Psychic Prison Metaphor

Interpersonal and Group Dynamics: Evaluating the Metaphor of Psychic Prison within an Organization

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Interpersonal and Group Dynamics: Evaluating the Metaphor of Psychic Prison within an Organization

Introduction

The metaphor of psychic prison-Plato’s cave accentuates a persuasive concept of how organizations and individuals can get ensnared by their preferential ways of thinking and beliefs and hence they fail in adjusting to their environmental demands and changes. The metaphor considers an organization as a socially constructed reality that materializes from unconscious fixations of individuals in the organization. These socially constructed realities build organization’s culture which is subsequently experienced by members of the organization and are normally confining and problematic. Morgan (1986) further highlights that these preconceived realities eventually become unconscious traps for individuals that force them to think in particular ways, preventing them to look into other possible worlds therefore leading them to be confined to a mentality of a psychic prison. Such imprisoned mentalities are evident in organizational decision making processes where contracted strategic directions lead to malfunction regarding organization adjusting to the wider as well as multiple direction searcher environments (Shahzad, 2012).

Morgan considers a number of explanations of the human behavior subject to the psychological mechanisms presented under the metaphor of the psychic prison. Most of the theories that Morgan relies on suppose that individuals develop unconscious mechanisms, and subsequently construct realities, in a bid to handle desire and anxiety (Renz, 2009). These mechanisms and realities are invariably reflected in the individuals’ respective organizations. Groupthink, for instance, is an illustration of a scenario that restricts thinking, whereby the members of a particular group develop collective illusions due to self-affirming processes that results in conformity, and proceeds to dissuade members from information that might be detrimental to the shared beliefs (Itkin, & Nagy, 2014). Organizations as psychic prisons aids the leaders as well as managers to appreciate how unconscious features influence groups and individuals while providing insight on how to deal with challenges in the organization (Shahzad, 2012). The primary benefit of this metaphor to organizations is helping the leaders to understand and recognize unconscious projections that result due to innovation or change is required within an organization. The metaphor offers awareness to rational as well as irrational behavior of individuals, groups and leaders in organizations (Itkin, & Nagy, 2014). There is more likelihood of leaders and managers effectively making cultural changes within an organization when they have a better understanding of how to manage the unconscious factors.

A Situational Analysis of a Psychic Prison Scenario

There is need for every organization to exploit the full potential of its employees with leadership playing a vital role in the process. The style of leadership is a major factor that aims at directing the organizational components towards an effective accomplishment of the goals of the organization while providing a platform for interaction among all members of the organization. A leader strives to set goals and leads the followers in accomplishing these goals and it is important to highlight how dedicated the followers should be (Renz, 2009). It is crucial to note that the effectiveness of leadership is subject to its compatibility to the motivational needs of the followers (Itkin, & Nagy, 2014). Consequently, the success of a company relies on skilful leadership with the enhancement of follower’s activities while encouraging employees’ motivation, effective communication and engagement.

Actions in the work environment that enhances change are directly influenced by organizational leadership behaviors. Leaders ought to function as change agents, implying that they should be responsible for change strategy formulation and implementation through the creation of organizational vision, identification of need for change, and the implementation of change itself. Aiding a healthcare organization to get out of a psychic prison regarding the handling of its medical records, I headed a team in the formation of Electronic Medical Records (EMR) implementation. In enhancing the achievements of the EMR team, it was vital to evaluate the philosophical, ethical and political underpinnings in its conduct of implementing the project. With time the EMR implementation team found it necessary to ensure a realistic re-alignment of its strategies and goals that were consistent with resource capabilities of the organization. In addition, providing apposite training and support to new as well as continuing employees was encouraged to ensure they had adequate capability and understanding to cope with new and arising responsibilities and challenges encountered in the course of implementation of the new EMR system.

There was need to elevate and broaden the interests of the employees and followers while generating acceptance and awareness among the followers with an aim of motivating them to strive beyond their self-interest and conventional unconscious beliefs for the good of the organization. Understanding the need for change, mobilizing commitment; and creating new visions allowed me to have a transforming effect on the team members’ rationality. I sought to raise the awareness of the significance and value of the anticipated outcomes, changing and expanding the team members’ needs, and allowing the members to transcend their self-interests.

Acting as a team leader, psychic prison metaphor provided a wide spectrum of fundamental strengths. It presented a powerful perspective for exploring the hidden meaning of our implied worlds. The metaphor inspires leaders as well as change agents to look deeper past the surface of organizational dynamics in a bid to unearth processes, patterns, and activities of control that trap individuals in unproductive and at times dangerous approaches of acting or thinking (Shahzad, 2012). Subsequently, it encourages the change in leaders and individuals. Additionally, it enhances the awareness of the interrelatedness of absurdity and judiciousness. The leaders are encouraged to appreciate this divergence and endeavor to find better integration as well as equilibrium between the lucid and what seems illogical. Further, it revolves its attention around the ethical proportion of the organization. Being cognizant of the fact that organizations are fully human, the psychic prison metaphor cautions leaders against abuse of knowledge of archetypal outlooks and social devices to attain instrumental ends (Morgan. 1986).

Conclusion

There is need for leaders to be cognizant of the authoritative tool in leading, shaping, characterizing, as well as making their respective organizations. The metaphor of the psychic prison offers encouragement to leaders to integrate and manage the conflicting tensions and forces within their organizations. The understanding of the power of conscious and subconscious aspects aids in the integrating and the balancing of the rational and the irrational. The metaphor is an instrumental concealed pool of ideas and energies helpful in effecting constructive change. Furthermore, it represents an important risk in the event that the tension created by the contending forces remains unmanaged and goes out of control (Itkin, & Nagy, 2014). This implies that an environment that was previously considered as a setting to motivate innovation by way contending ideas speedily becomes a self-destructive, misguided conflict of survival among the instigators of the competing thoughts. When such potentials is confronted with restrictions, the leaders focus on exclusively the unconscious may blindside their critical thinking (Renz, 2009). It is important to note that the guarantee of liberation from psychological restraints, preserved in the metaphor, can result in utopian guesswork, thus bringing into disrepute the objective appraisal.

References

Itkin, H. & Nagy, M (2014), Theoretical and Practical Use of Metaphors in Organizational Development and Beyond, Pannon Management Review, Vol. 3, Issue 4, pp 37-73

Morgan, G. (1986). Images of Organization. Beverly Hills: Sage Publications.

Renz, L. M (2009), Metaphor: Imagery Devices Used by Morgan to Describe Organizations as Culture and Psychic Prisons, Emerging Leadership Journeys, Vol. 2, Iss. 1, 2009, pp. 54-65.

Shahzad, K (2012), Vision or Psychic Prison, Business Intelligence Journal , July, 2012 Vol.5 No.2, pp 207-213