We often think of teams and group dynamics as a collection of team roles and skillsets. Often employees think if they do their job right, everything will work effectively. Managers often overlook interpersonal relations among their employees; yet there is constant interaction between people and these interactions may impact the work climate either negatively or positively. Each employee brings a set of behaviors developed over his or her lifetime. Some of these may help the employee be effective in a job, some may not. The concept of the psychic prison helps individuals understand the process of perception and belief formation. For this Discussion, you examine the formation of your beliefs as they relate to patterns of interpersonal behavior at work through the metaphor of the psychic prison.
For this Discussion, review Chapter 7 from the course text, Images of Organizations.
Describe an example of a “psychic prison” you or a colleague have experienced in your organization or one with which you are familiar.
Think of yourself in the role of a manager. Explain how the concept of the psychic prison could be useful in understanding your own behavior and that of your employees—particularly in terms of improving the workplace environment.
Note: Provide two academic resources in APA style and citation format to support your topic.
Morgan, G. (2006). Images of organization. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Chapter 7, “Exploring Plato’s Cave: Organizations as Psychic Prisons” (pp. 207–240)
