Postmodern Organization Research Articles

Terra Madre 2006: Political Theater and Ritual Rhetoric in the Slow Food Movement

The biannual mega-event of Terra Madre is now established as the political flagship of the Slow Food movement. It assembles in Turin the leading cosmopolitan figures of this neo-tribal, post modern organization, along with several thousand of its ordinary members, who were drawn in 2006 from the ranks of food producers, cooks and academics. The most significant secular rituals of Terra Madre involve the theatrical celebration of its global character, beginning with the assembly of representatives from some 1600 ““food communities”” distributed throughout the world. Equally important are the many smaller scale activities in which the details of the movement's politics are articulated and embellished, at times in strikingly rhetorical ways. In this paper, which is based on ethnographic research, the theatrical and rhetorical qualities of Terra Madre as a political spectacle are explored in some detail. It is argued, in conclusion, that what is inadvertently exposed are some of the political myths which lie at the core of the Slow Food movement's contemporary philosophy.

Gerenciando pessoas utilizando modelos holísticos

Este artigo propõe-se a estabelecer correlações entre modelos direcionados à gestão de pessoas nas organizações pós-modernas, através da descrição e da identificação de modelos encontrados na literatura, como também oferecer elementos para a reflexão sobre os conceitos advindos desses arquétipos. O ensaio se enquadra como estudo de natureza descritiva, cujas potencialidades relacionadas ao uso da abordagem holística na gestão de pessoas se realizam por intermédio da pesquisa bibliográfica e documental. A realização do artigo, com base na pesquisa bibliográfica e documental, resulta na possibilidade de vislumbrar ações que redundam em um exercício contínuo de cidadania corporativa, ações que contribuam para ampliar a consciência de respeito e colaboração entre as pessoas, de forma a beneficiar a todos os envolvidos. Como limitação do estudo pode-se mencionar a não possibilidade de generalizações dos conceitos e modelos para empresas de pequeno porte, visto não ter sido realizada pesquisa empírica para essa situação específica. Têm-se ainda, como contribuições do trabalho, a viabilidade de reunir diversos modelos encontrados em estudos anteriores, bem como apresentar os denominadores comuns existentes entre eles.

Agency and Change: Re-evaluating Foucault's Legacy

Michel Foucault's work marks an important break with conventional ontological dualism, epistemological realism and rationalist and intentional notions of individual action and human agency. In these respects his ideas have had an enormous influence on postmodern organization theory and analysis, as well as related forms of social constructionism. In particular, Foucault's ideas have led to a rejection of agency-structure dichotomies and a move towards process-based ontologies of `organizing/changing', that create new problematics of agency as discourse, talk, text or conversation. While this ontological shift toward nominalism has often provoked a counter-reaction against the `death of the subject' and the corrosive influence of postmodernism, there have been few attempts to explore how Foucault's decentring of agency is related to new, more positive and potentially emancipatory discourses that redefine the relationship between agency and change, resistance and power in organizations and society. Here it will be argued that Foucault's legacy can be re-conceptualized as a theorization of the decentring of agency consisting of four key components: discourse, power/ knowledge, embodiment and self-reflexivity. Redefined within Foucauldian organizational discourses, decentred agency can lead to new possibilities for the exploration of agency as discourse and the broader dispersal of agency in organizations. It will be concluded, however, that Foucault's concept of agency fails as a theorization of change: it breaks the link between the voluntary choice or desire to `act otherwise' and the moral, political and practical possibilities of `making a difference'.

The Demise and Reawakening of Spirituality in Western Entrepreneurship

Understanding spirituality may serve as a foundation for developing new approaches to managerial action, organizational learning, social change and leadership. This article explores this phenomenon by hermeneutically tracing the demise and reawakening of spiritual entrepreneurship in Western life over the past 200 years. Spiritual aspects of entrepreneurial organizations are also framed via the lens of critical management theory as reflected in literature spanning four social epochs: federalist reality, the Industrial Revolution, disciplinary society, and the post-industrial milieu. The resulting themes highlight the interconnectedness and reciprocal influences between social reality and spiritual leadership in Western entrepreneurial enterprises. Drawn from the author's doctoral research (Jue 2004), the article suggests a need for reintegrating spiritual leadership among post-modern organizations and entrepreneurial firms in the achievement of more sustainable futures.

