Using transactional analysis in internal communication

Research output: Other contribution to conferenceAbstractpeer-review

Abstract

Transactional Analysis (TA) is a method used in organisational settings to develop individuals, groups and the organisation itself. This research explores the case of a public administration unit in Switzerland, which applies TA principles for more than two decades, primarily to gain mastery in external communication, that is, for counselling job seekers to help them reintegrate into work. The investigation, however, focuses on the impact of the use of TA principles on the organisation’s internal communication across all levels; intrapersonal, interpersonal and organisational. Data include interviews with leaders (site and team leaders) and employees (personnel consultants and administrative staff) as well as organisational artefacts and documents. Data analysis is conducted using thematic analysis (King & Brooks, 2017) and NVivo software. The final template, the result of the iterative coding process, shows seven patterns of TA impacting internal communication practice. These patterns include 1) a set of shared TA concepts used in daily work practice; 2) improved skills through TA application; 3) the emphasis on a humanistic attitude; 4) improvements of internal structures; and 5) the achievement of internal benefits such as increased job satisfaction. Furthermore, internal TA applications were found to be 6) mainly implicit, and 7) embedded on each internal communication level, with an emphasis on the intrapersonal level. Such an emphasis on the ‘dimension of self’ is novel in internal communication and opens new avenues of how to approach organisational development.
Original languageEnglish
Pages23
Number of pages1
Publication statusPublished - 26 Nov 2020
EventResearch for a Changing World: ILWS Online Conference 2020 - Online
Duration: 26 Nov 202027 Nov 2020
https://news.csu.edu.au/latest-news/research-for-a-changing-world-an-online-conference
https://www.csu.edu.au/research/ilws/engagement/events/ilws-conference-2020 (program and abstracts)

Conference

ConferenceResearch for a Changing World
Period26/11/2027/11/20
OtherThe Institute’s first-ever on-line conference has been hailed as a “resounding success.” The free conference, which was held November 26 and 27, 2020, was an opportunity for members to share the results and conclusions from recent projects
and activities and to showcase the work of our strong research teams.

The presentations represented all categories of Institute membership – Full Member, Associate Member, Adjunct and Student. There were also two presentations by undergraduate students associated with the Institute.

The Conference is free and open to everyone.

The program reflects the multi and trans-disciplinary research ethos of ILWS.
Internet address

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Using transactional analysis in internal communication'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this