It is pointless to talk about creating “learning organization” or trying to develop corporate culture that thrive on change if the unconscious human dimension is ignored. If underlying a new organization is almost sure to fall on deaf ears-even in situation where change may seem beneficial and logical for all concerned.
The psychic prison metaphor heightens our awareness the relationship between “the rational” and what seem “irrational” and warns of the dangers of dismissing or downplaying the significance of the latter, because the irrational can be an incredibly powerful force for the people involved .The metaphor also encourages us to recognize the rationality is often irrationality in disguise. we have seen this in how the rationality of a Frederick Taylor can disguise an extreme form of compulsiveness just as a manager’s workaholism ,excessive concern for clear-cut targets and goals ,or aggressive manner in dealing with colleagues or external competitors can disguise all kinds of personal insecurities. Rationality and irrationality are flip sides of each other, and when one is overemphasized, distortions and dysfunction inevitably arise.
We are encouraged to integrate and manage competing tensions rather than allow one side dominate
The ideas presented in this chapter encourage us to understand the tensions between the rational and irrational and to find ways of achieving better integration and balance. This has enormous implications for dealing with the challenges of a turbulent world because it is clear current conceptions and belief about organization and management over-assert the importance of “being ration” and “in control” If management is to rice to the challenge of encouraging emergent ,self-organizing forms, these traditional concerns for control need to be tempered by a comfort in dealing with unicorns, flux and change as a norm. Similarly, the qualities of the male archetype that have dominated so much contemporary management need to be supplemented with those of the female . Rational decision processes need to make more room for intuitive creative leaps. The ether of cutthroat competition need to make more room for gentler counterpart.
Interestingly, the forces the forces that can help create the required integration are often present in most origination : in the repressed “shadow side” If on examines the relationship between the dominant corporate couture and patterns of subculture within an organization, one can often see the tensions discussed above struggling for attention. Many sub cultural groups provide rallying points for positive ideas and developments that cannot find formal expression elsewhere , or for COUNTERBALANCING negative aspects of the dominant culture. As such they offer a hidden reservoir of energy and ideas for mobilizing constructive change. It is vitally important for managers to recognize the constructive and reparative side of forces that may at first sight seem to be opposing their polices, especially in circumstances of height interdependence .In recognizing that the shadow side of our organization send sing and managing in a much more integrated way.
Ethical management acquires a new dimension
There is nothing neutral the way we organize. It is always human in the fullest sense and an increased awareness of the human dimension need to be built into everything we do. While the metaphor offers obvious guidance on the management of change. It also warns us that we may be walking on dangerous ethical ground especially when we systematically use our knowledge of archetypal feelings or social defense mechanisms to achieve corporate objective . In the couture we mentioned true for instrumental ends. The psychic prison metaphor adds depth to this insight ,warning that cultural patterns may carry all kinds of unconscious significance of a deeply of a deeply personal nature
A focus on the unconscious may deflect attention from other forces of control
Our discussion has placed considerable emphasis on understanding and dealing with unconscious patterns of behavior and control. Bur what about the more explicit ideological factors that control and shape organizational life? People are often locked into unconscious traps because it is in the interests of certain individuals and groups to sustain one pattern of belief rather than another. An understanding of the psychic prison metaphor can and should be extended to embrace all the ideogical processes through which we create and sustain meaning, not just the unconscious.
In this regard ,the metaphor can be criticized for placing too much emphasis on the role of mental processes in creating, sustaining and changing organizations and society. For many,it may seem more appropriate to talk about organizations as prisons rather than as psychic prisons, since the exploitation and domination of people are often grounded as much in control over the doctorial basis of life as in control over ideas, thoughts ,and feelings
The metaphor underestimates the power of vested interests in sustaining the status quo
The metaphor’s promise of liberation from undesirable psychological constraints often encourages utopian speculation and critique. While it does contributes certain insights on how to improve the conduct of day –to-day affairs, particularly in showing how we can challenge taken-for granted mindsets or achieve a better understanding of the psychodynamic of change ,many of implications ignore the realities of power and the force of vested interests. Of course, the fact that reform may be dismissed as utopian adds power to the argument that our imprisoned state prevents from imagining and realizing alternative modes of existence. If proposal foe imagining and realizing alternative modes of existence .If proposal for change must always be judged feasible and realistic, we are restricted modifications of the status quo. However , the criticism of utopianism still remains
There is a danger that the insights of the metaphor can be used to exploit the unconscious for organizational gain
A final limitation , and indeed danger, of the metaphor is that it raises the specter of an Orwellian world where we attempt to manage each other’s minds. W emoted in the couture chapter how an awareness of importance of corporate culture has sent many manager and management theorists hurrying to find ways of managing culture. In highlighting the role of the unconscious in organization , there is a danger that many will now want to find ways of managing the unconscious as well.
This, of cause ,is impossible because the unconscious is by nature uncontrollable. While it is possible to act in a way that is sensitive to the existence and role of the unconscious in everyday life knowledge of the unconscious does not produce blueprints for reform. The psychic prison metaphor promotes a style of critical thinking and awareness that can help us penetrate many of the complexities of organizational life. But it does not provide the easy and solution to problems that many managers may wish to find .