Donald Palmer
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199573592
- eISBN:
- 9780191738715
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199573592.003.0010
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Organization Studies, Corporate Governance and Accountability
This chapter presents the accident explanation of organizational wrongdoing. This explanation is the fourth of five alternative accounts of wrongdoing considered in the book. It is rooted in the ...
More
This chapter presents the accident explanation of organizational wrongdoing. This explanation is the fourth of five alternative accounts of wrongdoing considered in the book. It is rooted in the assumptions that organizational environments are complex and organizational participants are boundedly rational, assumptions that underpin several of the alternative explanations of wrongdoing considered to this point. This chapter argues that complexity and bounded rationality sometimes cause people to make mistakes and that sometimes mistakes constitute wrongdoing. It examines the factors that can give rise to accidents that constitute wrongdoing, analyzing them as the product of system failures at four levels of social organization: the individual, the small group, the formal organization, and the organizational field. Further, it distinguishes between two types of causal factors: faulty system design or operation and unavoidable system complexity and tight coupling (i.e. normal accidents). The chapter concludes with an overall assessment of the accident explanation.Less
This chapter presents the accident explanation of organizational wrongdoing. This explanation is the fourth of five alternative accounts of wrongdoing considered in the book. It is rooted in the assumptions that organizational environments are complex and organizational participants are boundedly rational, assumptions that underpin several of the alternative explanations of wrongdoing considered to this point. This chapter argues that complexity and bounded rationality sometimes cause people to make mistakes and that sometimes mistakes constitute wrongdoing. It examines the factors that can give rise to accidents that constitute wrongdoing, analyzing them as the product of system failures at four levels of social organization: the individual, the small group, the formal organization, and the organizational field. Further, it distinguishes between two types of causal factors: faulty system design or operation and unavoidable system complexity and tight coupling (i.e. normal accidents). The chapter concludes with an overall assessment of the accident explanation.
Donald Palmer
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199573592
- eISBN:
- 9780191738715
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199573592.003.0002
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Organization Studies, Corporate Governance and Accountability
This chapter describes the two main perspectives on organizational wrongdoing, the abnormal and normal perspectives, in detail. It also describes the two main approaches to explaining wrongdoing, the ...
More
This chapter describes the two main perspectives on organizational wrongdoing, the abnormal and normal perspectives, in detail. It also describes the two main approaches to explaining wrongdoing, the dominant and alternative approaches, in depth. The chapter also establishes the link between the abnormal and normal perspectives on organizational wrongdoing, the dominant and alternative approaches to explaining the causes of wrongdoing, and the eight specific explanations of wrongdoing that form the core of the book. The eight specific explanations focus on rational choice, culture, ethical decision-making, administrative systems, situational social influence, power structures, accidental behavior, and the social control of wrongdoing. The chapter illustrates the two approaches to explaining organizational wrongdoing with a detailed description of a professional bicycle racer's experience with the use of banned performance-enhancing substances. It concludes with a few remarks about the book's overarching message.Less
This chapter describes the two main perspectives on organizational wrongdoing, the abnormal and normal perspectives, in detail. It also describes the two main approaches to explaining wrongdoing, the dominant and alternative approaches, in depth. The chapter also establishes the link between the abnormal and normal perspectives on organizational wrongdoing, the dominant and alternative approaches to explaining the causes of wrongdoing, and the eight specific explanations of wrongdoing that form the core of the book. The eight specific explanations focus on rational choice, culture, ethical decision-making, administrative systems, situational social influence, power structures, accidental behavior, and the social control of wrongdoing. The chapter illustrates the two approaches to explaining organizational wrongdoing with a detailed description of a professional bicycle racer's experience with the use of banned performance-enhancing substances. It concludes with a few remarks about the book's overarching message.
