Service organisations: issues in transition and anxiety containment

Abstract

In reviewing their service offering, organisations may decide standardised services need to be more flexible whilst exclusive or customised services need to adopt a more consistent house style. In this paper, the emotional challenge to the service providers is identified as a key issue in changing the service provision if the transition is to be smooth. This paper uses a service operations taxonomy that describes four forms of service organisations. Professional service and mass service have distinct characteristics. Using the extended concept of distinct professional and mass service shops enables the management issues to be clearly identified. This paper brings together two concepts; the need to contain organisational anxiety and the need to identify what is appropriate in different circumstances. These are linked to the transition to professional and mass service shops using case examples. To explore anxiety and the containment of anxiety, a psychodynamic perspective, drawing on Kleinian tradition, is adopted.