From organization to hypermodern organization

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to question extant categorizations of organization and to introduce the concept of the hypermodern organization. In so doing, it aims to contribute to the understanding of the hypermodern organization by means of a case study of the accelerated appearance and disappearance of Enron.Design/methodology/approachConsideration is given in the paper to organization and its various forms, namely, the premodern, the modern and the postmodern organization. The hypermodern organization is then introduced and elaborated upon. To demonstrate the contemporary relevance of the hypermodern organization the increasing speed of both the appearance and disappearance of Enron is reviewed. The contribution of an increase in velocity to the disintegration of the hypermodern organization of Enron is considered.FindingsExisting approaches to organizations and organizational change in the main fail to recognize the context and impact of hypermodernity. To address this, the paper introduces and develops the concept of the hypermodern organization. The relevance of the hypermodern organization to an appreciation of organization and organizational change is demonstrated through an analysis of the accelerated appearance and disappearance of Enron.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper introduces a new conception of organization and organizational change. Further research is necessary to verify and build on the findings.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the understanding of organizations and organizational change. It argues that the information and consumer‐driven societies of the advanced countries are characterized by hypermodernity. Existing approaches to organizations and organizational change essentially disregard the significance and impact of the hypermodern organization. The paper suggests that one of the results of the hypermodern organization is the accelerated appearance and disappearance of business organizations.

What happened on the way to postmodern?

PurposeThis paper seeks to address the question: what happened to postmodern?Design/methodology/approachThree trends are reviewed: postmodern fragmentation, late modern appropriations of postmodern moves; and emergent awareness of the dark‐side of postmodern.FindingsOn the way to postmodern theory the revolution to reform modern capitalism fragmented into rhetoric‐strands, while practice became ineffective.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper concludes with possibilities for participatory research in ways that enact more postmodern forms of capitalist praxis.Practical implicationsIt is suggested that qualitative studies of postmodern praxis can be conducted; such as postmodern organizations that enact the dark‐side of biotechnology; consumer organizations, such as Blackspot and No Sweat that contract to non‐sweatshop factories; and autoethnographic examples of how building a Harley‐Davidson chopper is post‐production and post‐consumption.Originality/valueThe paper shows that in the fragmentation of moderns and postmoderns, there is a relentless appropriation of postmodern moves by late modernism. This is one contributing factor to the “dark side of postmodern.” Other contributing factors are naive brands of postmodern (e.g. chaos theory, complexity, new age spirituality) which, sometimes only see the positive potentialities, and blind one to the dark side. What is original is the call for a combination of critical theory and postmodern theory (critical postmodern) that looks at the relation between various ideas of modern and postmodern and how they can be studied in their dialogicality.

The Diagnosis and Management of Progressive Dysfunction of Health Care Organizations

This paper presents an ethically justified approach to the diagnosis and management of progressive dysfunction of health care organizational cultures. We explain the concept of professional integrity in terms of the ethical concept of the cofiduciary responsibility of physicians and health care organizations. We identify the ethical features of a healthy health care organization and the spectrum of progressive dysfunction of organizational cultures from cynical through wonderland and Kafkaesque to postmodern. Physicians should respond to cynical health care organizations by creating moral enclaves of professional integrity for the main purpose of confrontation and reform, to wonderland organizations by strengthening moral enclaves for the main purpose of resisting self-deception, to Kafkaesque organizations by strengthening moral enclaves still further for the main purpose of defending professional integrity (adopting a Machiavellian appearance of virtue as necessary), and to postmodern organizations by creating moral fortresses and, should these fail, quitting.

Postmodern organization and new forms of organizational control

This article displays post bureaucratic organisational concept as an adequate representative of all emerging organizational forms which are natural result of persistent initiatives to flexibly and intensify working process. Under this term we assume all budding ?sub-representatives' such as Total Quality Management (TQM), Just-in-time concept (JIT), network systems and joint ventures, virtual organizations, teamwork and other related structures. The author concludes that main virtues of new organizational paradigm are flexibility, decentralization, higher employee empowerment, knowledge and information sharing, responsibility for the system as a whole and permanent learning. On the other hand, some downsides become obvious. Those are danger from anarchy, responsibility and stress, greater employees' insecurity and resistance to new practices. Furthermore, the paper shed light on power and identity dynamics through the lens of improved and still intentional methods of organizational control. The main argument is that compulsive desire to control never fades away, only the methods of control takes different, more advanced forms through organizational culture, vocabulary and discourses monitoring at a distance, peer evaluation inside teams, employee selection and many others.

Niccolo machiavelli: moving through the future as we learn from the past

This article lays out the argument that we may best cope with the unfolding of the future by learning from the past. Here, the past represented by Niccolo Machiavelli’s world and thoughts are juxtaposed with the questions and issues raised by postmodern organization theorists. Machiavelli’s thoughts contributed to the creation of the world that concerns postmodern theorists and us. Both Machiavelli and postmodern organization theorists address change and strategies for dealing with change, including looking to needs and emotions for working with individuals in change situations and the importance of widespread involvement in governance structures. Building a better future requires learning to deal with human social realities that have been and will be shaped by past philosophers. Consciousness of past philosophers should help in that endeavor.

