Organisational narratives as contributing to organisational structure are discussed. The trend lines of narratives introduce the ascent, decline and plateau narratives as reflections of organisational direction. The plateau narrative is used to emphasise the value in supporting the values of...

A short fable for aspiring teachers and students of organization change. A new slant on “oversimplification”?

Over the course of two‐and‐a‐half years a new Town Manager tried several approaches aimed at altering the culture of the organization to reflect more closely his vision of how it should operate. Yet, the results of a survey administered to the organization′s senior management group at...

Presents a model for announcing major, negatively perceived, top‐down changes such as layoffs and reorganizations was developed based on the extant literature. The appropriateness of the model was then tested by analysing 15 cases in which a major change was announced. The model presented...

Epistemology of organizations denotes how we can gain knowledge of organizations. A critical, postmodernistic analysis suggests that the only knowledge we can gain from our traditional concepts of organization is emptiness. A proposed solution is to increase the understanding of individual and...

The notion of the unconscious is introduced and contextualised as part of the larger psychodynamics relevant to the process of managing change. The other papers in this special issue are introduced.

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...

Develops an understanding of the complex interface between emotion and learning and highlights the special contribution of psychoanalytic insights in understanding individuals’ reactions to organizational changes. Explores the extent to which emotions are products of learning, the ways in...

Explores how psychoanalytic thinking can contribute to the management of the conflicting emotions stimulated by change. Suggests that successful change management depends on a combination of “positive” and “negative” capabilities. The positive capabilities involve the management of the...

Develops a critical perspective on organizations and psychoanalysis. Following a brief review of various strands of psychoanalytic theorizing about organizations, argues that psychoanalysis can make an important contribution both to recognizing and to restoring the human subject in the...