Trusted to Deceive: A Case Study of ‘Strategic Deception’ and the Normalization of Lying at Work

2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Jenkins ◽  
Rick Delbridge
Keyword(s):  
Social Life ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Top Down ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Organization Studies ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
New Model ◽  
Market Leader ◽  
Over Time

Lying is an endemic feature of social life but has remained under-researched in organization studies. This paper examines the case of VoiceTel, a market leader in the high-quality virtual reception business that practised ‘strategic deception’ (Patwardhan et al., 2009). Receptionists concealed that they were not physically located in their clients’ premises and lying was an intrinsic and enduring feature of their work. We adapt and extend Ashforth and Anand’s (2003) ‘normalization of corruption’ framework to develop a new model of the ‘normalization of lying’. We examine how lying becomes institutionalized, rationalized and socialized into the structure and culture of an organization such that it becomes embedded, maintained and strengthened over time as a legitimate and integral part of the job. Our model of normalization integrates organizational and group levels to examine the significance and interaction of ‘bottom-up’ as well as ‘top-down’ processes. Employees gained recognition from their proficiency in deception and drew considerable satisfaction, self-esteem and status as employees who are ‘trusted to deceive’.

scholarly journals Ordering global governance complexes: The evolution of the governance complex for international civil aviation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mette Eilstrup-Sangiovanni
Keyword(s):  
Global Governance ◽  
International Institutions ◽  
Historical Data ◽  
Civil Aviation ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Governance Systems ◽  
Governance Effectiveness ◽  
Political Agents ◽  
Over Time

AbstractMany observers worry that growing numbers of international institutions with overlapping functions undermine governance effectiveness via duplication, inconsistency and conflict. Such pessimistic assessments may undervalue the mechanisms available to states and other political agents to reduce conflictual overlap and enhance inter-institutional synergy. Drawing on historical data I examine how states can mitigate conflict within Global Governance Complexes (GGCs) by dissolving or merging existing institutions or by re-configuring their mandates. I further explore how “order in complexity” can emerge through bottom-up processes of adaptation in lieu of state-led reform. My analysis supports three theoretical claims: (1) states frequently refashion governance complexes “top-down” in order to reduce conflictual overlap; (2) “top-down” restructuring and “bottom-up” adaptation present alternative mechanisms for ordering relations among component institutions of GGCs; (3) these twin mechanisms ensure that GGCs tend to (re)produce elements of order over time–albeit often temporarily. Rather than evolving towards ever-greater fragmentation and disorder, complex governance systems thus tend to fluctuate between greater or lesser integration and (dis)order.

Translation policy

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 339-369
Author(s):  
Alireza Jazini
Keyword(s):  
End Users ◽  
Reception Theory ◽  
Audience Reception ◽  
Policy Network ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Policy Model ◽  
Subsequent Research ◽  
Made In

Abstract The translation policy model by González Núñez (2013, 475) comprises three elements, namely “translation management”, “translation practices”, and “translation beliefs”. While the first two elements of this model are straightforward and easy to study in top-down approaches, translation beliefs can relate both to policymakers and policy receivers. However, the distinction has not been clearly made in this model and the element of translation beliefs has been chiefly treated in the literature as though it comes from the top levels of policymaking, hence overlooking the bottom-up aspects of it (see González Núñez 2014, 2016; Li et al. 2017). In order to improve this model, the present paper draws on the audience reception theory (Hall 1973), and shows that the current translation policy model requires a fourth element that I would call ‘translation reception’. The paper draws on the findings of a reception-oriented case study on translation policies in provincial broadcasting in Iran. This study argues that a more inclusive model of translation policy should not only include the authority-level elements of translation management, translation practices, and translation beliefs, but also the element of translation reception on the part of policy receivers. This way, I hope, the end users’ involvement in and contribution to the translation policy network will not be overlooked in subsequent research.

