Talking About Organizations Podcast

For our 100th episode, we look outward toward the various fields of study that have fed into our podcast – organization studies, organization theory, management science, and others – and ask how strong or healthy those fields are. The disciple has, after all, gotten very big with thousands of scholars around the world doing important field work, research, and consultancy projects. But it has also become more fragmented and is experiencing the stresses and strains of a mature profession. So in this one-part reflection, we think about what we have learned so far in 100 episodes stretching over 7-1/2 years and where we might like to see the field go in the coming years.

We conclude our discussion of Joan Acker’s article “Hierarchies, Jobs, Bodies: A Theory of Gendered Organizations,” from 1990 and bring the ideas of feminist theories of organization to contemporary times. From economic difficulties to the effects of the pandemic, workers are increasingly having to balance work with the need to provide care to their families, but global competitive pressures are causing companies to pursue even greater efficiencies. How do Acker’s ideas help us navigate these challenging times?

Joan Acker’s 1990 article “Hierarchies, Jobs, Bodies: A Theory of Gendered Organizations” was a significant work in feminist theories of organizations. She charged that prior feminist research had wrongly assumed that organizational structures were gender neutral. Instead, everything about organizations from structures to symbols are inherently gendered, and until that was acknowledged and studied, organizations would continue to reinforce long-standing gender inequalities. The article is significant for its synthesis of a growing body of research that questioned the claims of gender neutrality in organizational practices that creates and sustains barriers to women’s equality in the workplace.

We will discuss Joan Acker’s article “Hierarchies, Jobs, Bodies: A Theory of Gendered Organizations,” from 1990. This article signaled a clarion call to change the direction of organizational research to acknowledge the inherent gendering built into processes and structures in the workplace. This would allow for the development of organizations that would be more democratic and humane.

We conclude our discussion of the classic book The Management of Innovation from Tom Burns and G. M. Stalker with a look at contemporary myths of innovation, such as the idea that innovation can or should be outsourced to small “start-up” style firms or that innovators or the process of innovation should be separated from the rest of the organization. We also look at the roles of “manager directors” or chief executives in leading innovation in their firms.

Why do firms seemingly have difficulties converting new ideas into goods or services? The answer is in the classic book The Management of Innovation from Tom Burns and G. M. Stalker that explored the difficulties that firms, industries, and even nations had in innovating due to the disruptions that it brings to power structures and social fabric in organizations. They also explored key misunderstandings about innovation (such as that the false narrative that bureaucratic structures inherently cannot innovate) and the source of of conflicts across different departments and work groups trying to innovate.

Coming soon! We will discuss The Management of Innovation from Tom Burns and G. M. Stalker, a classic of innovation theory and the source of an important theoretical construct – the mechanistic and organic systems of management. Their aim was to understand the fit of these systems with different conditions and the conflict and barriers that organizations face as they attempt to change how they operate.

We conclude our discussion of Invictus by looking through an organizational perspective at sports, social change, and the ways leaders manage organizations to build inclusive cultures. While sports can unite people, we also discuss how sports can also create or exacerbate tensions. How does one reap the possible benefits of sport and connect it to social change for higher purposes?

The 2009 film Invictus tells the story of how the first post-Apartheid President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, used sports as a unifying force to overcome lingering and bitter racial divides in the nation. The movie and the real-life events that inspired it are powerful. We will look at it through an organizational lens and discuss insights related to leadership, team building, change and other management topics.

We go to the movies – looking at the 2009 film Invictus through an organizational lens. It tells the story of Nelson Mandela from the time of assuming the Presidency of South Africa to the nation’s hosting of the 1995 Rugby World Cup. How did Mandela use sport to unite a bitterly divided nation and what insights does this story provide for management theory and practice?