Transcript Slide 1

Gareth Morgan
“Images of Organization”
Chapter Nine
By Cynthia J. Spence
Our Organizations are Killing Us!
• In his chapter “The Ugly Face: Organizations as
Instruments of Domination,” Gareth Morgan
states that “Whether by design or by default,
organizations often have a large negative impact
on our world” and his purpose for this chapter is
to explore “how organizations can be understood
as instruments of domination” (293).
Organizations as Instruments of
Contamination
• Morgan begins this chapter by warning us that modern
day toxins such as food additives, cleaning products,
pesticides, tobacco, and environmental pollution, are
slowly killing the human population. Additionally, Morgan
forewarns that these “ingested toxins may well have an
influence on mutations of the human gene pool, producing
irreversible damage in generations to come” (291).
• Morgan believes that our industrial organizations are still
spewing “millions of tons of toxic waste into our
waterways and atmosphere” because they are legally
allowed to do so. In fact, corporate practices have a long
history of placing “profits before human welfare” (292).
Originations as Instruments of
Pollution
• An example of businesses blatant disregard for the
environment is particularly evident when examining both
the European and American Industrial Revolutions.
Unfortunately Asia, China specifically, is currently showing
the same disregard for the environment as they
experience their own manufacturing growth today.
• China’s current economic growth comes at the expense of
controls on air pollution, land clearing, deforestation,
endangered species and rural and industrial waste.
Currently, China’s huge population, combined with
geographical factors, make its environmental problems
infinitely more massive than that of other nations.
China as an Instrument of
Pollution
• In her 2007 dissertation, Gayle Hagler, from the Georgia
Institute of Technology, states that China is one of the
world’s fastest growing industrial areas and unfortunately
is a major contributor to environmental pollution. Hagler
reports that the Pearl River Delta region on China’s south
coast churns out more than $100 billion worth of goods
annually. Factory after factory produces inexpensive
items, such as electronics, clothing, and toys, most of
them destined for export to eager consumers in North
America, Europe, and other parts of Asia. The dark side of
this economic powerhouse is these factories also produce
high levels of air pollution. Levels of fine particulate matter
measured in China’s Pearl River Delta region are nearly
double U.S. air-quality standards; a thick haze often
obscures Hong Kong’s skyline.
Originations and E-Waste
Another contributor to China’s pollution problem is E-Waste. The
following is an excerpt of an article “Recycling E-Waste: Who’s
Responsible?” written by Jonathan Zigman in August of 2006:
Elementary school students are conscientious citizens of the earth.
They recycle everything. Across the country, aluminum cans,
newspapers, and milk cartons are diligently sorted into different
colored bins for proper recycling. Try throwing an empty soda bottle in
the trash in front of an elementary school student—they simply will
not allow it. If they can take the time to keep us honest about
recycling harmless products like paper and plastic, why are we having
such a hard time figuring out what to do with truly harmful materials?
Continued on next page
Originations and E-Waste II
In particular, the toxic materials contained in computers, monitors, and other
electronic equipment pose health threats that range from birth defects to cancer.
Because of consistent failure to adhere to proper disposal procedures, the
United States is facing a crisis created by record amounts of electronic waste. EWaste is now the fastest growing waste category in the world. The
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that American consumers and
businesses will dispose of two million tons of used electronics this year alone,
including 133,000 PC’s daily.
Unfortunately, up to 80% of the tech trash generated in the U.S. is shipped to
dumping grounds overseas, a practice which is currently legal. Many so-called
recycling companies simply load electronics onto shipping containers and send
them to less-developed countries like China, Nigeria and Vietnam. While many
argue this used computer equipment will help spur development in these
countries, the reality is the majority of the equipment is truly useless. It is simply
cheaper to dump it overseas than to properly recycle it in the U.S. Consequently,
serious health issues stemming from third-world tech dumps are rampant and on
the rise.
http://www.cioupdate.com/trends/article.php/3628066
E-Waste and the Human Factor
• What does China do with this E-Waste? They build mountains out of it
and allow their poorest citizens to remove the solder and Mercury
which they then sell to support their families. Unfortunately, these
workers pay a heavy price for doing this type of work. Anna O.W.
