Search results

Guidance on the many questions of life can be found in stories and tales. These are carriers of a collective wisdom gathered by our forebearers which resonates deep within our minds and souls. The chapter builds upon C. G. Jung’s work on archetypes to reflect upon the pitfalls and challenges facing organisations and individuals who wish to improve lives. Two tales are introduced and discussed with a view to highlighting how lessons can be drawn from tales with practical implications for organisational life and for the implementation of meaningful change in relation to well-being inside and outside of work. The tales notably bring attention to the learning and maturing process of a consciousness overly identified with certain aspects of the archetypal masculine and outline how generative solutions need not be sought out far from home; instead, the undervalued wisdom of a grounded, earthy archetypal feminine are ready to be engaged with if only we open our mind and heart to her.

Moral exemplarity is a desirable but complex achievement. The chapter discusses the meaning of moral exemplarity and examines how the self, as a psychological and spiritual centre within a Jungian perspective, contributes to fostering moral commitment.

A narrative study was conducted amongst ten spiritual healers in New Zealand and France. Stories were collected and analysed interpretively to uncover meaningful patterns about spiritual healers’ moral stance and apprehension of the self.

Spiritual healers demonstrated a deep commitment to the self which clearly sustained a commitment to serve or help others. Commitment to the self was articulated around five core values: self-work, self-reflection, humility, self-integrity and love.

The chapter highlights the moral value of inner work. The self, in its archetypal sense, carries as potential an ‘innate morality’ that resonates in the heart and nurtures integrity and authenticity. To commit to the self requires undertaking a long and painful exploration of the psyche and integrating unconscious material into ego-consciousness. The participating spiritual healers, who had committed to their self and were well advanced on their psychological exploration journey, displayed moral qualities akin to exemplarity.

Do managers have the creative and innovative ability needed for their organisations to survive in an increasingly competitive environment? A study of 200 managers from eight companies gives an answer to this question. If intuition is an indication of creativity and innovation, we find that almost 25 per cent of all managers were primarily intuitive when solving problems and making decisions. The concept of intuition and other decision functions is based on Jung’s typology. Is intuition in managers an important asset to their organisations? An investigation of problem‐solving and decision‐making styles of 33 managers related to organisational effectiveness throws some light on this question. What is called the “creative‐innovative” decision‐making style was found in 23 per cent of the managers. This article suggests that intuition as decision‐making style appears to be related to organisational effectiveness. Several managers are intuitive. Whether the intuitive managers are more effective than others remains to be seen.

After the Korean War, South Korean politics was dominated by national security concerns. Reversing Carl von Clausewitz's well-known dictum, in South Korea, “politics is the continuation of war by other means.” Until the late 1980s, politics in South Korea was far from democratic. South Korea had five direct presidential elections (1987, 1992, 1997, 2002, and 2007) and six national assembly elections (1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008) after the democratic transition of 1987. In 1992, a civilian candidate, Young Sam Kim, was elected president. Young Sam Kim (1993–1998) prosecuted and punished former generals turned presidents Doo Hwan Chun (1980–1988) and Tae Woo Roh (1988–1993) for corruption, mutiny and treason in 1995. Dae Jung Kim (1998–2003) was elected president in 1997. For the first time in South Korean political history, regime change occurred between a ruling party and an opposition party.

In this chapter, the change and continuity of civil–military relations through the fluctuating dynamics of the democratic transition and consolidation in South Korea is examined. A positive consolidation of democratic reform is one that, while securing indisputable civilian supremacy, grants the military enough institutional autonomy for the efficient pursuit of its mission. Civilian supremacy should be institutionalized not only by preventing military intervention in civilian politics but also by ensuring civilian control over the formation and implementation of national defense policy.

In sum, despite three terms of civilian presidency, civilian supremacy has not yet fully institutionalized. Although significant changes in civil-military relations did occur after the democratic transition, they were not initiated by elected leaders with the intention of establishing a firm institutional footing for civilian supremacy. South Korea's political leaders have not crafted durable regulations and institutions that will sustain civilian control over the military.

