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‘“If I Should Fall From Grace…”: Stories of Change and Organizational Ethics

Carl Rhodes, Alison Pullen, Stewart R Clegg

Journal of Business Ethics, Volume: 91, Issue: 4, Pages: 535 - 551

Swansea University Authors: Carl Rhodes, Alison Pullen

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DOI (Published version): 10.1007/s10551-009-0116-y

Abstract

<div class="Abstract" lang="en"><a name="Abs1"></a><div class="normal">Although studies in organizational storytelling have dealt extensively with the relationship between narrative, power and organizational change, little attention has...

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Published in: Journal of Business Ethics
Published: Springer 2009
Online Access: http://www.springerlink.com/content/h2114560l6760304/
URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa5216
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fullrecord <?xml version="1.0"?><rfc1807><datestamp>2022-11-11T16:06:20.0063858</datestamp><bib-version>v2</bib-version><id>5216</id><entry>2011-10-01</entry><title>&#x2018;&#x201C;If I Should Fall From Grace&#x2026;&#x201D;: Stories of Change and Organizational Ethics</title><swanseaauthors><author><sid>6323f8c559e113b1ead52a0e6bb00043</sid><firstname>Carl</firstname><surname>Rhodes</surname><name>Carl Rhodes</name><active>true</active><ethesisStudent>false</ethesisStudent></author><author><sid>f934280ab8341daecbde2507b1104f0b</sid><firstname>Alison</firstname><surname>Pullen</surname><name>Alison Pullen</name><active>true</active><ethesisStudent>false</ethesisStudent></author></swanseaauthors><date>2011-10-01</date><abstract>&lt;div class="Abstract" lang="en"&gt;&lt;a name="Abs1"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="normal"&gt;Although studies in organizational storytelling have dealt extensively with the relationship between narrative, power and organizational change, little attention has been paid to the implications of this for ethics within organizations. This article addresses this by presenting an analysis of narrative and ethics as it relates to the practice of organizational downsizing. Drawing on Paul Ricoeur&amp;rsquo;s theories of narrative and ethics, we analyze stories of organizational change reported by employees and managers in an organization that had undergone persistent downsizing. Our analysis maintains that the presence of a dominant story that seeks to legitimate organizational change also serves to normalize it, and that this, in turn, diminishes the capacity for organizations to scrutinize the ethics of their actions. We argue that when organizational change narratives become singularized through dominant forms of emplotment, ethical deliberation and responsibility in organizations are diminished. More generally, we contend that the narrative closure achieved by the presence of a dominant narrative amongst employees undergoing organizational change is antithetical to the openness required for ethical questioning.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</abstract><type>Journal Article</type><journal>Journal of Business Ethics</journal><volume>91</volume><journalNumber>4</journalNumber><paginationStart>535</paginationStart><paginationEnd>551</paginationEnd><publisher>Springer</publisher><placeOfPublication/><isbnPrint/><isbnElectronic/><issnPrint/><issnElectronic/><keywords/><publishedDay>31</publishedDay><publishedMonth>12</publishedMonth><publishedYear>2009</publishedYear><publishedDate>2009-12-31</publishedDate><doi>10.1007/s10551-009-0116-y</doi><url>http://www.springerlink.com/content/h2114560l6760304/</url><notes/><college>COLLEGE NANME</college><CollegeCode>COLLEGE CODE</CollegeCode><institution>Swansea University</institution><apcterm/><funders/><projectreference/><lastEdited>2022-11-11T16:06:20.0063858</lastEdited><Created>2011-10-01T00:00:00.0000000</Created><path><level id="1">Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences</level><level id="2">School of Management - Business Management</level></path><authors><author><firstname>Carl</firstname><surname>Rhodes</surname><order>1</order></author><author><firstname>Alison</firstname><surname>Pullen</surname><order>2</order></author><author><firstname>Stewart R</firstname><surname>Clegg</surname><order>3</order></author></authors><documents/><OutputDurs/></rfc1807>