Modeling the Evaluation Process in a Public Controversy

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (5) ◽  
pp. 651-679 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karl-Emanuel Dionne ◽  
Chantale Mailhot ◽  
Ann Langley
Keyword(s):  
Media Coverage ◽  
Evaluation Process ◽  
Organization Studies ◽  
Public Controversy ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
Orders Of Worth ◽  
Major Increase ◽  
Over Time

Public controversies have attracted increasing attention in the organization studies literature. They emerge when critical issues are not defined and understood in the same way by different stakeholders, influencing the way they evaluate the worth of other actors, objects, and situations. In this paper, we show how the “orders of worth” perspective of Boltanski and Thévenot may throw light on the evolution of an evaluation process occurring during a public controversy. In particular, we study the Quebec student conflict of 2011 and 2012 that followed a proposed major increase in higher education tuition fees. We conducted an in-depth case study based on media coverage of the actions and discourses of the major actors to examine how objects and actions associated with a controversy are successively defined, redefined, and evaluated over time through a series of tests of worth. Our article contributes to the organizational literature on public controversies by drawing attention to the role of six types of evaluative moves in situations of controversy, and by offering an abductively developed model for understanding the evaluation process as it evolves over time. We suggest that actors, through these evaluative moves, may displace the object of a test, and therefore the foci for evaluation, through actions intended to bolster their positions.

scholarly journals Making a House a Home: Motivations for Earthquake Strengthening   Domestic Homes in Dunedin, an Argument Towards Domestic Heritage

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Imogen Stockwell
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Conservation Practice ◽  
Heritage Studies ◽  
Heritage Buildings ◽  
Southern City ◽  
The Relationship

<p>Following the 2010 and 2011 Canterbury earthquakes, earthquake strengthening is one of the biggest issues facing heritage buildings in New Zealand. This process is mainly affecting commercial and public buildings; residential buildings are generally exempt from earthquake-prone building policies. However, some homeowners are choosing to do what is often perceived to be an expensive and time-consuming process. This research explores whether there is a heritage relationship between the homeowner and their house that motivates conservation work, such as earthquake strengthening. The central question for this research is: “What makes a heritage house a home? Is “home” a motivation for owners to earthquake strengthen their building? a case study of Dunedin”.  The relationship between homeowners and the heritage of their homes and domestic conservations practices has been underexamined in heritage studies in New Zealand. The current dissertation addresses this problem and contributes to the literature of Museum and Heritage Studies. The theoretical framework employed in this research draws on the field of Critical Heritage Studies in order to explore the relationship between ‘top-down’ and ‘bottom-up heritage’, the notion of ‘peoples-based’ heritage, the value of intangible heritage and a cycle of care. This research utilised qualitative research methods, involving the interviewing three heritage homeowners and two heritage professionals. These provided detailed findings about homeowners’ perceptions of their houses and the interaction between heritage practitioners and homeowners. The southern city of Dunedin was the case study which framed this research, because it has a rich collection of heritage buildings and a council which has been proactive in encouraging earthquake strengthening.  It was found that the heritage homeowner’s relationship with their home played a role in conservation how decisions are undertaken and that there is a lack of outreach from heritage authorities to heritage homeowners. This research provides information about the nature of the interaction between top-down and bottom-up heritage, and how this relationship can lead to positive heritage outcomes. Recommendations include developing open channels of communication between officials and homeowners, increased acknowledgement of the homeowner’s role in the conservation practice, and the establishment of a concept of Domestic Heritage to assist within the development of a cycle of care by heritage homeowners.</p>

Managing records and archives in a Hong Kong school: a case study

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 204-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric C.K. Cheng
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Management Approach ◽  
Record Management ◽  
Records Management ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Content Type

Purpose This study aims to explore the principles and practices for managing records with the lens of functional analysis and knowledge management by using a case study that focuses on the experience of implementing records management at a public high school in Hong Kong. Design/methodology/approach A single case study is chosen as the research method for this paper. A series of qualitative interviews and documentary analysis were used to collect and triangulate the qualitative data. Findings The results show that the case school adopted a hybrid top-down and bottom-up approach to record management, facilitate decision-making and manage knowledge. The school adopted the taxonomy provided by the quality assurance framework as the functional classification in a digital archive in the records management system. Practical implications This study provides a set of taxonomy and a hybrid top-down and bottom-up approach to schools for ensuring that accurate information of all school activities is kept and can facilitate an effective and evidence-based, decision-making process. Social implications Identifying taxonomy and management practices for effective documentation in public schools can support planning, assist with organising the continuity of improvement plans and increase reporting and accountability to society. Originality/value This study offers a taxonomy and management approach to the literature of records management and the practices for promoting and improving records management in school.

