Autopoiesis

Autopoiesis is one of the core concepts of system theory. In principle it means something simple: ‘Something, emerging from itself, ensures its survival. We know that we don’t have to tell a geranium, a dog or a little child that it must grow and how it must grow. It does this with the help of …

The theoretical distinction between body and soul is ancient. We assume that physical and psychological processes conform to separated systems which are closely bound with each other. Neither system has a choice as to whether it wishes to engage with the stimuli which the other system makes available. They are, in a manner of speaking, …

We understand the psychological system as a network of decision-making procedures, not – as is common in many areas of psychology – as an existing thing (the self). The psychological system ‘exists’ as long as, and because, it creates a difference between itself and the rest of the world through its interwoven processes. Usually one …

The ability to direct oneself contributes, quite substantially, to the wellbeing and the social acceptance of a person. There, where psychodynamics run without direction, i.e. when someone is no longer able to control what he does, thinks, feels, hears, speaks, perceives, one usually describes that someone as crazy, as having a psychosis. Humans need the …

In medicine/psychology the usual words used for dysfunctional, are usually ‘sick’, ‘psychopathological’, ‘neurotic’ or ‘disturbed’. In this theory we assume that all psychological processes and patterns can be functional and dysfunctional. Dysfunctional means that the noticed and unnoticed side effects of thoughts, feelings, perceptions etc. have an unnecessary or an unnecessarily high price. Either they …

We like to ascribe self-confidence, because we see a person as self-assured if he is conscious of himself.Thus, self-confidence is the result of successful self-perception, self-acceptance and an uninhibited ability to always reckon with unconscious and latent aspects of one’s own person. Self-confidence, therefore, can only be achieved in a very limited and unstable way …

It is a basic assumption of psychology that people are motivated by needs. It is not a coincidence that there are numerous models around this subject. Our approach assumes that there are three basic psychological needs, bonding, self-determination and self-esteem, and that these lie at the root of all human motivations. Specifically, we view all …

To justify learning (=change), an organisation requires convincing reasons. Mostly this happens by declaring the existing conditions of the past ineffective. It makes it much easier to then present the future as something which will become better. In the process, it is forgotten that the conditions, before they were viewed as having been overhauled, were …

There are innumerous possibilities to reliably create a sustained overload in individual parts of the organisation: • too great a staff-management ratio, too many communication points to be dealt with (one area manager recounted in his coaching that he was obliged to take part in 42 working hours of project meetings per week), • too …

There are two possibilities in organisations for limiting the autonomy of people, teams, departments or other subsystems, voluntarily and by means of instructions. These are not mutually exclusive, quite the opposite. Nevertheless, one must be clear that every unilaterally imposed limitation of autonomy produces costs. • The organisation must control the limitation • It must …