The Concept of Flow and its Relevance to the Contemporary Organisations

Topic

The Concept of Flow and its Relevance to the Contemporary Organisations

Instructions

What is meant by the concept of “flow” in the management and organisational literature (Csikszentmihalyi, 1977)? Is there a relationship between achievement-orientation and “flow”? Provide an analysis of the advantages of understanding the concept of flow for professionals in contemporary organisations.

Answer preview

The concept of flow has been the subject of research by many researchers and scholars, initially in the psychology domain, and later in other sectors, such as education, work and management. While there is no singular, conclusive definition of the flow concept, there appears to be a general agreement among scholars that flow entails the experience that a person has when they engage in an activity that they are intrinsically motivated to perform, and which they do with total commitment to achieving the desired goal. The flow concept involves a series of actions, in which the actor is involved to the extent that nothing else is more important than what they are doing. The activity progresses, step by step until the desired outcome is achieved. The flow, also referred to as optimal experience, involves a challenge, and the use of matching skills to overcome the problem.

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