Being A Systems Psychodynamic Scholar

This Festschrift has been compiled by Sanchen Henning in honour of the work of Professor Frans Cilliers. On behalf of colleagues and friends in South Africa and abroad, she illustrates their appreciation and respect for his role as scholar in Systems Psychodynamics. He produced various pioneering research projects in Organisational Psychology as his field of study, through the Systems Psychodynamic lens. A specific feature and contribution of the book is the application of Systems Psychodynamics to organisational matters and leadership consulting as well as to the lived experiences of postgraduate students and academics. The chapters include themes relevant on individual, group and organisational levels and are intended to contribute to the body of knowledge in the field.

This Festschrift has been compiled by Sanchen Henning in honour of the work of Professor Frans Cilliers. On behalf of colleagues and friends in South Africa and abroad, she illustrates their appreciation and respect for his role as scholar in Systems Psychodynamics. He produced various pioneering research projects in Organisational Psychology as his field of study, through the Systems Psychodynamic lens. A specific feature and contribution of the book is the application of Systems Psychodynamics to organisational matters and leadership consulting, as well as to the lived experiences of postgraduate students and academics. The chapters include relevant themes on individual, group and organisational levels and are intended to contribute to the body of knowledge in the field.

In the second of this three-volume series, the authors expand on the theory and practice of systems psychodynamics – which integrates psychoanalytic thinking, open systems theory and complexity theory – in its applications to consultancy work in organisations and wider social contexts. Multidisciplinary and multitheoretical in nature, the systems psychodynamics paradigm develops from the understanding that no single theory or approach explains the complex nature of organisational systems. Replete with explanations of key theories, practical guidance and exercises, this book demonstrates how systems psychodynamics can be used by consultants to plan and put into action organisational changes in four main areas: change planning and management; action research and evaluation; leadership and whole systems; and professional development and next steps. In light of systems psychodynamics, rather than functioning as a leader of change processes, the role of an organisational development consultant is one of providing containment, understanding and facilitation for others to take up their leadership roles responsibly in their change processes. With a focus on practical application in real situations, this book will be invaluable for psychoanalysts, managers, policymakers, consultants and researchers in a wide range of professional and clinical settings.

This book provides an introduction to systems psychodynamic theory and its application to organisational consultancy, research and training, outlining systems dynamics methods and their historical and theoretical developments. Systems Psychodynamics is an emerging field of social science, the boundaries of which are continually being refined and re-defined. The ‘systems’ designation refers to open systems concepts that provide the framing perspective for understanding the structural aspects of organisational systems. These include its design, division of labour, levels of authority, and reporting relationships; the nature of work tasks, processes and activities; its mission and primary task; and the nature and patterning of the organisation’s task and sentient boundaries and the transactions across them. This book presents a critical appraisal of the systems psychodynamics paradigm and its application to present-day social and organisational difficulties, showing how a holistic approach to organisational and social problems can offer a fresh perspective on difficult issues. Bringing together the theory and practice of systems psychodynamics for the first time, this book provides an examination of the systems psychodynamics paradigm in action. This book gives an accessible and thorough guide to understanding and using systems psychodynamic ideas for analysts, managers, policy makers, consultants and researchers in a wide range of professional and clinical settings.

This authoritative source book on the learning and creative application of the systems psychodynamic perspective defines the field, presenting the key concepts, models, and social methodologies that derive from it, together with their theoretical and conceptual underpinnings in psychoanalysis, group relations and open systems theory.

This book provides an introduction to systems psychodynamic theory and its application to organisational consultancy, research and training, outlining systems dynamics methods and their historical and theoretical developments. Systems Psychodynamics is an emerging field of social science, the boundaries of which are continually being refined and re-defined. The 'systems' designation refers to open systems concepts that provide the framing perspective for understanding the structural aspects of organisational systems. These include its design, division of labour, levels of authority, and reporting relationships; the nature of work tasks, processes, and activities; its mission and primary task; and the nature and patterning of the organisation's task and sentient boundaries and the transactions across them. This book presents a critical appraisal of the systems psychodynamics paradigm and its application to present-day social and organisational difficulties, showing how a holistic approach to organisational and social problems can offer a fresh perspective on difficult issues. Bringing together the theory and practice of systems psychodynamics for the first time, this book provides an examination of the systems psychodynamics paradigm in action. This book gives an accessible and thorough guide to understanding and using systems psychodynamic ideas for analysts, managers, policy makers, consultants and researchers in a wide range of professional and clinical settings.

Conceived as the meanings that individuals attach to their selves, a substantial stockpile of theory related to identities accumulated across the arts, social sciences, and humanities over many decades continues to nourish contemporary research on self-identities in organizations. In times which are more reflexive, narcissistic, and fluid, the identities of participants in organizations are increasingly less fixed and less certain, making identity issues both more salient and more interesting. Particular attention has been given to processes of identity construction, often styled 'identity work'. Research has focused on how, why, and when such processes occur, and their implications for organizing and individual, group, and organizational outcomes. This has resulted in a burgeoning stream of research from discursive, dramaturgical, symbolic, socio-cognitive, and psychodynamic perspectives that most often casts individuals' efforts to fabricate identities as intentional, relational, and consequential. Seemingly intractable debates centred on the nature of identities - their relative stability or fluidity, whether they are best regarded as coherent or fractured, positive (or not), and how they are fabricated within relations of power - combined with other conceptual issues continue to invigorate the field. However, these debates have also led to some scepticism regarding the future potential of identities research. Yet as the chapters in this Handbook demonstrate, there are considerable grounds for optimism that identity, as root metaphor, nexus concept, and means to bridge levels of analysis has significant potential to generate multiple compelling streams of theorizing in organization and management studies.

This volume of Proceedings gathers papers presented at XOVETIC2020 (A Coruña, Spain, 8–9 October 2020), a conference with the main goal of bringing together young researchers working in big data, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, HPC (High-performance computing), cybersecurity, bioinformatics, natural language processing, 5G, and other areas from the field of ICT (Information Communications Technology); and offering a platform to present the results of their research to a national audience in Portugal. This third edition aims to serve as the basis of this event, which will be consolidated over time and acquire international projection.