Publicado na Revista International Journal of Advanced Engineering Research  and Science, v.8, p.124 – 135, 2021.

Abstract— This case study was based on the clinical psychodynamics of work and aimed to analyze the influence of the organizational culture on the informatization process, as well as the subjective mobilization of managers. We conducted collective discussions with five managers of an education network in Goiás. The results indicated five traces of the culture: hierarchical rigidity, political mismanagement, lack of participation in the decision-making process, lack of acknowledgment. These factors generate experiences of pleasure of suffering for managers. Pleasure experiences highlight the freedom, agility, and precision of real time information. This limited freedom generates acceleration, alienation, and imprisonment by the organizational culture reflected on the management.

INTRODUCTION

The computerization of organizational processes can be seen as a problem of cultural change, since the success of an organization may  depend on the application of a given technology. To use it, the organization must develop work strategies and methodologies, in addition to redefining very ingrained cultural elements, aiming at its implementation (Santos, 2016).

The increasing ease of access to technology makes innovation a constant challenge.

According to the production models proposed in contemporary society, organizations must be able to replace the knowledge that has become obsolete and develop ways to manage change. They must learn to develop new knowledge through ideals of continuous improvement of their activities; of creating new applications based on their own successes, and of continuously innovating in an organized way (Santos et al, 2014).

The history of computer science in Brazil has been little discussed in academic spaces. However, some dissertations and theses have built a detailed work on this discussion, such as Mendes (2013) and Tavares (2001).

There are also some articles, such as those by Valente (2003), Teruya (2009), Tomaz (2005), and Barreto (2004, 2013), which analyze how information technology began to acquire space when it extends to a large number of individuals, who can access it daily by using it as a source of information. The transformations that have occurred throughout history, whether technological or organizational, were not based on the assumptions of the centrality of work and its importance for the development of subjects, institutions, and culture.

Several factors influence the success or failure of processes computerization initiatives in institutions. Authors such as Ajmal et al. (2010), Liu (2011), and Braquelais et al. (2017) concluded in their studies that the critical success factors of organizational computerization are mainly determined by cultural factors, in terms of their values, because these often point to corporate identity.

Technological revolutions, bypassing through traditional dimensions to social values in the organization, have gained renewed interest in the theme of organizational culture. Such transformations generate insecurity and build symbolic dimensions in organizations (Gajanigo & Souza, 2014). The contemporary management model is intended to eradicate the values and knowledge of work by intending to increase profitability, even if degrading the quality of work and, more often than not, of the product or service itself (Macêdo et al., 2016).

Because it is a vital element in the life of an individual in society, numerous failures have as a direct consequence the lack of sensitivity not to take into account the cultural reality in which workers are inserted. Culture is one of the most important influences of society on individuals (Oliveira, 2016).

For the constitution of organizational strategies, organizational culture is an essential concept. It is not a static construction; it is dynamic and, in part, constructed and reconstructed by social actors in presence, in the perspective that social reality is subjective. (Bilhim & Correia 2016). Culture assumes the role of legitimizing the value system, expressed through rituals, myths, habits, and beliefs common to the members of an organization, which thus produce norms of behavior generally accepted by all (Macêdo, 2018).

Contemporary research presents results in which organizational culture has implications on innovation (Faria & Fonseca, 2014), people management policies practiced in organizations (Santos et al., 2016), the degree of concern of organizations with their social/environmental responsibility, and the very management of knowledge in organizations (Angeloni & Grotto, 2009).

The focus on continuous learning in the culture of public and private companies in Brazil, and its consequences on employee attitudes and behaviors, is a theme not yet explored in this field of knowledge (Cavazotte, Moreno Jr. & Turano, 2015).

Expanding the aspect of subjectivity in culture, authors such as Dejours (2012) Macêdo (2015, 2016, 2018) Santos and Macêdo (2018) have presented the issue of the dichotomy of pleasure and suffering at work, identifying factors in interpersonal relationships and organizational culture. Experiences of suffering are evidenced associated with the way the work organization is constituted.

The present study presented in this article considered the importance of understanding the values that guide organizational policies and structure in this process. We sought to contribute to the theme examined through the psychodynamics of the work, a method adopted for the application and analysis of this research.

The psychodynamic approach of the work allowed analyzing the implications of computerization processes in the organization, and culture is an evidenced element that facilitates or resistance. According to Dejours (2015), the constitution of collective spaces makes it possible to

broaden the perception of itself, favoring its emancipation process and the consequent intervention in what the group identifies as necessary to improve the organization of work.

In this sense, this article is intended to answer the question: how is the implementation of computerized processes influenced by organizational culture?

METHODOLOGICAL DESIGN OF THE STUDY

The psychodynamics of work uses a specific method that is based on the principles of action research. Its premise is that the universe of the subjects’ meanings can only be understood and analyzed psychodynamically when the subjectivity at work is investigated, resulting from the mutual influence between the worker and his work context.