Theatrics of SEAM

The purpose of this article is to explore the similarities and differences in the socio‐economic approach to management (SEAM) method and postmodern approaches to theatre. Neither metaphorical nor managerialist, SEAM's perspective allows that the organization is theatre. Introduces the terms “metascript” and “metatheatre” to describe how SEAM's approach accomodates the multiple perspectives and simultaneous multiple stages populated by the “spect‐actors” (Boal, A.,Theatre of the Oppressed, translated by Charles A. and Maria‐Odillia Leal McBride, Theatre Communications Group, New York, NY, 1979, originally published in Spanish asTeatro de Oprimido, Ediciones de la Flor, Buenos Aires, 1974) of the Tamara‐esque postmodern organization theatre.

THE IMPACT OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE ON ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING AT SIX ESTONIAN HOSPITALS

Introduction In the 21st century an organization's ability to learn has became a critical factor for its success. In order to increase the overall ability to learn and implement changes faster in Estonia, employers prefer to employ younger people. Consequently it is not easy for people over 45 years of age to get a job. At the same time, due to the low birth rate the work force is ageing. This preference for younger people in the Estonian labour market is also connected with the fact that for many people their work experience has mostly been in soviet organizations. As Estonia only started the transition from being a part of the former Soviet Union with a centrally planned economy to a politically independent country with a free market economy a decade ago, the majority of Estonian people obtained their first work experience in organizations managed according to the rules of a centrally planned economy. The criteria for success in these soviet organizations differed fundamentally from the criteria for success in organizations in a free-market economy. The learning process in order to overcome the differences between the values and basic assumptions inherent in a centrally planned economy and those in a market economy is time-consuming, and often leads to fundamental changes in organizational culture, leadership style and strategy. To increase an organization's ability to adapt to such fundamental change, experts (Garvin 1993, Senge 1997) have developed the concept of the learning organization. Although there are several definitions of the learning organization, theorists and practitioners have agreed on one thing: certain organizational traits are required for developing a higher level of learning. To put it another way: some cultures have a more positive effect on organizational learning than others. According to theorists, efforts to bring about change in post-modern organizations typically focus on the domains of process and attitude; and attitudes are embedded primarily in culture (Bergquist 1993:237). So, in order to change the organization, cultural components should be more fully understood and addressed. Most East- and Central-European countries probably face the same problems--a socialist heritage and an ageing work force--a problem also faced by many European countries. At the same time few studies have investigated the connections between organizational culture and organizational learning among various organizational members. This has led the authors of this paper to explore data concerned with the impact of organizational culture on organizational learning in Estonia. In this paper a brief overview concerning organizational learning and organizational culture will be followed by analyses of results from empirical research in six hospitals in Tallinn going through a process of amalgamation. Organizational learning and organizational change Organizational learning has been generally defined as a vital process by which organizations adapt in their social, political, or economic settings (Rosenstiel and Koch 2001). Tsang (1997) defines organizational learning in more detail as learning which occurs in an organization and produces real or potential change after a shift in the relationship between thought, organizational action and environmental response. Emphasis on the connection between organizational learning and the environment in both definitions indicates that certain types of change in an environment may require a particular type of learning. Levels of learning and types of change. Theorists distinguish between single-loop learning, double-loop learning and deutero-learning. If single-loop learning only refers to correcting behaviour without altering the nature of the activities, then double-loop learning tests assumptions and changes the governing values (Argyris and Schon 1978). The third level, deutero-learning involves learning how to learn and is directed at the learning process itself (Cummings and Worley 1997). …

Organization Theory in Turbulent Times: The Traces of Foucault's Ethics

Criticisms of postmodernism are examined in the context of social theory and its sub-field, organization theory. Criticisms centre on claims that postmodern organization theorists are preoccupied with indeterminancy of meaning, linguistic relativism and the `minutiae' of everyday life; and further, that Foucault-inspired postmodern organization theorists reject culture, history, and reason, and have little to offer in terms of ethics, action and change. We contest these criticisms as they apply to organizational analyses. The criticisms miss key elements of postmodern contributions to organization theory. We identify several fruitful seams, particularly in Foucault's later works, that contribute to a valuable ethos for postmodern organization theory. This article subjects this ethos to the same level of deconstruction to which it subjects its opponents. We argue that Foucault's insights on ethical action relate to institutional bases of discourses, and the effects of disciplinary knowledge on subjects. We link these insights to Bauman's `postmodern ethics' and to Sennett's research on the effects of `flexible capitalism', corporate restructuring, and ongoing institutional changes. Such connections bring a kind of analysis to organization studies that enables us to practically reassess our structures of recognition that constitute subjectivity and identity at work.

