Exploring the Conscious and the Unconscious Mind of Organizations

The theory of complex systems has shown that the components of such a system share the characteristics of the whole system. A metaphor for this relation has been given by Mandelbrot's appletree, a mathematical model, of which each smaller unit consists of the same design like the larger ones. The structure and the behaviour of organizations and groups mirrors the structure of human behaviour. Like mankind has universal inherent features and other, acquired characteristics, organizations have fixed and flexible qualities. For example, the need for a legal structure of a profit or non-profit-organization in most countries is a fixed quality. Like different ethnic groups, organizations differ in their legal structure. The internal organization is much more flexible. Part of it might be predetermined by the "genetic" (legal) structure, e.g. the need for a executive director, others might be self-determined. The way, different parts of the organization interact, is an acquired - or "learned" quality. However, we know how difficult it is to de-learn something once we have acquired it.

Organizations and groups - like human beings - have a conscious and an unconscious mind. Conscious are all the written regulations, the way communication between parts of the organization is organized officially, reporting formats, etc. Unconscious are all the rules that everybody adheres to, without being expressed verbally or in writing. They might, for example, refer how to address superiors (or inferiors). Or, how to adopt goals predetermined by the higher management. Clothing rules is conscious (i.e., explicit) in some organizations, and unconscious in others. Usually nobody talks about these unconscious rules, it is like the fearing to touch a hot stove.

No doubt, unconscious rules of an organization have a reason to exist. Like the unconsciousness of humans, they help us to navigate through day-to-day life without having to be concerned about too many things. Without them we would not be able to focus on the urgent and important things. When we drive a car without automatic transmission, our unconscious navigates us through the process of pressing the clutch and the acceleration at the right time. But, if we change to an automatic car, we have to de-learn the unconscious behaviour of shifting gears. By the way, the same holds true for societies. For example, many countries still have problems to integrate foreign nationalities into their communities. The law of citizenship, which would allow immigrants to become legal residents, can be changed by decision of parliament. But people will still resist against integration of the "aliens" into their society for many years, if not decades. Recent work in family therapy has shown how social groups inherit belief systems from their ancestors.

In the same way, if the focus, or the task, or the official structure of an organization changes, new behaviours have to be learned. For that, it might be helpful to bring the unconscious rules of the group from the deep structure to the surface. It is highly recommended to employ an unbiased outsider to mediate such a session, and people should be prepared that they will feel a lot of resistance. It is always easier to change written rules and structures than the collective knowledge of a group.

The following model helps to structure the consciousness and the unconsciousness of organizations. It can be applied together with other tools in a workshop of people who are responsible for initiating organizational change. It introduces different levels of identity.

Each individual member of the organization has his own identity, his own values, capabilities and typical behaviours. He or she has a personal motivation to work for the organization. Besides, he or she might have other priorities in life, which can be in conflict with the interest of the organization.

The organization has also a common identity which is defined through the way people interact. It is the social roles. Besides, the organization is predetermined by its task (sometimes also called 'mission'). Furthermore, there is the client of the organization (if it is not exclusively focused on its interior, like social clubs that are just producing value for their own members). Finally, the organization is influenced by social, political, economic and cultural framework conditions and has to interact with the 'outside' society, its representatives or other groups and organizations. I call that "The Universe".

The direct relations to the outer world are called the environment, but there is something more. According to chaos theory, every action of an individual or a group of individuals elicits an effect, or a chain of reactions. Like the famous flapping of a butterfly's wing in America, which might change the state of the atmosphere and cause a tornado at the Indonesian coast. Obviously, the bigger the action, the greater the probability of a strong reaction. Some organizations explicitly were created to change the world (e.g., Greenpeace, Amnesty International). Other organizations' targets, particularly those of enterprises, seem to be directed towards increasing shareholders' values. But still, every organization has a spiritual value. That's what I call the level of the universe. The tool Companies that belong to the planet elaborates more on this subject.

Figure 1: Unconscious

Table 1: Guiding Questions