Organizational epics and sagas : tales of organizations / edited by Monika Kostera.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Kostera, Monika, 1963-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Organizational sociology.

Organizational behavior.

Physical Description:

xvi, 196 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Basingstoke [England] ; New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.

Summary:

Myth typically brings to mind something not true, a false belief or erroneous idea - or else tales of the spiritual domain. As the second volume in a series of three, Organizational Epics and Sagas looks at myths as part of our everyday organizational lives. Organizational virtues and vices, such as authenticity, entrepreneurial spirit and power, are examples of sagas and epics. Sometiems it may be both a vice and a virtue at the same time. Other sagas focus on powers, attributes and abilities of organizations, or what they can do. Finally, there are a few tales of legendary or cult organizations that have become mythical in themselves and are symbols or epitomes of certain desired features.

Contents:

Introduction to the Trilogy: Mythologies of Organizational Everyday Life / Monika Kostera 1

Myths and human beings 2

Organizational mythmaking 5

Introduction to Organizational Epics and Sagas: The Mythologization of Organization / Monika Kostera 9

Organization as myth 9

1 The Myth of Entrepreneurship / Maria Aggestam 14

Myth-making and living myth 15

Entrepreneurs in the education industry 18

Entrepreneurs in the media industry 21

Performative nature of entrepreneuring: mythical frame 22

2 Living with the Myth of Unattainable Technology / Ulla Eriksson-Zetterquist 26

Myths and technology 27

Building the myth 29

Awaiting the new technology to be implemented 32

An unattainable vision 34

Living with myths of e-business 37

3 Goddess: A Story of Myth and Power / Monica Lee 40

The pattern 40

Mobility 41

Self-justificatory stories 42

Workloads 42

Vindictiveness and punishment 45

A rationale? 46

The power of mythical allusion 47

4 Oedipus in the Land of Organizational Darkness / Yiannis Gabriel 51

Oedipus and miasma 53

Miasma and organizations 55

Mourning, depression and scapegoating 60

5 The Myth of Corporate Size in Public Service Companies: The Case of Toscana Energia SPA / Giuseppe Grossi 65

The myth of 'corporate size' and needs of organizational aggregation 66

Aggregation strategies of Italian public service companies 68

The Italian gas sector: peculiarities and advantages of growth in size 69

The case of Toscana Energia 71

Potential benefits and risks of aggregation strategies in light of the tale of Toscana Energia 75

6 Bureaucrats and Heretics: Gendering Mythology / Daniel Ericsson, Pernilla Nilsson 80

Good life: according to the bureau principles 82

Evil life: according to the heretics 86

Gendered aspects of the bureaucracy myth 88

Extro 91

7 The Myth of the Virtual Organization / Kym Thorne 93

Virtual organizations 94

The mythic archetypes within virtual organization discourse 97

8 Heroic Villains: The Badlands of Economy and Organization / Martin Parker 105

The Mafia, and others 107

Myth today 111

Fantasy economics and social change 115

9 Merging the Myths: A Study of the Effect of Organizational Mythmaking in an Organizational Merger / David Sims 118

From story to myth 120

Tales from a merger 121

Myths in currency 123

Interactions and agendas 127

Storytelling in a new environment 127

10 The Myth of Management as Art and the Management of Art as Myth / Katja Lindqvist 131

Myths in management 131

The myth of leadership as art 135

Art and myth 136

Management of art as myth 137

Metaphors and myths for management 140

11 The Cosmogonic Duel / Jerzy Kociatkiewicz 142

Social actors 143

Myths 146

The duel 148

Phase I The hero's defeat 149

Phase II Help 151

Phase III Victory 153

Further considerations 154

12 The Pan American Dream and the Myth of the Pioneer / Gabrielle Durepos, Jean Helms Mills, Albert J. Mills 156

Ideologies of Americanism and the formative context of the myth of the pioneer 158

The myth of the pioneer as situated locally in the activities of early PAA 160

Pan American Airways: the pioneering organization 163.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 169-185) and index.

ISBN:

0230515770

9780230515772

OCLC:

182663271