NCJ Number
175252
Date Published
1996
Length
312 pages
Annotation
Drawing on both theory and major case studies, this book provides a much needed sociological and comparative analysis of the world of the manager in the context of misconduct within business organizations.
Abstract
Organizational misbehavior and crime have been relatively neglected in the social sciences, particularly in business studies. Analyses have tended to be fragmentary, overly slanted toward narrow external views, such as those of legal control and public policy, and predominantly North American. This study rectifies this by offering a broad sociological perspective related to work, organizations, and management, supported by a range of key international case studies. In developing his arguments, the author draws on primary and secondary sources as well as his extensive personal experience of teaching and interacting with managers and in developing courses on crisis and disaster management. Part One critically examines the existing literature and dominant perspectives. It challenges the view that business-persons break the law "for the good of the company," highlighting a number of recent incidents in which executives have been discovered looting their own corporations. Part Two presents 10 major cases that illustrate and amplify the arguments in the book. The cases are designed and presented in a form suitable for classroom teaching. Part Three presents a new organizational behavior perspective that scrutinizes the irrational, even pathological, features of the managerial world, as well as the ways in which these distort decisionmaking. This book is intended as a resource for practitioners, students, and academics in management, organization studies, sociology, and criminology. 1,900-item bibliography and a subject index