Personality, Culture, and Organization

Everyone possesses certain patterns of dealing with the environment. A mixture of these often neurotic styles of behavior is generally found in human functioning. However, an extreme manifestation of any one style can signal significant psychopathology that seriously impairs functioning. Experience with top executives and organizations revealed that parallels can be drawn between individual pathology -- the excessive use of one neurotic style -- and organizational pathology. The influence between organizational orientations and managerial dispositions is reciprocal. That is, a neurotic leadership style may cause an organizational dysfunction or vice versa. Five neurotic styles are delineated along with the resultant organizational personality: 1. suspicious and paranoid, 2. depressive and depressive, 3. dramatic and dramatic, 4. compulsive and compulsive, and 5. detached and schizoid. The advantages of this typology are discussed.