ORGANIZATIONAL RESPONSES TO TASK-RELATED STRESS--COMPARATIVE CASE STUDIES OF HOSPITAL NURSING UNITS.
Item
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Title
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ORGANIZATIONAL RESPONSES TO TASK-RELATED STRESS--COMPARATIVE CASE STUDIES OF HOSPITAL NURSING UNITS.
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Identifier
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AAI8312355
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identifier
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8312355
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Creator
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KUHLMAN, GREGORY ALAN.
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Contributor
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Laurence J. Gould
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Date
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1983
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, Industrial
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Abstract
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Case studies of two hospital nursing units (an acute care medical unit and an obstetrics unit) were conducted using a methodology adapted from organizational diagnostic methods developed by Levinson (1972) and influenced by the methodological and analytical approach of the "action-research" model described by Miller and Gwynne (1972). Structured individual interviews, eliciting entry experiences, work role experiences, experiences of the relation between work and personal life, and projective material, were conducted with fifty-five Hospital staff members selected from different organizational positions and roles with emphasis on Hospital and nursing unit managers. Observations of work activities and a review of relevant documentation were also conducted. Case study material was comparatively analyzed within a general theoretical model of organizational dynamics and functioning based on both psychoanalytic and open systems theories, including the work of Wilfred Bion (1959), Miller and Rice (1967), Menzies (1967) and Kernberg (1975).;Many aspects of organizational functioning were found, in part, to form a psychodynamic social defense system relative to particular sources of organizational anxiety, including task-related stress. Similarities and differences in the psychodynamics of the units studied were found to be consistent with similarities and differences in their work environments, including the nature of tasks and activities, staffing constraints, patients, intake and discharge processes, and unit sizes.;Similarities in psychodynamic functioning include the defensive use of professional role standards, idealization of work, emphasis on technology and related role specialization, emphasis on more discrete and distant work tasks, projection of unacceptable feelings and attitudes onto others, and export of feelings and "burnt-out" staff members. The principal difference found in the psychodynamic organization of the units was the relative tendency toward depressive versus hostile expressions of aggressive impulses on the medical and obstetrics units, respectively. The defensive systems of these units were found to be generally effective in controlling organizational anxiety and promoting their effective functioning -- the main cost being continual loss of valuable staff resources through excessive turnover.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Psychology
