Archetypes

Conceptual Overview

The study of archetypes in organization can be important for an understanding of how myths and symbols work in the construction of culture. The making of archetypes conscious can be important for avoiding risks on the one hand, and for successful leadership on the other. Martin Bowles has shown in 1991 how certain archetypical constructs, most notably the Shadow, or the unconscious dark side of an organization, can have a serious impact on its strategy and HRM policies. It is important to make the unconscious conscious in order to effectively deal with the threat presented by the Shadow. Mary Jo Hatch, Monika Kostera, and Andrzej Kozminski have demonstrated in 2005 how archetypical ideas can be used for an inspired and successful leadership in organizations.

For understanding of how archetypes work, it is important to be aware of the origin of the concept. According to Carl Gustav Jung, archetypes express themselves through images that inspire ideas. They are very deeply rooted in human culture and sited in the collective unconscious. They offer models for human motivation and crucial cultural ideas, and they can manifest themselves through symbolization processes in culture. Archetypes are universal and constant but inspire incessant interpretation and reinterpretation.

Archetypes connect humanity throughout time and space. In the traditional Jungian sense they are like a riverbed, from which inspiration can be taken to be used through the narration of myths. Jungian psychology is based on the idea that imagination works through the use of stories and images based on archetypical material.

There are two possible explanations of how archetypes develop: on a historical level or on a metaphysical level. The historical account holds that archetypes evolve throughout history. The metaphysical explanation focuses on how myth actively shapes and inspires humans to construct their reality in certain ways. Joseph Campbell claimed in a book published in 1988 that archetypes are the essence of humanity, because of their close connection to myths.

An archetype with important implications for organizations is the Shadow. It holds everything in a person that is unconscious, repressed, and denied. These rejected aspects are usually dark, but can sometimes be good: normal ambitions and creative impulses, often referred to as the Golden Shadow. The Shadow should be made conscious and explored in order to avoid the danger the dark aspects present and to use the golden one's potential and power.

Martin Bowles argued in 1991 that organizations have a Shadow side. It contains what the organization rejects about itself, what would threaten its members' self-image and self-understanding. Sometimes it erupts with raw violence, and the development tends to be the more dramatic the more rational the organization presents itself as on the surface. Strategic management, as well as HRM practices, are particularly vulnerable to the workings of the Shadow, if it is not made conscious in the organization. These business functions are concerned about image and representation, and through the building of an identity of the organization, they also contribute to the construction and growth of its shadow side.

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