Maintaining Relationships Openly: Case Study of "Total Openness" in a Communal Organization

Abstract

The subject of this paper is the open handling of face-to-face human relationships. The term used here is "maintenance-by-expression," meaning that relationships are discussed explicitly among the parties concerned. Despite the popularity of openness (or, stated otherwise, the analysis of group process) for therapeutic and training purposes and despite the interest in applying this approach to organizations, it has not been successfully introduced into entire organizations. The commune studied here is a notable exception. The case study provides an opportunity to consider the organizational conditions evidently necessary for the adoption and perpetuation of expressive maintenance. The paper qlso examines the particular form of expressive maintenance employed at the commune in an attempt to expand understanding of this unconventional social practice.

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