Organisational Pathologies Under Conditions of Economic Downswing

2017

2007

The period since the 1990's has been characterised by massive organisational change and considerable rhetoric about strategic human resource management. In this paper our objective is to explore the notion of organisational dysfunction in a period of change and to contrast some of our empirical findings with what may have been forecast by the adherants of strategic HRM. The paper also explores the effect of financialisation on UK businesses and the managers who work with them.

2012

The premise on which this paper is based is determined by the damaged reputation capital of most Romanian companies. The causes which generate poor organisational behaviours are identified and analysed. The media coverage of the Romanian organisations' behaviour is also highlighted. The methodology used for developing the research was based on interdisciplinary triangulation, respectively approaches from the perspective of behavioural economics, of managementmarketing and of organisational sociology. The research techniques used are trend analysis and secondary data investigation materialised in studies and reports of international bodies.

Organization Studies, 2014

The paper offers an introduction to research that concerns itself with the ‘dark side’ of organization and attempts to bring theoretical resources from a range of disciplines to bear upon the problem. This stream of research has emerged most visibly since the 1990s, although its concerns can be found in much earlier research. Frustrations with the tendencies of mainstream work to overlook, ignore or suppress difficult ethical, political and ideological issues, which may well mean life or death to some people, has in recent years led to a research that self-identifies its concerns as being with the dark side. We structure our review around key contributions on the dark side of organizational behaviour, mainly in psychology but also including the concept of organizational misbehaviour; the sociology of the dark side, with particular reference to mistakes, misconduct and disaster; and a wider range of critical approaches to the dark side including Marxist, post-Marxist and postcolonial...

Medical Research Archives

This paper explores the various options for organisational structures by examining some high-profile incidents in the light of a number of theories that have been put forward to explain behaviours. On first inspection, it might be concluded that a common theme emerging from studying the results of such organisational behaviours might be the slavish conformance to “acceptable” or expected “institutionalised” structures which stipulate impenetrable layers of middle management between the “sharp end” teams and the responsible executives and their governing Boards. This so called “clay layer” has been highlighted as a major factor in high profile incidents such as Challenger, Columbia, Chernobyl, Longford, Macondo blow out and many others . However, on closer examination, there are other examples of corporate failures, (such as the Post Office computerisation scandal) which suggest that the “clay layer” in fact serves another purpose; to allow credible “deniability” for the controlling ...

The aim of this paper is to discuss three main obstacles to change in organisations. To do so, at the outset it starts defining organisations from different perspectives. In the following sections the external and internal triggers of change are presented. In an attempt to explain how does change happen, there is an overview of different types and stages of change, which is complemented with the change equation. At the core section, this article argues that obstacles to change in organisations exist at three levels: i) at the macro level, the negative context or action environment, which is related to the wider background such as the economic, social and political conditions existing in a given country; ii) at the intermediate level, the organisational structure and culture, namely the ethos or the covert aspect of organisational life; and iii) at the micro level, the human blockage, which may come from the managerial level or from the employee’s attitudes (resistance to change). It is worth mentioning that in this paper those elements are described from the negative perspective, because at the same time, these elements (from an optimistic perspective) can be the driving forces for positive organisational change.

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The economic crisis has compelled several organizations to closely monitor their operations, financing, marketing, and strategies. Mostly a downturn end up into recessions and causes a lot misery for many people over a period of time. It also forces people to change in the consumption patterns and in the manner their spend .The situation in a period of recession becomes worse by the day owing to anticipated new environment as well as change of consumer needs and attitudes.

Entrepreneurial Business and Economics Review, 2016

The purpose of this article is to identify and describe various types and sources of organizational dysfunctions. Research Design & Methods: The findings are based on literature review and ongoing empirical research project conducted among private sector organizations. The empirical study can be situated within interpretative approach; open interviews and observations were used to collect data. Findings: The study indicates that various types and sources of organizational dysfunctions can be identified in organizations operating in Poland. The sources of dysfunctions may be found both within the organization and its environment. Regardless of its specific features, most of the dysfunctions may be interpreted as an undesirable goal displacement. Very often areas of these dysfunctions are strongly interconnected and create a system that hinders organizational performance. Yet, it is difficult to study these phenomena as respondents are unwilling, for various reasons, to disclose the problems faced by their organizations. Implications & Recommendations: The results imply that the issue of organizational dysfunctions requires open, long-lasting and comparative studies. Recommendations for further studies are formulated in the last section of the paper. Contribution & Value Added: The paper provides insight into "the dark side of organizing" by identifying sources and areas of dysfunctions. It also reveals difficulties connected with conducting research on dysfunctions within the Polish context. Article type: research paper

Organization Studies, 2011

This paper uses psychoanalytic ideas to develop a theory of organizational miasma, a concept that describes a contagious state of pollution -material, psychological and spiritual -that afflicts all who work in certain organizations that undergo sudden and traumatic transformations. Miasma is offered not as another organizational metaphor, a prism through which to view particular organizations. Instead, I delineate the fundamental psychodynamics of organizational miasma as a theoretical concept that accounts for and explains numerous processes in these organizations. These include a paralysis of resistance, an experience of pollution and uncleanliness, and feelings of disgust, worthlessness and corruption. Miasma may occur in organizations that undergo a sudden transformation involving the discarding and loss of many of their valued members through downsizing or retrenchment, without either separation rituals or psychological mourning. The 'old' organization is frequently presented as corrupt, indulgent and inefficient, contrasted to the 'new' organization that is entrepreneurial, dynamic and flexible. Yet, for many surviving members, the new organization is tainted by the presence of 'murderers', i.e. managers who have initiated a series of dismissals, and 'corpses', i.e. employees who have been dismissed or are about to be dismissed and 'disappear', once alive, now discarded. Miasma is seen as the result of a failed separation rite, one that instead of honouring loss, finitude and discontinuity in today's organizations seeks to obliterate and repress it. In this sense, miasma represents a contemporary version of tragedy where attempts to offer cleansing end up by reinforcing it.