Leung (2008) reports that a preliminary environmental study shows
that the heavy metal levels in dust samples collected from the homes
of two “solder recovery” workers were 4–23 times higher than that
from a neighboring house where none of the residents were involved
in e-waste activities. Therefore, workers inadvertently transported the
contaminant from the workshops back to their homes, increasing the
exposure of their children to heavy metals. E-Waste workers and their
children are frequenting diagnosed with digestive, neurological, and
respiratory problems along with having high incidences of bone
disease. Their health problems are believed to be directly related to
their exposure to heavy metals.
Images of China’s E-Waste
What Goes Around –
Comes Around
• For Americans, sending our E-waste to China may have
seemed like a reasonable way to dispose of harmful
materials. However, Oregonlive.com reports in their article
“China’s Mercury Flushes into Oregon’s rivers” that every
five or six days, winds bring China’s airborne pollution,
which contains the poison mercury, to American soil.
• Russ Schnell, the director for the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration reports that in a few years,
the ozone on the West Coast will not be controlled by
California and Oregon but “Will be controlled by China.”
The Pyramid as Metaphor of
Exploitation
• On page 293, Morgan discusses the pyramid as a
“metaphor of exploitation.” Using the Great Pyramid at
Giza as an example, Morgan reminds us that these
magnificent structures were built on the backs of
thousands of people who were “used to serve and glorify
a privileged elite” (293).
• In today’s society, Morgan believes that the pyramid
system is still in full force with the majority of individuals
still working in the interests of the few. However, today,
slave drivers are identified as managers, slaves are listed
as paid employees, and the rulers of the day are
dominating governments and huge corporations.
Three Organizational Theorists
and Their View on Domination
Karl Marx (296)
Domination is generated by the quest for surplus value and the
accumulation of capital.
Robert Michels (296)
Organizations end up under the control of narrow groups and tend to
form a monopoly of power. Democratic elected leaders can fall into
this trap.
Max Weber
According to Weber, the most obvious form of domination “arises
when one or more persons coerce others through the direct use of
threat or force” (294). However, Weber reports that domination also
occurs in more subtle ways, as “when a ruler imposes his or her will
on others while being perceived as having a right to do so” (294). This
form of domination becomes legitimized as “normal” and rulers see
themselves as having the “right to rule” and those being ruled see it
as their “duty to obey.”
Three Organizational Theorists
and Their View on Domination II
Weber identifies three types of social domination that can become
legitimate forms of authority or power:
The Charismatic
This occurs when a leader rules by virtue of his or her personal
qualities. (e.g., a prophet, hero, heroine, or demagogue)
The Traditional
Respect for tradition and the past. Having power as a result of
inherited status
The Rational-Legal
Power is legitimized by laws, rules, regulations, and procedures.
The ruler can attain legitimate power only by following the legal
procedures that specify how the ruler is to be appointed. The
typical administrative apparatus is the bureaucracy, a rationallegal framework in which formal authority is concentrated at the
top of the organization hierarchy.
NCLB – An Example of
Rational-Legal Domination
Does this sound familiar?
•
“Modern organizations typically end up under the control of narrow groups” (296).
•
“Despite the best intentions, these organizations seemed to develop tendencies that gave their
leaders a near monopoly of power. As leaders rise to power they tend to become preoccupied
with their own way of looking at things” (296).
•
“Democratic forms of organization can result in modes of domination where certain people
acquire and sustain a commanding influence over others, often through subtle processes of
socialization and belief” (296).
•
“As we become increasingly subject to administration through rules and engage in strict
calculations relating means and ends and costs and benefits, we become increasingly
dominated by the process itself. Impersonal principles and the quest for efficiency tend to
become our new slave drivers” (296).
