Group Fantasies and Organizational Functioning

Using the framework of Bion, this paper will argue that groups in organizations are often likely to demonstrate one of three predominant shared fantasies or basic assumptions that determine organizational culture. It will postulate how these different cultures may vitally influence organizational climate, decision-making, strategy, and structure. Our theme is that it may sometimes be useful to discover the fantasies of the organization's dominant coalition in order to understand organizational functioning and facilitate organizational change.