Examining the Team/Leader Interface

The authors propose that baseball teams serve as exemplars of postmodern organizations, such that studying the team/leader interface on baseball teams would be analogous to studying these relationships in other postmodern organizations. Furthermore, the authors argue that traditional leadership theories (for example, contingent rewards) may not apply to postmodern organizations nor may theories that rely on the development of long-term relationships between superiors and subordinates (for example, vertical dyad linkages). Rather, the authors propose a new model of leadership that responds to the needs of postmodern organizations, wherein leaders perform leadership through ritualized behavior, engage in transformational leadership, and effectively manage the autonomy-interdependence dialectic.

The 2001 Southam Lecture: Reflections on Harold Innis's "Minerva's Owl"

The thinking of Harold Innis on the relationship of communication to the rise and fall of historical forms of social organization has been little exploited in the context of contemporary organizational dynamics. In this essay, I use Innis' distinction between the vernacular and writing as an explanatory device to examine current trends in organization. Many of the patterns Innis pointed to can equally be found in the formation and disappearance of large organizations in our time, even though the time scale is radically compressed compared to his historical analyses. In one respect, however, a new pattern is emerging in the postmodern organization, where the "vernacular" is that of the writers, not the written, with paradoxical implications for the standard theory of rational organization, enunciated by Weber and others.

Chaos theory and postmodern organization

This article notes the growing attractiveness of concepts “borrowed” from chaos theory in organizational studies. Many of these interpretations display sentiments broadly congruent with a “postmodern” approach to organization. Indeed chaos theory itself is presented as part of a similar postmodern shift within natural science. However, these sentiments have been subject to stinging criticism by scientists. Here, the deterministic underpinning of chaos theory is used to show that chaos theory is an entirely modernist enterprise. In this case the indeterministic messages taken by organizational theorists are something of a misunderstanding. Consequently, I discuss whether this is enough to threaten the interdisciplinary status of chaos theory, particularly when it is used in a self-consciously ‘metaphorical’ fashion.

Pedagogical Practice and Postmodernist Ideas

Postmodern approaches to management and organizational theory raise a number of particular challenges for management educators. This article explores howinstructors can present postmodern ideas in the context of management education and explore their implications for management practice. The authors identify four postmodern themes: the notion of complicated identities, the “death” of the individual as expert, “disciplinary” powers that constrain individual actions, and the postmodern organization as a combination of dream and nightmare. To demonstrate the ambiguities and paradoxes associated with each theme, the authors outline in-class exercises to surface postmodern ideas.

The Leveling of Organizational Culture

Critical postmodern organization theory posits the increasing rationalization of organizational life as a threat to individual choice and well-being. Organizational knowledge is seen as a carrier of power relations that subjugate individuals for organizational purposes. Thus, individual resistance through the cultivation of egalitarian forms of self-knowledge is advocated. In this article, the author reviews the arguments and suggestions put forward by critical postmodern organization theorists. He concludes that critical postmodern organization theory’s power/knowledge critique destroys the basis of moral culture in its attack on the dehumanizing processes of rationalization. A more balanced approach that limits critical fervor through the appreciation of moral traditions is suggested.

Linking OD’s philosophy with justice theory: postmodern implications

The purpose of this article is twofold; first, to demonstrate a linkage between the tenets of justice theory and OD core values, assumptions and ethical beliefs and, second, to show the role of this linkage as it applies to postmodern organizations in terms of the evolution of OD technology. Distributive, procedural and interactional justice is discussed and juxtaposed with the humanistic and organizational effectiveness orientations that compise the core values of OD. Finally, ways are suggested that the linkage between justice theory and OD core values can be used for the development of OD science and its application to the postmodern organizational paradigm of equality, empowerment and horizontal relationships.

Is postmodern organization theory sceptical?

The practitioners of postmodern organization theory have had to respond to the charge that postmodernism has a declivity toward skepticism. Their response to organizational skepticisim is to decenter dominant theories, paradigms and organizational forms, rather than to negate them. Decentering supplements discourse by augmenting its repertoire; the opposite of skepticism, which diminishes its object. The main ways in which postmodern organization theories try to overcome the specific sceptical position of paradigm incommensurability (the reduction of discourse about organizations and organizational discourse to a solipsism of private language games) are described and assessed in terms of three positions: John Hassard’s “multiple paradigm” approach on the level of methodology, Stewart Clegg’s “embedded rationalities” on the level of empirical conceptualization, and Kenneth Gergen’s “heteroglossia” on the level of discursive practice. Hassard and Clegg are engaged in the mapping function of postmodern organization theory, whereas Gergen is engaged in deconstraining organizations.

Book Review: Human Resources, Management, and Personnel: Reworking Authority: Leading and following in the Post-Modern Organization

Book Review: Human Resources, Management, and Personnel: Reworking Authority: Leading and following in the Post-Modern Organization