For many rationalist observers, organizational dysfunctions, such as recurrent failures in the implementation of strategic orientations, the constantly aggressive behaviour of managers, and so on, are nothing other than manifestation of deficiencies in decision-making or in the well thought-out application of decisions. In the light of psychoanalysis, however, such phenomena can be regarded differently, in particular as compulsions to repeat or actings-out. Indeed, in this perspective, it is on a ‘stage’ other than that of ‘reality’ that the game is played out: the stage of the imaginary and unconscious symbolic determinations. The object of this article is to propose a fresh reading of organizational life based on the work of Jacques Lacan. Although Lacanian notions are often seen as posing numerous problems for those brought up in an Anglo-American tradition of intellectual endeavour, this article upholds that such notions suggest rigorous alternative ways of approaching organizations.
[Originally published as Le groupe et l’inconscient. L’imaginaire groupal. Paris: Dunod, 1975.]
2.
Armstrong, D.The institution-in-the-mind: Reflections on the relation of psychoanalysis to work with institutions . Free Associations, 1997, 7(1, 41), 1-14.
3.
Arnaud, G.The obscure object of demand in consultancy. A psychoanalytic perspective . Journal of Managerial Psychology, 1998, 13(7), 469-484.
4.
Assoun, P.L.De l’acte chez Freud . L’équivoque métapsychologique. Nouvelle Revue de Psychanalyse, 1985, 31, 145-172.
5.
Barus-Michel, J.Le psychologue et l’institution, pour une régulation institutionnelle ou de l’analyseur au régulateur . Bulletin de Psychologie, 1979, XXXII (339), 207-219.
6.
Barus-Michel, J.L’épreuve de la méconnaissance: Incertitude identitaire dans une équipe de soins . Revue Internationale de Psychosociologie, 1995, 2, 137-145.
7.
Bracher, M.Lacanian resources for organizational consulting . Annual Symposium of the ISPSO, 1996.
8.
[Originally published as Logique, imagination, réflexion. In L’inconscient et la science. Paris: Dunod, 1991.]
9.
Chemama, R. & Vandermersch, B.Dictionnaire de la psychanalyse. Paris: Larousse, 1998.
David, M.Une psychanalyse amusante. Epi: La Méridienne, 1994.
12.
Enriquez, E.De la Horde à l’Etat. Essai de psychanalyse du lien social. Paris: Gallimard, 1983.
13.
Enriquez, E.Le sujet humain: De la clôture identitaire à l’ouverture au monde. In L’inconscient et la science. Paris: Dunod, 1991.
14.
Enriquez, E.L’organisation en analyse. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1992.
15.
Enriquez, E.Les jeux du pouvoir et du désir dans l’entreprise. Paris: Desclée de Brouwer, 1997.
16.
The Penguin Freud library. Harmondsworth: Penguin. [Original published 1912-13.]
17.
The Penguin Freud library. Harmondsworth: Penguin. [Original published 1921.]
18.
The Penguin Freud library. Harmondsworth: Penguin. [Original published 1929.]
19.
The Penguin Freud library. Harmondsworth: Penguin. [Original published 1939.]
20.
Frosh, S.Psychoanalytic challenges: A contribution to the new sexual agenda . Human Relations, 1997, 50(3), 229-239.
21.
Golse, B.La sexualité infantile. In A. De Mijolla and S. De Mijolla Mellor (Eds), Psychanalyse. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1996.
22.
Green, A.La folie privée. Psychanalyse des cas-limites. Paris: Gallimard, 1990.
23.
Hirschhorn, L.The workplace within. The psychodynamics of organizational life. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1988.
24.
Hirschhorn, L.Beyond anxiety: Passion, flow and the psychodynamics of work. Working paper submitted for publication, 2001.
25.
Huber, G.Le sujet de la loi. Paris: Michalon, 1999.
26.
Kets de Vries, M. (Ed.) Organizations on the couch. Clinical perspectives on organizational behavior and change. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1991.
27.
Kets de Vries, M. & Miller, D.The neurotic organization. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1984.
28.
The seminar of Jacques Lacan. Book I: Freud’s papers on technique. (Translated by John Forrester, with notes by Sylvana Tomaselli.) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. [Original published 1953-54.]
29.
Lacan, J.Le séminaire. Livre IV: La relation d’objet. Paris: Seuil, 1994. [Original published 1956-57.]
30.
Lacan, J.Le séminaire sur la lettre volée. In Ecrits. Paris: Seuil, 1966a.
31.
Lacan, J.Au-delà du principe de réalité. In Ecrits. Paris: Seuil, 1966b.
32.
The mirror stage as formative of the function of the I. In Ecrits: A selection. (Translated by Alan Sheridon.) London: Tavistock.
33.
Lacan, J.Intervention sur le transfert. In Ecrits. Paris: Seuil, 1966d.
34.
Lacan, J.Du sujet enfin en question. In Ecrits. Paris: Seuil, 1966e.
35.
The function and field of speech and language in psychoanalysis. In Ecrits: A selection. (Translated by Alan Sheridon.) London: Tavistock.
36.
Lacan, J.Variantes de la cure-type. In Ecrits. Paris: Seuil, 1966g.
37.
The Freudian thing. In Ecrits: A selection. (Translated by Alan Sheridon.) London: Tavistock.
38.
Lacan, J.La psychanalyse et son enseignement. In Ecrits. Paris: Seuil, 1966i.
39.
The agency of the letter in the unconscious or reason since Freud. In Ecrits: A selection. (Translated by Alan Sheridon.) London: Tavistock.
40.
The direction of the treatment and the principles of its power. In Ecrits: A selection. (Translated by Alan Sheridon.) London: Tavistock.
41.
The subversion of the subject and the dialectic of desire in the Freudian unconscious. In Ecrits: A selection. (Translated by Alan Sheridon.) London: Tavistock.
42.
Lacan, J.Position de l’inconscient. In Ecrits. Paris: Seuil, 1966m.
43.
The four fundamental concepts of psycho-analysis. (Translated by Alan Sheridon.) Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1979.
44.
Lavie, J.C.L’amour est un crime parfait. Paris: Gallimard, 1997.
45.
Leclaire, S.Le pays de l’Autre. Paris: Seuil, 1991.
46.
Leclaire, S.Ecrits pour la psychanalyse 2. Diableries. Paris: Seuil, 1998.
47.
Long, S.The signifier and the group . Human Relations, 1991, 44(4), 389-401.
48.
Long, S.A structural analysis of small groups. London: Routledge, 1992.
49.
Long, S.Discourse and corporate leadership. In E. Klein, F. Gabelnick and P. Herr (Eds), The psychodynamics of leadership. Madison, WI: Psychosocial Press, 1998.
50.
Miel, J.Jacques Lacan and the structure of the unconscious. In J. Ehrmann (Ed.), Structuralism. New York: Anchor Books, 1970.
51.
Minsky, R.Fragrant theory: The sweet scent of signifiers. Free Associations, November 1996.
52.
Neumann, J.E. & Hirschhorn, L.The challenge of integrating psychodynamics and organizational theory. Human Relations, 1999, 52(6), 683-692.
53.
Pelsser, R.Qu’appelle-t-on symboliser? Une mise au point . Bulletin de Psychologie, XLII, 1989, 392, 714-726.
54.
Porge, E.Jacques Lacan, un psychanalyste. Parcours d’un enseignement. Paris: Erès, 2000.
55.
Simonelli, T.Lacan: La théorie. Paris: Editions du Cerf, 2000.
