Term Paper

TRANSFERING AGRESSION INTO COMPASSION 

An Aggressive Society

These days, our senses are bombarded with aggression. We are constantly confronted with global images of unending, escalating war and violence. In our personal lives, we encounter angry people cursing into cell phones, watch TV talk shows where guests and audiences intimidate each other verbally and sometimes physically, or attend public meetings that disintegrate into shouting matches. Parents scream from the sidelines of their children's sports events: "Get aggressive!"Employees are rewarded for aggressive timeline and plans. Dictionaries define Aggressive action as hostile, but also positively as assertive, bold and enterprising. Aggression destroys relationships. People believe that in order to survive, they must combat the opposition. Fear and anger destroy hope for healthy communities, workgroups, families, and organizations. Relationships fracture, distrust increases, people retreat into self-defense and isolation, paranoia becomes commonplace.

Aggression in Organizations

And organizational aggression is on the rise, mirroring the societal trend. Competition has become increasingly ruthless, with strategies that aim to destroy competitors and achieve total market domination rather than strategies of coexistence within well-defined niches. In many organizations, aggression is a nearly invisible medium that influences decisions and actions. It's evident in the consistent use of war and sports metaphors. We "bring in the big guns," "dominate the field," plan "a sneak attack," or "rally the troops." The resurgence of command-and-control leadership is a less obvious but strong form of aggression, where the will of one person is imposed on others with the demand for obedience and compliance

Increasing aggression is having a profound impact on organizational relationships. Distrust is on the rise, so much so that in one survey, managers reported that the primary reason they attend...