The following steps are proposed according to the method used: pre-research, research, demand analysis, analysis of poll material, clinical observation, interpretation, validation, and refutation.

Field for data collection

The research was carried out in a network of educational institution that promotes higher education and technology in Goiás.

Participants

The criterion for the composition of the group of participants in this study was intentional, having been elected the manager category. At the time of the study, the institution had 33 managers in its staff, all of which had graduated and had graduated.

Twenty-nine managers were invited, according to the criteria adopted for this study: having ten years of employment; have a working regime of forty hours per week and exclusive dedication; belong to the staff of effective managers in the institution and have an interest in participating in the research. Of these, fifteen accepted the invitation, and individual interviews were conducted in order to meet the criterion of demand constitution, as established in the pre-research phase.

After this phase, the demand was constituted that indicated the possibility of performing the work clinic, proposed by Dejours (2015). Five fortnightly meetings were held for collective discussion, with the spontaneous participation of five managers, characterizing the research phase itself. After this phase, the demand was constituted that indicated the possibility of performing the work clinic, proposed by Dejours (2015). Five fortnightly meetings were held for collective discussion, with the spontaneous participation of five managers, characterizing the research phase itself.

All participants emphasized that they did not ha

the role of manager until the position of the position and did not receive training to assume the management positions, developing the skills necessary for management with practice and experience. They also reported that they sought to train themselves in improvement courses on their own initiative, but with funding from the institution. Of the participants of the collective discussion space, three had the first opportunity for effective work at the institution, being there until now.

The justification presented for the non- participation of the other guests to the research was due to the difficulty due to agenda conflict or distance between municipalities. However, all invited participants justified the absence by telephone or electronic means, praised the initiative, and considered the research theme relevant, reinforcing the demand presented.

PROCEDURES

In the pre-research stage, as recommended by the theory, the institution was asked to accept and support the activity, making it possible to access formal and formal institutions, visits and meetings with the workers (strategies for approximation of the research collective) in which the workers were selected according to the availability to volunteer to the research.

A documental analysis was carried out, consisting of the institution’s historical memorial, norms and rules, institutional evaluation and management reports, produced by the Human Resources Management, aiming at the analysis of the work organization.

Analysis of organizational diagnosis and individual interviews with fifteen managers, lasting approximately one hour, pointed out data on work organization, subjective mobilization and work-related defenses.

The space of collective discussion with the managers was coordinated by a pair of clinical-researchers and a controlling collective was established to perform the interpretative exchanges of the field diary, which served to constitute the memorial of the sessions. The meetings between the pair of research clinics and the control collective were held periodically.

The analysis and interpretations of the work situations given by the researchers and workers ensured the validity of the collected material, as a group of researchers who permanently confront the content of the sessions with each other and with the group of workers at the time of the research participated in this study.

The research was carried out in the organization itself. The dates for the meetings occurred in a place chosen

by the workers themselves, during the working day, at possible intervals of periodicity, according to the specificities of the work.

The proposal also involved observing how work is organized in the institution, as well as its effects and consequences on the psyche of workers. As the focus was on collective formulations, there did not impede that, from one meeting to another, there was variation in the participation of the constituent elements of the group, often by demands and particularities of the work itself.

The participants’ consent was obtained, with the guarantee of the preservation of privacy and use of their data specifically for this research, through a free and informed consent form submitted to the Research Ethics Committee, and the participant is free to refuse to participate, withdraw his consent or interrupt participation at any time.

From trigger questions, the discussions began, and comments from the participants triggered by the interpretation of the researchers gave rise to new reports and comments. The discussion of the experiences of pleasure- suffering derived from the dynamics of work situations was constructed throughout the sessions.

The principle that organizes reflection during research is the discussion about difficulties at work, that is, real work situations. Throughout the discussion, it is necessary to understand how real work is and how the subjective experiences of workers are organized to account for the real.

RESULTS

Based on the psychodynamics of work, when analyzing how computerized work is organized and its implications on workers, cultural elements considered important for the organizational development in which technology is inserted were identified. The results are presented below and the computerization of the processes in the institution is discussed, considering the categories proposed for this study, defined a priori: Category 1 – Organizational culture and management; Category 2 – The experiences of pleasure and suffering; Category 3 – The strategies for coping with suffering from work.

Category 1 – Organizational culture and management

Relevant aspects of the culture of the researched institution, according to analyses, generate factors of suffering and illness to workers related to the computerization process.

The space of collective discussion as a proposal of the action research of this work has unseen implications between the insertion of the computerization of organizational processes and the dominant culture, by identifying the reactions resulting from the active actors in the process. The results were condensed in Figure 1.