org and power concepts

Question 1

What is interesting management research?

Answer 1

Research that is engaging, relevant to the audience, and rigorously conducted. It should challenge assumptions, connect with real-world issues, and utilise innovative methodologies.

Question 2

What are the different forms of power exercised in organisations?

Answer 2

Coercive power relies on direct control and compliance. Consensual power encourages voluntary compliance through shaping employees’ thoughts and feelings about work. Governmental power combines elements of both.

Question 3

What is resistance in the context of organizations?

Answer 3

The inherent response to power dynamics within organisations, taking various forms like discursive, collective, and subtle acts of defiance.

Question 4

What do subjectivity and agency refer to in the workplace?

Answer 4

The dual role of workers as both subjects of control and autonomous agents capable of resistance.

Question 5

What is neoliberalism?

Answer 5

A governing framework that normalises risk and insecurity, influencing labour relations, employee identities, and organizational cultures.

Question 6

How does communication function in organizations?

Answer 6

Communication practices within organisations shape organizational realities and are influenced by power relations.

Question 7

What are cultural dynamics in organizations?

Answer 7

Cultural expressions and practices within organizations serve as sites of resistance and meaning-making, reflecting the influence of power dynamics.

Question 8

What are the different schools of management?

Answer 8

Different perspectives on management theory, including Scientific Management (Taylor), Administrative Management (Fayol), and the School of Human Relations (Mayo, Follett).

Question 9

What is Scientific Management?

Answer 9

A management approach that emphasises efficiency and productivity through standardisation of work processes, scientific selection of workers, and division of labour.

Question 10

What does Administrative Management focus on?

Answer 10

The principles and functions of management, such as planning, organising, commanding, coordinating, and controlling.

Question 11

What is the Human Relations School of management?

Answer 11

A management approach that emphasises the importance of social and psychological factors in the workplace, advocating for treating employees as individuals with unique needs and motivations.

Question 12

What were the Hawthorne Studies?

Answer 12

A series of experiments conducted at Western Electric’s Hawthorne plant that revealed the significance of social factors and worker morale in productivity.

Question 13

What are Authority-Based Organizations?

Answer 13

Organizations structured around different forms of authority: traditional, charismatic, and rational-legal, as described by Weber’s theory of bureaucracy.

Question 14

What is bureaucracy?

Answer 14

A system of administration characterized by hierarchy, rules, specialisation, and impersonality, intended to enhance efficiency and predictability in organizational operations.

Question 15

What is the relationship between structure and agency?

Answer 15

The interplay between organisational structures and the actions of individuals. Structure shapes and constrains individual behaviour, while individual actions can reinforce or challenge existing structures.

Question 16

What is role-based coordination?

Answer 16

The process of coordinating work activities based on defined roles and responsibilities, as observed in temporary organizations like film crews.

Question 17

What are socialization practices in organizations?

Answer 17

The process by which individuals learn and internalise organizational norms, values, and role expectations.

Question 18

What are the Four Faces of Power?

Answer 18

Different dimensions of power: coercion, manipulation, domination, and subjectification.

Question 19

What are the Four Sites of Power?

Answer 19

Locations where power dynamics play out: power ‘in’ organizations, power ‘through’ organizations, power ‘over’ organizations, and power ‘against’ organizations.

Question 20

What is productive resistance?

Answer 20

The idea that resistance to change, particularly in gender equality interventions, can be a positive force, prompting dialogue, reflection, and adaptation in organisational practices.

Question 21

What is workplace surveillance?

Answer 21

The systematic monitoring of employee activities using various technologies and methods, raising concerns about privacy, ethics, and power dynamics.

Question 22

What is function creep?

Answer 22

The gradual expansion of surveillance purposes beyond their initial intent, leading to unintended consequences and potential misuse of data.

Question 23

What is the dual nature of surveillance?

Answer 23

The recognition that surveillance can have both positive (e.g., improved security, accountability) and negative (e.g., invasion of privacy, stress) consequences.

Question 24

What is the undecided space of ethics in surveillance?

Answer 24

A realm within surveillance where individuals can respond in ways that are neither simple compliance nor outright resistance, but foster self-reflection and ethical conduct.

Question 25

What are covert or ‘soft’ forms of discipline?

Answer 25

Managerial practices that subtly influence employee behaviour through teamwork, performance management systems, and organizational culture initiatives.

Question 26

What is affective control?

Answer 26

The management of emotions in organisations, particularly in collaborative work settings, where shared values, emotional connections, and a sense of community are used to influence behaviour.

Question 27

What is normative control?

Answer 27

A form of control that relies on shared values and norms to guide employee behaviour, often fostered through organizational culture and socialization practices.

Question 28

What is neo-normative control?

Answer 28

A more sophisticated form of normative control that engages employees’ emotions and identities, fostering a sense of purpose and belonging to encourage self-regulation.

