TranslateAM23-PDW 5: Analysis of the Demand: an action-research method for organizational consultancy
<< Back to Workshop Program
Professional Development Workshop: PDW5 (online)
Monday 26 & Tuesday 27 June 2023 (Two half days)
Day1, Session 1: 10.00am to 2.00pm SAST, and
Day2, Session 2: 10.00am to 2.00pm SAST
CE CREDITS AVAILABLE
Analysis of the Demand: an action-research method for organizational consultancy
Facilitators: *Felice Bisogni (Italy), Francesca Dolcetti (Italy)
*Contact person for the workshop
Description
The objective of the PDW is to propose a learning experience of the Analysis of Demand (A.D.) method (Carli & Paniccia, 2003; Carli et al., 2016). A.D. is based on the methodological hypothesis that, within the transferal relationship between the consultant and the organizational system, the unconscious emotional dynamics shaping the relationship between the organization and its clients’ system are reenacted. A.D is aimed to explore the emotional culture of the organization and the problems faced with its clients’ system. A.D. foreseen the interpretation by the consultant of sequences of co-associated words proposed by the client, considered polysemic traces of the unconscious semiotic process that drives the social process of sensemaking within the organization of belonging of the very same client. The present PDW follows the realization, within the 2021 ISPSO Annual Meeting in Berlin (online), of the PDW titled ‘Analysis of the Demand and Emotional Textual Analysis: action-research methods for organizational consultancy” with the aim to focus more on the A.D method.
Theoretical approach
The PDW is based on the hypothesis that unconscious emotional dynamics underpins relationships within social and organizational systems. Unconscious emotional dynamics can hinder or on the contrary can sustain the productivity and creativity of organizational contexts. Therefore, it is crucial for the consultant to have available methods and tools able to shed light on what Long calls the associative unconscious of organizations (Long, 2013; Stamenova & Hinselwood, 2018, Salvatore & Freda, 2010), that is the creative and complex semiotic matrix driving social processes of sensemaking within the organizational context. Consistently with this perspective, A.D. is theoretically based on a semiotic conception of the unconscious, the foundations of which were firstly laid down in Italy by Matte Blanco (1975) and Fornari (1976) within the Italian Psychoanalytic Society, and then developed by Carli and Paniccia (1981, 2002, 2003, 2018). The latter, over 40 years of organizational consultancy work, contributed to translate more recent developments of psychoanalytic theory into active tools of social research and intervention.
Structure and methodology
In the first session we will ask the participants to present themselves, their work and field of study, as well as their expectations towards the PDW and the core theoretical concept of A.D will be presented. The participants will be asked to report an organizational work experience in written form. In the second session the very same reports will be analyzed with A.D. method.
Learning outcomes
- Knowledge of the core concepts of A.D.
- Experiential learning of the usage of A.D. as a method to guide the analysis of action-research data within organizational consultancy work.
Learning Objectives
Participants will be able to:
- Recognise within the transferal relationship between the consultant and the organizational system, the unconscious emotional dynamics shaping the relationship between the organization and its clients’ system are reenacted.
- Identify the emotional culture of the organization and the problems faced with its clients’ system.
- Apply techniques to interprete the polysemic traces of the unconscious semiotic process within a client organization
- Distinguish between facts and unconsous emotions within a consultancy work with an organization
- Identify the core concepts of Analysis of the Demand action-research method
- Apply Analysis of Demand to guide the analysis of action-research data within organizational consultancy work
References
Carli, R., & Paniccia, R.M. (1981). Psicosociologia delle organizzazioni e delle istituzioni [Psychosociology of organizations and institutions]. Bologna: Il Mulino.
Carli, R., & Paniccia, R.M. (2003). Analisi della domanda [Analysis of the demand]. Bologna: Il Mulino.
Fornari, F. (1976). Simbolo e codice: Dal processo psicoanalitico all’analisi istituzionale [Symbol and code: from the psychoanalytic process to the institutional analysis]. Milan: Feltrinelli.
Matte Blanco, I. (1975). The unconscious as infinite sets: An essay in bi-logic. London: Gerald Duckworth.
Lancia, F. (2004). Strumenti per l’analisi dei testi [Tools for text analysis] Rome: Franco Angeli.
Long, S. (Ed.). (2013). Socioanalytic methods: discovering the hidden in organisations and social systems. Karnac Books.
Stamenova, K., & Hinshelwood, R. D. (Eds.). (2018). Methods of Research Into the Unconscious: Applying Psychoanalytic Ideas to Social Science. Routledge
Salvatore, S. & Freda, M. F. (2011). Affect, unconscious and sense making. A psychodynamic, semiotic and dialogic model. New Ideas in Psychology, 29 (2011), 119–135.
Biographical Summaries
Felice Bisogni is a clinical psychologist, Specialist in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy and Phd in Social Psychology, lecturer at the School of Specializing Course in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, Clinical Psychological Intervention and Analysis of the Demand of SPS (Rome, Italy), where he teaches A.D methodology. In 2012 he founded the Association GAP (www.apsgap.it), an organization providing organizational consultancy services for health services, social services, schools and third sector organizations. He got his Phd in Social Psychology at Sapienza University with an action-research project that analyzed the organizational functioning of assistance services for adults with intellectual disability. In his doctoral research he gained advanced competences in psychosocial analysis. He graduated in the Specializing Course in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, Clinical Psychological Intervention and Analysis of the Demand where he deepens the knowledge of action-research methods for organizational development. He regularly participate in International Conference presenting papers on the results of action-research project such as QRMH7 Seventh international Conference on Qualitative Research on Mental Health in Berlin (2018), the Third International Conference of the Couple and Family Psychoanalysis Committee (COFAP) of International Psychoanalytical Association (IPA) in Naples (2019), the 36th Colloquium of the European Group for Organisational Studies in Edinburgh (2019) and the 37th Colloquium of of the European Group for Organisational Studies in Hamburg (2020). Within the 2021 ISPSO Annual Meeting in Berlin (online) he conducted the PDW titled ‘Analysis of the Demand and Emotional Textual Analysis: action-research methods for organizational consultancy”.
Francesca Dolcetti is a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist in private practice in Rome; lecturer at the School of Specializing Course in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, Clinical Psychological Intervention and Analysis of the Demand of SPS (Rome, Italy), where she teaches A.D methodology. She graduated both in Business Administration and in Clinical and Community Psychology. Co-founder and CEO of the Studio RisorseObiettiviStrumenti that provides qualitative and quantitative research methodology services with particular emphasis for supporting transformation of organisational cultural models, social climate, occupational safety and health evaluation, social impact evaluation in contexts as schools, health services and with different organization in the field of social economy. She regularly participate in International Conference presenting papers on the results of action-research project such as the 36th Colloquium of the European Group for Organisational Studies in Edinburgh (2019) and the 37th Colloquium of of the European Group for Organisational Studies in Hamburg (2020). Within the 2021 ISPSO Annual Meeting in Berlin (online) she conducted the PDW titled ‘Analysis of the Demand and Emotional Textual Analysis: action-research methods for organizational consultancy”.