More than six decades, Korea is still divided. The most highly militarized zone in the world lies along the demilitarized zone. How to draw the line prudently between seeking national security and promoting democracy shall be the most delicate task facing all the civilian regimes to come in South Korea. That mission will remain challenging not only for civilian politicians but also for military leaders.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the theoretical potential of applying Jungian/analytical psychology concepts to a contemporary therapeutic community (TC) within the national health service.

A literature review concerning a Jungian understanding of group psychotherapy and TCs was undertaken. A summary and discussion of a detailed written account of a previous Jungian TC was then conducted. A comparison between a modern-day TC and Jungian approaches was then conducted with an ending discussion on the feasibility of incorporating Jungian ideas into modern work.

While Jung is thought to have a wholly negative view of groups and group psychotherapy, this was not found in the case. Furthermore, post-Jungian authors have attempted to use ideas from analytical psychology in their group work. While there are some aspects that could be implemented with relative ease in the modern TC, a complete shift into this different way of working would be a challenge and its current evidence base would not support this.

To the best of author’s knowledge, there are no other academic papers that have considered this subject.

The purpose of this paper is to consider a psychoanalytic explanation for the challenges facing social entrepreneurs in Scotland.

A qualitative approach was used, in an exploratory study involving semi‐structured interviews with, and observation of, a purposive sample of social entrepreneurs.

Respondents exhibited a sense of splitting between the archetype of hard driving business leader and that of social reformer. One respondent was able successfully to integrate the two roles through an intuitive understanding of psychodynamic processes.

This was an exploratory study with a small sample.

In a period of financial challenge for the UK economy, presenting new challenges for social enterprises, the findings add to researchers' understanding of apparently irrational responses to change.

There is limited research into the impact of archetypes on business behaviours and the paper aims to extend the literature.

In today’s world of heightened change, many individuals are suffering from a perceived loss of meaning and purpose in their lives, engendering a sense of spiritual desolation and impelling a spiritual quest. The work environment, so central to their existence, often contributes to the sense of desperation and thwarts individual growth. However, if management recognizes the potential for mutual benefit in the nexus of the individual’s spiritual odyssey and the structure of the organization, the organization’s contribution can be truly positive. The paper proposes an integration of the theoretical frameworks of Carl Jung and Elliot Jaques as a source of managerial insight into the process of individual spiritual growth within the context of the organization. With such perspective, management not only enhances its prospect for precluding the dysfunctional behavior of the spiritually bankrupt, but also enhances the organization’s capacity to foster heightened initiative and productivity from its members.

This article examines the essence of the New Age movement: its reservations about the Judaic‐Christian heritage, its pantheistic/monistic orientation, its individualism, its search for the mystical experience, its skepticism of modern science and technology, its openness to androgyny, its ecumenicalism, and its prediction of a new dispensation. The article traces the New Age predecessors and influences: gnosticism, the Catholic potpourri, romanticism, the writings of C.G. Jung, and Theosophy. It speculates that the movement’s influence – given its individualism, skepticism of structure and organization, and hostility toward modern methodology – will be implicit and indirect. Finally, it notes the ambivalence of the core ideology, lending itself to both “progressive” and “non‐progressive” interpretation.

Jung’s discussion of archetypes and the psychodynamics of mirroring is applied to the results of a ten‐year longitudinal case study. Empirical evidence of such psychodynamics and insights into how these psychodynamics are related to the management of change are presented. Directions for further research are also discussed.

Informed by Jung’s analytical psychology, this chapter discusses Kafka’s short-story The metamorphosis in relation to moral reflection on organisational life. Adopting the view that fiction offers a promising path to engage the reader’s imagination and reflection on moral issues, I explore such process in light of The metamorphosis. I argue that this story not only outlines important moral issues of relevance to workers in modern organisations, but is also particularly effective in eliciting a reaction from the reader which calls for further analysis. Reading about Gregor Samsa’s transformation precludes indifference; instead, it asks us to reflect on our own moral values and behaviours, and to ponder on our tolerance for what is ‘other’. In turn, this enhanced knowledge and understanding of ourselves help explore ethical issues in organisations in a more subjective, creative and holistic manner.