A psychoanalytic approach to organizational decline: Bowen theory as a tool for organizational analysis

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dc.contributor.authorFramer, Barbara S.en
dc.contributor.committeechairWhite, Orion F. Jr.en
dc.contributor.committeememberGoodsell, Charles T.en
dc.contributor.committeememberWolf, James F.en
dc.contributor.committeememberHarmon, Michael M.en
dc.contributor.committeememberMcSwain, Cynthia J.en
dc.contributor.departmentPublic Administration and Public Affairsen
dc.date.accessioned2014-03-14T21:22:04Zen
dc.date.adate2005-10-24en
dc.date.available2014-03-14T21:22:04Zen
dc.date.issued1993-07-15en
dc.date.rdate2005-10-24en
dc.date.sdate2005-10-24en
dc.description.abstractAn approach to organizations which views them as social constructions provides new insights into the phenomenon of organizational decline. In this view, organizations are seen not as objective entities, but, rather, are viewed as products of the human beings who comprise their membership. This view also sees human beings as actors whose behavior is governed not only by rationality, but also by unconscious processes. Any full understanding of organizational action requires an appreciation of the extent to which human beings are governed by the dynamics of the psyche, which operates outside of conscious awareness. An approach to organizational decline which encompasses these assumptions examines how the members of the organization consciously and! or unconsciously collaborate to create the conditions of decline. This research begins with a psychoanalytic model of human behavior, Bowen Theory, which explains how individuals function within relationship systems such as families and organizations. The theory also examines how dysfunction is created within those systems when the relationship process becomes ineffective or dysfunctional. Using the case study method, the dissertation describes how the decline experienced by three distinct organizations can be understood as a consequence of the relationship process created and sustained by the participants in each of the organization's human system.en
dc.description.degreePh. D.en
dc.format.extentviii, 183 leavesen
dc.format.mediumBTDen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.otheretd-10242005-124105en
dc.identifier.sourceurlhttp://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-10242005-124105/en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/40113en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.relation.haspartLD5655.V856_1993.F725.pdfen
dc.relation.isformatofOCLC# 29880846en
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subject.lccLD5655.V856 1993.F725en
dc.subject.lcshInterpersonal relations -- Case studiesen
dc.subject.lcshOrganizational behavior -- Case studiesen
dc.subject.lcshOrganizational change -- Case studiesen
dc.subject.lcshPsychology, Industrialen
dc.titleA psychoanalytic approach to organizational decline: Bowen theory as a tool for organizational analysisen
dc.typeDissertationen
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten
thesis.degree.disciplinePublic Administration and Public Affairsen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.leveldoctoralen
thesis.degree.namePh. D.en

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