Question 29

What is the psychological view of community?

Answer 29

An approach that emphasises the relational and emotional aspects of community life, highlighting relational bonds, mutual transformation, and emotional engagement.

Question 30

What does democratizing work mean?

Answer 30

The redistribution of power within organisations to empower workers, often through alternative models like worker cooperatives and employee ownership.

Question 31

What are complex adaptive systems (CAS)?

Answer 31

Organizations viewed as dynamic networks of interacting agents that exhibit emergent behaviours and adapt to changing environments.

Question 32

What is administrative leadership?

Answer 32

Traditional, bureaucratic leadership functions focused on planning, organising, and controlling activities to achieve specific outcomes.

Question 33

What is adaptive leadership?

Answer 33

Emergent, creative leadership behaviours that arise from interactions within complex adaptive systems, fostering innovation and adaptation.

Question 34

What is enabling leadership?

Answer 34

A bridging function that fosters the conditions for adaptive leadership to thrive while managing the tension between bureaucratic structures and emergent dynamics.

Question 35

What is distributed leadership?

Answer 35

A leadership model that distributes leadership responsibilities among various members of an organization rather than concentrating them in a single individual.

Question 36

What is the paradox in social theory?

Answer 36

The existence of seemingly contradictory but interconnected concepts that can enrich understanding of complex social phenomena.

Question 37

What are the four modes of paradox resolution?

Answer 37

Selection, alternation, segmentation and transcendence

Question 38

What is organizational deviance?

Answer 38

Events or activities that deviate from organizational goals and norms, producing suboptimal outcomes, often arising from the interplay of environmental, organizational, and cognitive factors.

Question 39

What is social class background?

Answer 39

An individual’s family’s relative socioeconomic position in society, determined by factors like income, education, and occupation.

Question 40

What are economic, social, and cultural capital?

Answer 40

Different forms of capital that contribute to an individual’s social class and influence their life chances.

Question 41

What is the sociology of social class at the European level?

Answer 41

The study of social class across European countries, challenging the dominance of national affiliations in understanding class membership and power dynamics.

Question 42

What is anxiety in organizations?

Answer 42

The role of anxiety, particularly among leaders, in shaping organizational behaviour and performance.

Question 43

What is defensive organizing?

Answer 43

Unconscious processes that leaders and organizations engage in to manage anxiety, often deflecting attention from underlying issues.

Question 44

What are hot moments in diverse classrooms?

Answer 44

Pivotal situations or incidents that generate intense emotions and require skillful management to promote inclusive dialogue and learning.

Question 45

What is the politics of documentation?

Answer 45

The focus on creating documents related to diversity and race equality often becomes an end in itself, overshadowing the implementation and effectiveness of these policies.

Question 46

What is the distinction between ‘doing the document’ and ‘doing the doing’?

Answer 46

‘Doing the document’ refers to producing documents that express commitments to diversity, while ‘doing the doing’ involves taking meaningful actions to address inequalities.

Question 47

What does diversity as a brand mean?

Answer 47

The commodification of diversity, where organizations use diversity policies to enhance their reputation rather than genuinely committing to equity and inclusion.

Question 48

What are algorithmic technologies?

Answer 48

Computer-programmed procedures that transform input data into desired outputs, increasingly used in workplaces to manage and control work processes.

Question 49

What is algorithmic control?

Answer 49

The use of algorithmic technologies to direct, evaluate, and discipline workers.

Question 50

What are algorithmic occupations?

Answer 50

New job roles that involve managing, interpreting, and integrating algorithmic systems into organizational workflows.

Question 51

What is judgment in the context of decision-making?

Answer 51

The human capacity for making informed decisions that consider social and historical contexts, potential outcomes, and ethical implications.

Question 52

What is reckoning in algorithmic processes?

Answer 52

The algorithmic process of decision-making based on formal rationality, data processing, and predefined rules.

Question 53

What is ontological assimilation?

Answer 53

The potential risk of human judgement becoming increasingly aligned with the principled ontology of AI systems.

Question 54

What is polycentric governance?

Answer 54

A system where multiple independent actors coordinate their actions to govern resources, distributing decision-making across various levels and entities.

Question 55

What are circular economy systems?

Answer 55

Economic models that aim to shift from the traditional linear ‘take-make-dispose’ approach to a closed-loop system.

Question 56

What are grand challenges?

Answer 56

Complex, long-term problems with no easy solutions, often characterised by conflicting interests.

Question 57

What are wicked problems?

Answer 57

Difficult-to-define problems with multiple stakeholders, conflicting values, and solutions that often create unintended consequences.

Question 58

What are super wicked problems?

Answer 58

A category of problems, including climate change, that are even more complex and urgent.

Question 59

What is corporate translation of climate change?

Answer 59

The process by which corporations frame, localise, and ultimately normalise climate change.