Organizational change: tales of intergenerational and sibling rivalry

Abstract

Organizations often reproduce family relationships with conflicts against authority and sibling rivalry. Although seemingly aberrant, these behaviours are a typical and normal human response to organizational change. Relates four events from a major computer project which illustrate these Oedipal themes. First, the critical incident when the renewal contract for consultancy services was unexpectedly awarded to the competitor of the incumbent supplier: the analysis suggests that the decision to change supplier was not solely commercial but also had a strong emotional basis. After the initial turbulence had settled and the handover between suppliers was complete there was a further, minor, reorganization. Episodes from this period relate an aspect of the staffing change which appears to support the senior manager’s Oedipal needs; an envious attack and, finally, the introduction of performance statistics with the subsequent defiant compliance of the middle managers. The analyses provide several alternative explanations.

Citation

Anne Lister, E. (2001), "Organizational change: tales of intergenerational and sibling rivalry", Journal of Organizational Change Management, Vol. 14 No. 5, pp. 468-480. https://doi.org/10.1108/EUM0000000005875