The Monstrous Organization


Book Description

This book marks a major shift in the way we think and feel about organizations. Radically reconsidering what we see as organizationally normal and abnormal, Thanem shatters the borders of convention to enable the becoming of a new and monstrously radical politics of difference. With reflexivity, sensitivity and courage, this politically and theoretically charged work offers an affirmative alternative to habituated organizational violence and oppression. It does so in the form of a monstrous ethics of organizations. Essential reading for those interested in the best of the latest advances in organization studies. Carl Rhodes, Swansea University, UK A beautifully expressed, wonderfully crafted object, transcending the idea of organization theory book ; this is a playfully serious and provocatively modest encounter with the monstrous we inhabit and the monsters we create with our work and everyday life. It made me laugh with embarrassment and cry with joy by prying open much that we, organizational scholars, often try to hide. Finally, our monstrosity was free to roam in the light of what we claim as knowledge! It felt very liberating. Marta B. Calás, University of Massachusetts, US Invited to experience becoming-monster as we get to exercise our norms as students of organizations, Thanem makes a case for the socio-corporeal ontology of organization. Disassembled by the generosity of the multitude, we are provided with an opportunity to learn to know our own particular heterogeneity, our styles of assembling ourselves to what we have become. Becoming is thereby learnt. Important lessons, both for analysts and practitioners of organizations. Daniel Hjorth, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark Drawing on contemporary debates in organization theory, this book explores the monsters that populate organizations, what organizations do to these monsters, and how this challenges us to re-construct organization theory. Torkild Thanem first interrogates how organizations and organization theory seek to kill monsters and how organizations exploit the monstrous for commercial purposes from the alien monsters of the sci-fi entertainment industry to the monstrous branding of energy drinks and the organic-synthetic chimeras produced by biotech and agribusiness companies. He then argues for more diverse, more joyful and more responsible organizations through a positively monstrous theory, politics and ethics of organizational life. Proposing a theory and ontology of organizations beyond poststructuralist constructionism and critical realism, The Monstrous Organization creatively addresses the history and theory of monsters in organizational life. It will appeal to scholars, doctoral students and master's students in management and organization studies, business ethics, diversity management, cultural studies, gender studies and sociology.




The Change Monster


Book Description

A Powerful Look at Corporate Change and Why Mergers, Reorganizations, and Transformations Succeed or Fail “[One of the] best business books of 2001 . . . [a] useful and intelligent tool for coping with the inevitable metamorphoses of business (and life).” —Miami Herald “Provocative imagery . . . useful questions for managers to ask themselves.” —Harvard Business Review “The Change Monster not only talks intelligently about the social dynamics and emotions of people [in change efforts], it does so with wisdom, insight, and practicality.”—Daniel Leemon, executive vice president and chief strategy officer, Charles Schwab Corporation “A practitioner’s primer on revitalization that puts you in the shoes of some who have failed and others who have succeeded. In doing so, Jeanie Daniel Duck graphically delivers her main message to management: Learn to master the emotions and obsessions of those who stand in the way of change, including your own, and once you do, you have your hands on a miraculous engine for change.” —Michael Useem, professor of management and director of the Center for Leadership and Change at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and author of The Leadership Moment and Leading Up “Duck is an acute and empathetic observer of the changes erupting in the workplace from the convulsive nature of corporate evolution. . . . Jeanie Duck’s terrific book is a . . . useful and intelligent tool for coping with the inevitable metamorphoses of business (and life). Sensitive but tough, Duck’s compassionate wisdom is street smart without a trace of glibness.” —Miami Herald