Today, the pyramid of education is being built on the backs of educators who constantly strive
to meet the unrealistic goals set by a narrow group of leaders who rationalize the educational
process but do not understand the truth of it.
Organizations and Employee
Exploitation II: Organization, Class and
Control
• Increasing numbers of professionals once regarded as a
core part of the “primary” labor market are finding
themselves working on limited contracts where long-term
commitments are neither desired nor possible (302).
• An example of a “class system” in education is the “us
against them” struggle currently taking place on many
community college campuses today. The conflict arises
between full-time instructors who receive a salary, health
benefits, retirement plans, and eventual tenure compared
to adjunct faculty members who are paid an hourly wage
and do not receive any benefits at all. Adjuncts often
perceive themselves as being categorized as “lowerclass” employees.
Organizations and Employee Exploitation
II: Organization, Class and Control
- Continued
Until I became an adjunct professor, I had no idea this conflict existed.
However, I now witness it almost every day. Many adjuncts feel they are
disrespected by full-time employees and are overlooked by the system. A
recent example of a conflict arose over “intercession” classes being offered
over the winter break. Full-time employees are given “first choice” of these
classes and receive pay in addition to their current salaries. Adjunct
professors, who are often struggling to survive financially, are only offered the
“very few” classes that go unclaimed. The argument is the adjunct faculty
members actually need these classes to survive, while for full-time faculty
members these classes are simply an extra financial bonus. The following is
an excerpt from an email I recently received from my adjunct union
representative:
Few understand that statewide approximately 66% of the classes in
community colleges are taught by adjuncts who earn less than 26% of what a
full time faculty member would earn for teaching the same class. At COD full
time faculty account for only 41% of the FTE, nine points below the state
Education Code's recommended 50%. And virtually no one knows we work
without health benefits, have no office space and generally have no job
security even though many of the state's 41,000 adjuncts have taught at their
home institution for more than five years.
Organizations and Employee
Exploitation III: Work Hazards and
Occupational Disease
“Data on occupational illness and diseases are more
difficult to tie down than those on accidents because
the links are often harder to document in an
authoritative way” (306).
As educators, one of the hazards of our job is coming in
to contact with “germs” in the workplace.
The following slide contains an excerpt from a 2008
article written by Gini Kopecky Wallace and published
by The National Education Association.
Organizations and Employee
Exploitation III: Work Hazards and
Occupational Disease Continued
Here comes another school year- and another round of all the
demands and challenges that can take a toll on your health if you’re
not careful. Here’s how to protect it:
• Guard Against Germs – The illnesses we probably see most in
educators are things they pick up from children – colds, upper
respiratory infections, and gastrointestinal illnesses.”
• Watch Your Back – I think all educators are at some risk of
musculoskeletal injury because they’re always setting up
classrooms, taking things down, lifting supplies and equipment.
• Prevent Accidents – Teachers are also susceptible to injuries
from slipping, falling, getting hit by things, walking into open
doors, and tripping over cords.
Organizations and Employee
Exploitation III: Work Hazards and
Occupational Disease Continued
• Flu Blamed In Lansing
Teacher's Death
• Sadly, according to Morgan,
every year organizations are
responsible for the deaths of
“hundreds of thousands of
workers” due to workplace
accidents and work-related
illnesses and over “10,000
deaths occur in North America
alone” (292).
• Overly tired teachers, are often
susceptible to illness.
Organizations and Employee
Exploitation III: Work Hazards and
Occupational Disease Continued
• According to Tim Grants 2007
article published in the
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,
assaults on teachers hit a high
in 2006 and have been steadily
rising for some time.
• “Substitute teacher Arthur
Becker was injured in
December when students at
Shaler Area Intermediate
School threw an M-80
firecracker into his classroom.
Becker continues to suffer
hearing loss and vision
Mr. Becker, 60, is
problems.”
among 179 teachers
in Allegheny County
schools who were
physically assaulted
by students while
doing their jobs last
year.
http://www.postgazette.com/pg/07064/766954298.stm
Organizations and Employee
Exploitation III: Work Hazards and
Occupational Disease Continued
Teacher Student Fight Video
Student/teacher fight in Georgia. A Stephenson High School substitute teacher and a tenth-grade
student have been charged for fighting each other on the last day of school. A cell phone camera
captured the entire incident.