spelling 2022-11-11T16:06:20.0063858 v2 5216 2011-10-01 ‘“If I Should Fall From Grace…”: Stories of Change and Organizational Ethics 6323f8c559e113b1ead52a0e6bb00043 Carl Rhodes Carl Rhodes true false f934280ab8341daecbde2507b1104f0b Alison Pullen Alison Pullen true false 2011-10-01 <div class="Abstract" lang="en"><a name="Abs1"></a><div class="normal">Although studies in organizational storytelling have dealt extensively with the relationship between narrative, power and organizational change, little attention has been paid to the implications of this for ethics within organizations. This article addresses this by presenting an analysis of narrative and ethics as it relates to the practice of organizational downsizing. Drawing on Paul Ricoeur&rsquo;s theories of narrative and ethics, we analyze stories of organizational change reported by employees and managers in an organization that had undergone persistent downsizing. Our analysis maintains that the presence of a dominant story that seeks to legitimate organizational change also serves to normalize it, and that this, in turn, diminishes the capacity for organizations to scrutinize the ethics of their actions. We argue that when organizational change narratives become singularized through dominant forms of emplotment, ethical deliberation and responsibility in organizations are diminished. More generally, we contend that the narrative closure achieved by the presence of a dominant narrative amongst employees undergoing organizational change is antithetical to the openness required for ethical questioning.</div></div> Journal Article Journal of Business Ethics 91 4 535 551 Springer 31 12 2009 2009-12-31 10.1007/s10551-009-0116-y http://www.springerlink.com/content/h2114560l6760304/ COLLEGE NANME COLLEGE CODE Swansea University 2022-11-11T16:06:20.0063858 2011-10-01T00:00:00.0000000 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences School of Management - Business Management Carl Rhodes 1 Alison Pullen 2 Stewart R Clegg 3
title ‘“If I Should Fall From Grace…”: Stories of Change and Organizational Ethics
spellingShingle ‘“If I Should Fall From Grace…”: Stories of Change and Organizational Ethics
Carl Rhodes
Alison Pullen
title_short ‘“If I Should Fall From Grace…”: Stories of Change and Organizational Ethics
title_full ‘“If I Should Fall From Grace…”: Stories of Change and Organizational Ethics
title_fullStr ‘“If I Should Fall From Grace…”: Stories of Change and Organizational Ethics
title_full_unstemmed ‘“If I Should Fall From Grace…”: Stories of Change and Organizational Ethics
title_sort ‘“If I Should Fall From Grace…”: Stories of Change and Organizational Ethics
author_id_str_mv 6323f8c559e113b1ead52a0e6bb00043
f934280ab8341daecbde2507b1104f0b
author_id_fullname_str_mv 6323f8c559e113b1ead52a0e6bb00043_***_Carl Rhodes
f934280ab8341daecbde2507b1104f0b_***_Alison Pullen
author Carl Rhodes
Alison Pullen
author2 Carl Rhodes
Alison Pullen
Stewart R Clegg
format Journal article
container_title Journal of Business Ethics
container_volume 91
container_issue 4
container_start_page 535
publishDate 2009
institution Swansea University
doi_str_mv 10.1007/s10551-009-0116-y
publisher Springer
college_str Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
department_str School of Management - Business Management{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Management - Business Management
url http://www.springerlink.com/content/h2114560l6760304/
document_store_str 0
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description <div class="Abstract" lang="en"><a name="Abs1"></a><div class="normal">Although studies in organizational storytelling have dealt extensively with the relationship between narrative, power and organizational change, little attention has been paid to the implications of this for ethics within organizations. This article addresses this by presenting an analysis of narrative and ethics as it relates to the practice of organizational downsizing. Drawing on Paul Ricoeur&rsquo;s theories of narrative and ethics, we analyze stories of organizational change reported by employees and managers in an organization that had undergone persistent downsizing. Our analysis maintains that the presence of a dominant story that seeks to legitimate organizational change also serves to normalize it, and that this, in turn, diminishes the capacity for organizations to scrutinize the ethics of their actions. We argue that when organizational change narratives become singularized through dominant forms of emplotment, ethical deliberation and responsibility in organizations are diminished. More generally, we contend that the narrative closure achieved by the presence of a dominant narrative amongst employees undergoing organizational change is antithetical to the openness required for ethical questioning.</div></div>
published_date 2009-12-31T03:06:13Z
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score 11.012924

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