We have, earlier, described, in terms of this model, Open Systems Theory and its emphasis on the the process including INPUTS>>CONVERSION PROCESS>>OUTPUTS and discussed too, how this half of our model leads us to an interest in the actual, conscious, physicality of an organisation: That is to say, its outer and inner physical appearance and characteristics such as where is it in the community e.g. stand-alone building in an estate or standing relatively isolated or perhaps, buried in a portion of a much larger building complex?
Once inside the organisation (say, the CMHT discussed before) is it bright, dingy, lively, anonymous, welcoming, bewildering etc? Is it accessible in terms of doors, rooms,stairs etc - who can easily gain access to whom etc. The other aspect of this outer reality which is of interest to us is, how is the organisation/team able to communicate within itself - who is there full-time, who regularly meets whom, who attends which meetings etc etc?
Remember our thoughts on the Cassell Hospital in the 1950/60s and the whole issues of democratising the institution which was epitomised by the encouragement of weekend leave? Part of our model was interested in the unconscious processes going on under the surface in the institution - the need to develop defences against the unconscious anxieties inherent in the work?
Well. the Open Systems aspect of the model - the conscious organisational structures that you can demonstrably see and feel and are shared by all participants can be easily thought about here. Remember how the whole staff rostering system was now changed? With patients having weekend leave now being the norm, staff also having weekends off was also the norm and the staff had got used to this pattern and ....rather liked it.
So, in terms of our model the solution to managing the underlying institutional anxieties was not to re-ban weekend leave but rather to retain it but now make it compulsory. This meant that the staff/patient split was still intact and the whole defensive structure of the organisation built around splitting, projection and black and white processes was also intact and staff anxiety was reduced.
In later posts we will discuss this whole dynamic in terms of the psychoanalytic concepts of the THE DEPRESSIVE POSITION and THE PARANOID SCHIZOID POSITION not least because this is central to the tensions within organisations/institutions which lead to under-performance and indeed institutional crises.
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