The psychosis of organizations

Abstract

This paper discusses the influence of psychosis upon organizations, postulating that an organization can develop psychotic traits that influence perception, beliefs and values at an organizational level. Cognitive distortion is influenced by the psychotic traits of an organization along a continuum of various states which include paranoia, obsessive-compulsive, dramatic, depressive, schizoid, and narcissistic tendencies. These tendencies may be of assistance in the early startup phases of a firm but overtime distort perceptions and behavior of the organization through the defensive mechanisms that develop. The psychotic continuum is a worthy paradigm through which to view organizational opportunity, strategy, operations, and decision making, potentially capable of assisting in diagnosing the causes of organization dysfunction.