Methodology of Schema Integration for New Database Applications

2002 ◽  
pp. 194-218
Author(s):  
Joseph Fong ◽  
Kamalakar Karlapalem ◽  
Qing Li ◽  
Irene Kwan
Keyword(s):  
Data Analysis ◽  
Functional Data Analysis ◽  
Functional Data ◽  
Schema Integration ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Database Applications ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Integration Techniques ◽  
New Applications

A practitioner’s approach to integrate databases and evolve them so as to support new database applications is presented. The approach consists of a joint bottom-up and top-down methodology; the bottom-up approach is taken to integrate existing database using standard schema integration techniques (B-Schema), the top-down approach is used to develop a database schema for the new applications (T-Schema). The T-Schema uses a joint functional-data analysis. The B-schema is evolved by comparing it with the generated T-schema. This facilitates an evolutionary approach to integrate existing databases to support new applications as and when needed. The mutual completeness check of the T-Schema against B-Schema derive the schema modification steps to be performed on B-Schema to meet the requirements of the new database applications. A case study is presented to illustrate the methodology.

Imprinting Beyond the Founding Phase: How Sedimented Imprints Develop over Time

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 1579-1600
Author(s):  
Lien De Cuyper ◽  
Bart Clarysse ◽  
Nelson Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Process Model ◽  
External Environment ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Social Venture ◽  
Changes Over Time ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Do So

In this study, we build on the foundational observations of Selznick and Stinchcombe that organizations bear the lasting imprint of their founding context and explore how characteristics shaped during founding are coherently carried forward through time. To do so, we draw on an ethnography of a social venture where the entrepreneurs left soon after founding. In examining how an initial organizational imprint evolves beyond a venture’s founding phase, we focus on the actions and interactions of organizational members, the founders’ imprint, the venture’s new leadership, and the external environment. The process model we develop shows how the organizational imprint evolves as a consequence of the interplay between top-down and bottom-up forces. We first find that the initial imprint is transmitted through a bottom-up mechanism of imprint reinforcement, and second, that the venture is reimprinted after the founding period through two processes which we call imprint reforming and imprint coupling. The result of this is the formation of a sedimented imprint. Our findings further illuminate that, although the initial imprint sticks, its function and manifestation changes over time.

Conditionality and Homelessness Services; ‘Practice Realities’ in a Drop-in Centre

2011 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 547-557 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachael Dobson
Keyword(s):  
Study Analysis ◽  
Front Line ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Case Study Analysis ◽  
Support Practices ◽  
And Control ◽  
Policies And Practices

This article provides insights into the client−practitioner interaction, as understood through the eyes of those working at the front-line in a Drop-in Centre for homeless clients. Through a case-study analysis of ‘official’ techniques and informal approaches, it is argued that conditional practices are present in contemporary support practices. However, the picture is fragmented, with practitioners arguing for, but also deviating from, conditional strategies that aspire to shape client behaviour. Choices about appropriate responses are occasionally permeated by ‘top−down’ policy messages that aim to responsibilise and generate change in clients. However there is evidence of ‘bottom−up’ drivers informed by experiences of working with clients at the grassroots. These ‘practice realities’ shift an analysis of conditional tactics from just a moralising and disciplining approach, and suggest a more complex set of events at the front-line. Insights add to ongoing commentary about an apparent policy emphasis on rectifying the behaviour of citizens at the sharp end. Conclusions highlight the role of complexity for understanding therapeutic and disciplining elements in policies and practices. Such debates are especially relevant where they connect to the care and control of individuals understood by practitioners as both transgressive and vulnerable.

Participatory place management in the age of shrinkage

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 447-462
Author(s):  
Marco Capitanio
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
City Image ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Place Management ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Participatory Practices

Purpose This paper aims to focus on citizen participation as a crucial place management factor in Tokyo’s shrinking suburbs as a way to facilitate the goal of retaining and attracting population and improving townscape quality. This research qualitatively examines participatory practices in place management and place branding strategies in one case study. Design/methodology/approach A historical overview of participatory place management in Japan introduces the case study of Kunitachi City, in the western periphery of Tokyo, chosen because of its peculiar development tied to bottom-up practices, high-quality built environment and strong identity. Analysis was carried out by means of literature review in Japanese and English, interviews and extensive fieldwork between 2015 and 2017. Findings A certain degree of conflict between progressive and reactionary participatory practices can be beneficial to place management, and local governments should seek ways to actively support and grant legal status to civic involvement. Moreover, high-quality unique built space, achieved through participatory actions, is a prime tool to brand peripheral areas and foster the pride of residents. Originality/value In a context where municipalities need to devolve more and more responsibilities to their inhabitants, Kunitachi has emerged as a best practice thanks to a high degree of civic capital. While there is no ready-made recipe to be replicated, other areas should closely examine the efforts by this municipality to sustain bottom-up involvement, yielding the benefits of an attractive city image created by its own residents.

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