Understanding Widespread Misconduct in Organizations: An Institutional Theory of Moral Collapse

2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 379-407 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masoud Shadnam ◽  
Thomas B. Lawrence
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Sexual Harassment ◽  
Institutional Theory ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
Social Structures ◽  
Accounting Fraud ◽  
Moral Communities ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
The Military ◽  
The Catholic Church

ABSTRACT:Reports of widespread misconduct in organizations have become sadly commonplace. Sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, accounting fraud in large corporations, and physical and sexual harassment in the military implicate not only the individuals involved, but the organizations and fields in which they happened. In this paper we describe such situations as instances of “moral collapse” and develop a multi-level theory of moral collapse that draws on institutional theory as its central orienting lens. We draw on institutional theory because of its explicit concern with the relationships among individual beliefs and actions, the organizations within which they occur, and the collective social structures in which norms, rules and beliefs are anchored. Our theory of moral collapse has two main elements. First, we argue that morality in organizations is embedded in nested systems of individuals, organizations and moral communities in which ideology and regulation flow “down” from moral communities through organizations to individuals, and moral ideas and influence flow “upward” from individuals through organizations to moral communities. Second, we argue that moral collapse is associated with breakdowns in these flows, and explore conditions under which such breakdowns are likely to occur.

scholarly journals Challenging the Levels: The Catholic Church as a Multi-Level Actor in the Transition to a Climate-Compatible Society

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 3770
Author(s):  
Jochen Ostheimer ◽  
Julia Blanc
Keyword(s):  
Social Action ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Social Structures ◽  
Ecological Awareness ◽  
Social Actors ◽  
German Speaking ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
The Church ◽  
The Catholic Church

Climate compatibility is a cornerstone in the ecological transformation of modern society. In order to achieve sustainable development in all areas of society, numerous social actors must participate. This article examines the potential for the Catholic Church in German-speaking countries to contribute to such change. To this end, in contrast to most current studies, the Church is conceptualized as a multi-level actor instead of focusing only on the top of the hierarchy. Case studies are used to explore how various Church actors in different fields of social action evoke ecological awareness among members and non-members alike or participate in changing social structures.

Political risks of recovering and discovering meanings in the collective memory of a perverse religious organisation

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-47
Author(s):  
Eduardo Acuña Aguirre
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Collective Memory ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
Theoretical Basis ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Influences ◽  
Conversion Event ◽  
Political Risks ◽  
Political Actions ◽  
The Catholic Church

This article refers to the political risks that a group of five parishioners, members of an aristocratic Catholic parish located in Santiago, Chile, had to face when they recovered and discovered unconscious meanings about the hard and persistent psychological and sexual abuse they suffered in that religious organisation. Recovering and discovering meanings, from the collective memory of that parish, was a sort of conversion event in the five parishioners that determined their decision to bring to the surface of Chilean society the knowledge that the parish, led by the priest Fernando Karadima, functioned as a perverse organisation. That determination implied that the five individuals had to struggle against powerful forces in society, including the dominant Catholic Church in Chile and the political influences from the conservative Catholic elite that attempted to ignore the existence of the abuses that were denounced. The result of this article explains how the five parishioners, through their concerted political actions and courage, forced the Catholic Church to recognise, in an ambivalent way, the abuses committed by Karadima. The theoretical basis of this presentation is based on a socioanalytical approach that mainly considers the understanding of perversion in organisations and their consequences in the control of anxieties.

Związek publicznej obecności Kościoła w Polsce z preferencjami wyborczymi elektoratu w 2011 roku

1970 ◽  
Vol 23 (301) ◽  
pp. 72-92
Author(s):  
Karolina Dłuska
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
Public Television ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Military ◽  
Religious Nature ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Catholic Church

The author of the article tries to indicate the relationship between the perceived presence of the Catholic Church in public life and the election preferences of Poles. The subject of the research here is the parliamentary elections in Poland in 2011 in the context of the perception by the electorate of the individual parties of the public presence of the Catholic Church in the selected aspects. Among them, the author points to: the issue of crosses and other religious symbols in public space, including the issue of a cross in the Sejm meeting room. She also recalls such matters as: religion lessons in schools, the religious nature of the military oath, priests appearing on public television, the Church taking a stand on laws passed by the Sejm and priests telling people how to vote in elections. The presented analysis is based on the results of the Polish General Election Study 2011.

When Values Collide: The Catholic Church, Sexual Abuse, and the Challenges of Leadership (review)

2011 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-3
Author(s):  
Rodger Van Allen ◽  
David O’Brien ◽  
William L. Portier
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
The Catholic Church

Child Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church

2008 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 658-678 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael D. White ◽  
Karen J. Terry
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Sexual Abuse ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
Excessive Force ◽  
Police Organization ◽  
Sex Abuse ◽  
Police Deviance ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Church ◽  
The Catholic Church

The Catholic Church response to its sexual abuse crisis and how the problem should be addressed parallels the “rotten apple” assertions of police deviance. The rotten apple theory, however, does not fully explain police deviance, as there are often also structural explanations. This article employs Kappeler, Sluder, and Alpert's (1998) police deviance framework to characterize and understand the Catholic Church sex abuse scandal, drawing specific comparisons to the intentional use of excessive force by police. Though the analogy has limitations, there are similarities at both the individual and organizational levels, particularly because the Church has implemented accountability mechanisms similar to the police. The article concludes with a discussion of lessons the Church can learn from the police organization as they seek to prevent, control, and effectively respond to sexual abuse of children by their clergy.

scholarly journals The problems of marriage in the social teaching of the Catholic Church

2014 ◽  
pp. 112-122
Author(s):  
S. Prysuhin
Keyword(s):  
Catholic Church ◽  
Social Structures ◽  
Social Teaching ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Catholic Church

In the article S. Prysukhin “The problems of marriage in the social teaching of the Catholic Church” reveals substantial characteristics of the concept of "Christian marriage", its positive value in overcoming the social structures of sin in modern civilization.

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