2. Participants were asked to share their drawing are typical of organisation amalgamating as with three designated others who were asked to interpret the drawings, compare each to the originator's interpretation, discuss any


discrepancies or new interpretations and identify any common themes across the four illustrations. 20 minutes were allocated for this.


3. Each group presented the illustrations and common themes to the larger group for another round of interpretation. 15 minutes were assigned, however, it continued into lunch and has been a source of discussion since. This session was recorded and transcribed.


4. The transcript was inductively analysed using thematic analysis. The frequency of words was assessed, although no claim to statistical significance is made with such a small sample.


5. The data was recorded in a PowerPoint presentation, which was presented to the participants for verification, and feedback from participants was incorporated.


This study differed from the original in the time allocated for the initial workshop which was one hour instead of two. Also, ideally, the drawings would provide the context for follow-up


interviews; however, this was not feasible at the time.


The limitations were many; the design was curtailed, the sample was small and


representative of a single department within the larger service, while the demographic mix was similar, the culture of this group would differ to other departments, so the sample isn't generalisable. The validity of the data was a source of some thought also, as emotion is viewed as socially constructed and interpretive, so will vary with each context. I am, however, confident that taking the participatory approach, the data does stand up and is a true reflection of the emotions of the participants.


The Results


The complexity of emotions was certainly demonstrated. Every participant exhibited more


than one emotion and many noted both positive and negative emotions. The method did provide an insight into feelings both individual and organisational. Powerful images did result. We saw unconscious emotions that were barely noticeable in the image but communicated much about an individual's feelings and surrounding


The common themes will now be looked at more closely:


Power


Reference to power relations was demonstrated in 78% of responses. Power was indicated in many ways, for instance through the size differential between the large future governing body and smaller participants, with blindfolds or


context, and common themes did emerge. These hands tied indicating lack of control or vision, confirmed those reported in other research such as Kearney & Hyle (2004) and Vince (2006) and


through voiceless people, zombies with “no voice, no control just following mindlessly”.


27 Theme


1 Opportunity/Challenge 2 Uncertainty/Confusion


3 Power


Voice Vision/View/Shadow Direction


4 Fear/Anxiety


Which path Change Loss (e.g. education to training) Personal ability/New expectations


5 Attachments


Ethos Fundamental values


Table 1: Common Themes and Citations (%)


Due to the scale of the impending change, the predominant themes were negative, which is as expected, but it is interesting that positive


themes also emerged; opportunity, combined with uncertainty and power, are the themes that emerged most, typical of amalgamating


organisations in the planning phase. The vision isn't clear at this point, so feelings are


anticipatory. There is uncertainty about what the changes will actually bring. There is optimism as it can be seen as an opportunity, but also a feeling of powerlessness, as participants feel they have no voice, influence or direction. Simultaneously, participants are anxious about loss. There was an absence of anger, although this would be consistent with planning stage emotions as anticipatory fear was evident rather


than anger at things that had already been done.


39 52 78


78 78


cited in Sinkovics (2011). Table 1 shows the common themes and the percentage of references each received:


Reference (%)


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