The fight happened Friday, May 23 on the last day of school. According to an incident report, the
two had been having conflicts all day. The teacher, listed as Carolyn Jones, said she overheard the
student saying she was going to pull Jones' wig off. The 53-year-old said she took the wig off herself
and told the student that she would have to protect herself if the student messed with her.
The brawl was caught on another student's cell phone camera. Police are still reviewing the video to
see if Jones acted in self-defense and who started the fight. But the incident report states that it was
the teacher who kicked the student in the leg as she was heading out the door, possibly starting the
altercation.
At one point on the tape it appears the teacher takes off a shoe and begins hitting the student with
it. The report also indicated both the teacher and student walked away with scratches on their faces.
DeKalb County school police have charged Jones and the student with disorderly conduct. The
school said the tenth-grader may also face further disciplinary action.
Organizations and Employee
Exploitation
•
Morgan uses Arthur Miller’s well-known play Death of Salesman as
an example of an employee who dedicated his life to an
organization and then was discarded when he “bent” under the
constant pressure.
•
The following video depicts a teacher who also “bent” under
constant pressure.
Staffroom Monologues - How are You?
Riz Ahmed plays a young primary school teacher sinking under the
pressure of work and struggling to keep his emotions in check
Workaholism and Social and Mental
Stress
•
White-color workers are often “far more likely to suffer from work-related
coronary disease, ulcers, and mental breakdown” (310).
•
“Coronary disease, often labeled the ‘management killer,’ is being increasingly
recognized as a problem affecting many people in stressful work situations” (311).
•
“Type-A” personality, driven by the compulsion to control his or her work
environment, ambitious, achievement oriented, competitive, impatient, and
perfectionistic, is always a good candidate for coronary problems” (311).
•
“For women, stress is identified a the number-one problem” (311).
•
Major stress concerns: “Overwork, impossible schedules, high uncertainty, fear of
job loss, economic problems, work-family conflicts, and other contextual factors”
(311).
•
Even when people enjoy their jobs, work pressures in the modern corporation can
carry the ‘enjoyment’ too far” (312).
What is stress?
• “It is estimated that somewhere between 75 and 90 percent of visits
to physicians in the United States are stress related” (311).
• According to Melissa Conrad Stoppler, MD, stress may be considered
as any physical, chemical, or emotional factor that causes bodily or
mental unrest and that may be a factor in disease causation. Physical
and chemical factors that can cause stress include trauma, infections,
toxins, illnesses, and injuries of any sort. Emotional causes of stress
and tension are numerous and varied (such as recently being
accepted into a rigorous doctorate program).
• The degree of stress in our lives is highly dependent upon individual
factors such as our physical health, the quality of our interpersonal
relationships, the number of commitments and responsibilities we
carry (such as the number of questions on Dr. Rigg’s final exam), the
degree of others' dependence upon us, the amount of support we
receive from others, and the number of changes or traumatic events
that have recently occurred in our lives.
Excess stress or "out-of-control"
stress?
• Manifestations of excess or poorlymanaged stress can be extremely
varied. While many people report that
stress induces headaches, sleep
disturbances, feelings of anxiety or
tension, anger, or concentration
problems, others may complain of
depression or lack of interest in food,
increased appetite, or any number of
other symptoms. In severe situations,
one can experience overwhelming
stress to the point of so-called
"burnout," with loss of interest in
normal activities. See example of “out
of control stress” on the following
excerpt from Nick Nolte’s 1983 film
“Teachers.”
Stress Management
• Stress also has effects on the
immune system. While some
studies show that acute shortterm stresses may actually be
able to boost the body's
immune response, chronic
(long-term) stress has the effect
of "wearing down" the immune
system, leading to an increased
susceptibility to colds and other
infections. Scientific studies
have also shown that stress
can decrease the immune
response to vaccinations and
prolong wound healing.
