"Fix the Women": An Intervention into an Organizational Conflict Based on Parallel Process Thinking

Abstract

This article discusses an intervention into an organizational conflict expressed by fighting between two women in a troubled unit of a state hospital. After gathering data through observations and interviews with the staff, the authors prepared a diagnosis and intervention based on parallel process thinking, which postulates that conflict in one part of a system may surface elsewhere, sometimes in a different form that disguises its source. The women's hostility was thought to be actually fueled by feelings of competitiveness among the three senior men in the unit. An intervention using a microcosm group methodology was conducted, which resulted in the women's repairing their relationship and other improvements in the unit's morale and performance. The authors conclude that parallel process thinking, and methods of diagnosis and intervention based on its tenets, have relevance for managing human behavior in all arenas.