Organisational Transformation in Practice Essay - 1

Organisational Transformation in Practice - Essay Example In this specific instance, the store’s general manager refrained from interacting with employees except when absolutely necessary. Even as there was a limited amount of employees, cliques emerged that hindered workplace efficiency and productivity. The environment had a strong negative impact on my mental and emotional well-being. In investigating these personal factors I implemented Gibbs’ (1988) reflection cycle. Fig. 1 demonstrates Gibbs’ reflection cycle. This cycle begins with a description of the underlining cause of the events and then moves in a clockwise pattern through stages of analysis and reconciliation. These stages are advanced through in the articulation of a patchwork text. Fig. 1 Gibbs Reflection Cycle PATCH II Underlying Causes In analyzing this specific workplace experience of change, I consider that there were a number of underlying causes that contributed to the experience. This specific organizational environment is best considered in terms of psychic elements, as the negative feelings and thought patterns I tacitly accepted and that were distributed throughout the organization occurred at the level of unspoken or unconscious communication. One recognizes this consideration within Michael Diamond’s (2008) concept of the unthought known. ... The consideration of the toxicity I experienced I recognize then can be articulated within this hybrid structural and psychodynamic model. Diamond (2008, p. 357) notes, â€Å"Organizational culture is predominantly unconscious and ultimately located at the core of intersubjective relations that shape values and artifacts at the surface of organization.† In this specific organization, there were great challenges in terms of direct communication between individuals. The cliques that developed greatly hindered organizational communication. It seems in this way the cliques were implemented as an institutional defence, as employees chose to hide behind the group facade. Splitting became a prominent defence as individuals would view another, or a differing group in entirely negative terms. This effected communication through indirect methods. Passive aggressive behavior became prominent among employees. In my personal experience at the organization I recognize that I would frequentl y attempt to schedule my shifts as to avoid specific people. This suspicious and paranoid behavior grew larger the longer I worked at the company. When I did have to work with employees I had previously attempted to avoid a general toxic environment emerged. Rather than having a strong managerial leader to delineate job tasks, there were many arguments among employees as to who would participate in specific tasks such as shelving the aisles or running the cash register. In many degrees these arguments reflected group dynamics and fight or flight behavior. The arguments were simply a means of avoiding work responsibility, but instead reflected power relations within the group. While