• An important goal for those
under stress is the
management of life stresses.
Elimination of stress is
unrealistic, since stress is a
part of normal life. It's
impossible to completely
eliminate stress, and it would
not be advisable to do so.
Instead, we can learn to
manage stress so that we have
control over our stress and its
effects on our physical and
mental health.
Stress Management
• Exercise - Physical exercise not only promotes overall fitness, but it
helps you to manage emotional stress and tension as well.
• Relaxation and meditation- There are many ways to use structured
relaxation and meditation techniques to help control stress and
improve your physical and mental well-being. While some types of
meditation and relaxation therapies are best learned in a class, it's
also possible to learn meditation techniques on your own.
• Time management- Good time-management skills are critical for
effective stress control. In particular, learning to prioritize tasks and
avoid over-commitment are critical measures to make sure that you're
not overscheduled.
• Organizational skills- If your physical surroundings (office, desk,
kitchen, closet, car) are well-organized, you won't be faced with the
stress of misplaced objects and clutter.
• Support systems - People with strong social support systems
experience fewer physical and emotional symptoms of stress than
their less-connected counterparts.
“No-Stress” Goody Bags
We have been laughing about the amount of
stress our cohort has recently been under and as
I read this chapter our lives as doctorate students
kept “flashing before my eyes.”
With this in mind, I was prompted to look for items
that might help us “de-stress” a little. You may
now open your goody bags and I hope you enjoy
your “stress – relieving” gifts.
Stress Relief Gifts for the Women
Bath and Body Stress Relieving
Shower Gel and Body Lotion
Body Lotion Stress Relief - Eucalyptus
Spearmint
Think clearly. Eucalyptus Essential Oil
clears the mind to improve
concentration. Spearmint Essential Oil is
uplifting and helps the mind to focus.
This ultra-creamy body lotion contains
Natural Soybean Oil to nourish and
moisturize skin and Glycerin to attract
moisture to skin.
 Breathe deeply for best results
 Never tested on animals
 Fragranced with essential oils and other
natural fragrances
Stress Relief Gifts for the Men
• Flashing Neutron Ball
• The Flashing Neutron Ball is full
of stellar bouncing action! This
fun stress reliever is a colorful,
firm but flexible, high bounce
ball. Relax during your busy
workday and play with the
Flashing Neutron Ball. Fidget
with it, play catch, or bounce it
on your desk to activate a multicolored light show. This cool
stress ball is made of colorful 3"
star shapes interwoven around
a light-up center.
Stress Relief Gifts for the Men
• Slinky
• “Some of the most commonly found
stress relief toys are stress balls,
rubber toys that you can twist and
bend, and my personal favorite, the
good old fashioned Slinky toy”
From Lacey Wills’ article
“Stress Relief Toys: Helpful or Not?
Additional Gift for Everyone
• Kills 99.9% of Germs
• Handy For Purse, Pocket,
Briefcase Or Car
• Leaves Hands Feeling
Refreshed and Soft
• Approximately 70 Sprays
Strengths and Limitations of the
Domination Metaphor
• “Actions that are rational for increasing profitability may
have a damaging effect on employees’ health” (329).
• “The pursuit of rationality can itself be a mode of
domination” (330).
• “Many organizations are literally divided societies that
perpetuate class warfare in the workplace” (331).
• “The domination metaphor encourages us to recognize
and deal with perceived and actual exploitation” (331).
• “Non-dominating forms of organization may be possible”
(333).
Closing Comments
• I found this anonymous quote on a teacher’s
website:
– “You see it everyday. It sits on the shelf or by the
window in your classroom. Do you ever wonder why
it's there? Well, the globe in your classroom lets you
see our world more closely. It allows you to have our
world in your hands.”
As Educators, please remember, just because you have
“our world in your hands” doesn’t mean you have to
carry the “world on your shoulders.”