Perverse Organisation and its Deadly Sins

Susan Long supervises research students and conducts organisational research at a variety of universities including INSEAD in Singapore, MEICAT, University of Melbourne, University of Divinity in Melbourne and Crossfields. As an organisational consultant in private practice she works with organisational change, executive coaching, board development, role analysis, team development and management training. She originally trained as a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist. Her experience of working with people as individuals and in groups and organisations gives her a broad perspective on management practices. Susan's capacity as a teacher and organizational consultant/ researcher has led her to be invited onto the boards of prestigious organizations and elected onto the committees of professional bodies. She is a Faculty Member in the Grubb School of Organisational Analysis. She is a member of the Board of the Judicial College of Victoria and of Comcare's advisory board for the Center of Excellence for Research into Mental Health at Work. She was the founding President of Group Relations Australia and a past president of the International Society for the Psychoanalytic Study of Organisations. Her participative action research has attracted grants through the Australian research Council and industry. She has published six books and many journal articles.

'This is the book we've been waiting for, and for so long. A psychoanalytically inspired and politically informed look at contemporary organisational life which takes us from the mysteries of the New York Stock Exchange via Calisto Tanzi (Italy's Robert Maxwell) to the dynamics of envy in professional associations. How rarely one comes across someone who can integrate Bion, Lacan and Klein with critical social and organisational theory to produce an accessible book of vital contemporary relevance. This book signifies the coming-of-age of Bion's belief in the creative and disruptive possibilities of a psychoanalysis anchored in the life of the group.' - Paul Hoggett, Professor of Politics and Director of the Centre for Psychosocial Studies at University of the West of England. 'Susan Long chronicles Enron, Palamat, and many other corporations to identify the underlying psycho-dynamics of perverse organizations. These exist not only because of key role-holders' narcissism and greed, but also because of their ability to spin corporate narratives to sustain their lies and deceit. When the whistle is blown and the hubris fails, employees are caught in the fallout of the collusive conspiracy and, ultimately, lose.' - W. Gordon Lawrence, Managing partner of Social Dreaming Ltd, Visiting Professor, University of Northumberland, Newcastle

• Contents1 The Perverse Organisation2 Understanding the Perverse State of Mind3 Perverse Pride 4 Perverse Greed 5 Envy6 Sloth and Neglect7 Perverse Wrath8 The Consumer Provider Pair