Grappling with the Monster; Or, the Curse and the Cure of Strong Drink


Book Description

In preparing this, his latest volume, the author found himself embarrassed from the beginning, because of the large amount of material which came into his hands, and the consequent difficulty of selection and condensation. The extent to which alcohol curses the whole people cannot be shown in a few pages: the sad and terrible history would fill hundreds of volumes. And the same may be said of the curse which this poisonous substance lays upon the souls and bodies of men. Fearful as is the record which will be found in the chapters devoted to the curse of drink, let the reader bear in mind that a thousandth part has not been told. In treating the means of reformation, prevention and cure, our effort has been to give to each agency the largest possible credit for what it is doing. There is no movement, organization or work, however broad or limited in its sphere, which has for its object the cure of drunkenness in the individual, or the suppression of the liquor traffic in the State, that is not contributing its measure of service to the great cause every true temperance advocate has at heart; and what we largely need is, toleration for those who do not see with us, nor act with us in our special methods. Let us never forget the Divine admonition—"Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us." Patience, toleration and self-repression are of vital importance in any good cause. If we cannot see with another, let us be careful that, by opposition, we do not cripple him in his work. If we can assist him by friendly counsel to clearer seeing, or, by a careful study of his methods, gain a large efficiency for our own, far more good will be done than by hard antagonism, which rarely helps, and too surely blinds and hinders. Our book treats the curse and cure of drunkenness. How much better not to come under the terrible curse! How much better to run no risks where the malady is so disastrous, and the cure so difficult!




Algebraic Combinatorics and the Monster Group


Book Description

The current state of knowledge on the Monster group, including Majorana theory, Vertex Operator Algebras, Moonshine and maximal subgroups.




Grappling with the Monster


Book Description




Managing the Monster


Book Description

Effective governance is typified by transparency, accountability, credibility, and stability of the governing body, as well as by the cooperative partnership of public sector, private sector, and civil society. In Africa today, good governance is central to the achievement of sustainable and equitable development. But Africa is rapidly urbanizing. Urban authorities must deal with the uncontrolled and unplanned movement of rural dwellers into the large urban centers, and the environmental "monster" it is creating: rampant urban waste, much of it toxic. Managing the Monster critically examines urban governance in Africa, with particular reference to the serious problems and challenges posed by waste management. It describes, compares, and appraises the situations in Abidjan, Dar es Salaam, Ibadan, and Johannesburg, characterizing typical forms of governance and their successes and failures in dealing with the critical problem of mounting urban waste. It will interest researchers, academics, and students in African studies and urban planning; donor organizations worldwide working on urban issues; policy makers, municipal engineers, city managers, and urban planners, especially in Africa; and environmental and civic NGOs.




Monsters and the Monstrous


Book Description

Emerging from depths comes a series of papers dealing with one of the most significant creations that reflects on and critiques human existence. Both a warning and a demonstration, the monster as myth and metaphor provides an articulation of human imagination that toys with the permissible and impermissible. Monsters from zombies to cuddly cartoon characters, emerging from sewers, from pages of literature, propaganda posters, movies and heavy metal, all are covered in this challenging, scholarly collection. This volume the third in the series presents a marvellous collection of studies on the metaphor of the monster in literature, cinema, music, culture, philosophy, history and politics. Both historical reflection and concerns of our time are addressed with clarity and written in an accessible manner providing appeal for the scholar and lay reader alike. This eclectic collection will be of interest to academics and students working in a range of disciplines, such as cultural studies, film studies, political theory, philosophy and literature studies.




Routledge Handbook of Political Management


Book Description

A comprehensive overview of the field of applied politics, encompassing political consulting, campaigns and elections, lobbying and advocacy, grass roots politics, fundraising, media and political communications, the role of the parties, political leadership, and the ethical dimensions of public life.




The Monster of Florence


Book Description

In the nonfiction tradition of John Berendt and Erik Larson, the author of the #1 NYT bestseller The Lost City of the Monkey God presents a gripping account of crime and punishment in the lush hills surrounding Florence as he seeks to uncover one of the most infamous figures in Italian history. In 2000, Douglas Preston fulfilled a dream to move his family to Italy. Then he discovered that the olive grove in front of their 14th century farmhouse had been the scene of the most infamous double-murders in Italian history, committed by a serial killer known as the Monster of Florence. Preston, intrigued, meets Italian investigative journalist Mario Spezi to learn more. This is the true story of their search for--and identification of--the man they believe committed the crimes, and their chilling interview with him. And then, in a strange twist of fate, Preston and Spezi themselves become targets of the police investigation. Preston has his phone tapped, is interrogated, and told to leave the country. Spezi fares worse: he is thrown into Italy's grim Capanne prison, accused of being the Monster of Florence himself. Like one of Preston's thrillers, The Monster of Florence, tells a remarkable and harrowing story involving murder, mutilation, and suicide-and at the center of it, Preston and Spezi, caught in a bizarre prosecutorial vendetta.




Feeding the Monster


Book Description

Presents a comprehensive history of the Boston Red Sox baseball league describing the players, coaches, management, and politics that contributed to their 2004 World Series championship.