Narcissistic Process and Corporate Decay: The Theory of the Organization Ideal.

Abstract

The thesis behind this book is that American industry cannot compete in the marketplace because its organizational structure and management style has become pathologically narcissistic. The theory is illustrated with real-life examples such as the DeLorean automobile business failure. The author develops his argument by saying that American corporations have consistently shifted their attention away from the business of coping in the real world towards a self-conscious, narcissistic presentation of their own perfection in what is essentially a fantasy world. The tangible results, he claims, are striking - the Challenger disaster, near meltdowns in the nuclear industry and bankruptcies in private industry. Using a Freudian concept, that of the desire to return to the infant, egotistical state, the author argues that this is an impossible desire, that the pursuit of the ego ideal on the part of workers, business people and organization members in America can lead to all sorts of disasters.