The relatedness of individuals to their work organizations has changed radically in the past couple of decades, the result of a changing global environment in which uncertainty and technological advances have become paradoxical partners. Information and communication technologies appear to promise more certainty in the control of business operations, organizational knowledge and employee performance. Yet, despite this, people s experience of working life is of greater uncertainty and a feeling of having less control over their futures. This book contends that a corporate merger, on the scale of a global order is a catastrophic change and depends on killing off parts of the former organizations for its success. The act of annihilating parts of the former organizations is experienced as disengaged and murderous by organizational members. This thesis is based on case study research conducted on the topic of emotional connectedness in a network organization over a three year period. Fieldwork began at the time when the participating firm had just formed from a global merger of two large global enterprises. While this book brings forward dysfunctional aspects of the case study firm, it also offers something of practical significance to those who work in or with organizations, whether in the capacity of management or as a consultant. It offers a perspective that being alert to staff members felt experiences and their emotional connectedness, as a normal part of business, provides leading data on the health of the enterprise. Managers who are more wholly informed about organizational realities can work more realistically on resolving problems, assessing risks, or making strategic business decisions."

This book provides an overview of the psychodynamics theory, bringing together concepts from the field within a particular focus, that of "emotional connectedness". It is for managers who are involved in facilitating the transitions of enterprises as they form into a newly merged entity.