter 4 Personality, affect, and organizational change: a qualitative study

“…But, while theoretical treatments of the psychodynamics of organizational life (Carr, 1998;Gabriel, 1998) and organizational change (Carr, 1999(Carr, , 2001French, 2001) are evident, empirical qualitative expositions of this nature are rare (Vince, 2006) and seldom relate personality to the experience of change.…”

Tales of IT Consultants: Understanding Psychological Contract Maintenance and Employment Termination

“…The concept of psychological contract describes the informal aspects of an employment relationship (Svedberg 2000, Carr 2001). The first appearance of the concept is commonly attributed to Argyris (1960) who called the relationship between employees and their foremen a 'psychological work contract.…”

“…In addition to salary employees want to derive meaning and satisfaction from work (Morse 2003), and in this regard a psychological contract plays a significant role as well. Psychological contracts are however obscure, they often only exist unconsciously (Carr 2001). As its content is vague, an important aspect of a psychological contract is that the expectations in relation to the contract are met.…”

“…( Reciprocity and consistency evolve over time; the other four principles can occur instantaneously, but may still affect a long-term development (Carr 2001). The principles are now explained in more detail and related to the concept of the psychological contract.…”

“…We draw on the concept of psychological contract (Rousseau 1995, Morrison and Robinson 1997, Carr 2001, Guest 2004, integrating it with social influence theory (Cialdini 2001a, b) and a theory of the relation between intrinsic motivation and management practices (Amabile 1998) into a cyclic model of 'the maintenance or neglect of the psychological contract' between employees and their employing organization. Through the analysis of the four stories we derive theoretical and practical insights about the phenomenon under investigation, both with regard to the voluntary termination of employment contracts during a crisis situation within the IT industry, and also in a wider context.…”