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Article
Publication date: 1 July 2006

Pierre Louart, Rita Durant, Alexis Downs and Dominique Besson

687

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Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 19 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

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Article
Publication date: 1 July 2006

Dominique Besson, Alexis Downs, Rita Durant and Marco Roman

The purpose of this paper is to examine proposals for a Tobin tax to curb currency speculation in global markets.

979

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine proposals for a Tobin tax to curb currency speculation in global markets.

Design/methodology/approach

Financial markets are viewed from the perspective of Michel Serres.

Findings

Managing volatility is really about managing relationships that can buffer governments against risk. The resolution of a paradox is embracing the paradox.

Originality/value

The work of Michel Serres has not previously been used in analyses of global currency markets. His theory of parasitical relationships offers a novel response to proposals for a Tobin tax.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 19 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Keywords

Available. Content available
Article
Publication date: 29 March 2013

Alexis Downs

175

Abstract

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Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 26 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

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Article
Publication date: 12 October 2012

Alexis Downs

5083

Abstract

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Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 25 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

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Article
Publication date: 1 July 2006

Mark Neal

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate paradoxes in the development of organizational cultural problems – paradoxes that go undetected by people involved in them. The paper…

1291

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate paradoxes in the development of organizational cultural problems – paradoxes that go undetected by people involved in them. The paper explains why these paradoxes remain undetected, and shows how their “invisibility” is a foundation for the development of “cultural problems”.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach is phenomenological, in that it explores how actors in cross‐cultural settings understand “difference” and thereby socially construct “cultural problems”.

Findings

Three interrelated paradoxes are uncovered: In dyads, actors perceive two‐way “cultural difference” as being one‐way. “Difference” thus becomes embodied in the “other” – “the other” alone is “different” and “difficult”. In bi‐cultural organizations, perceptions of “the other” as “different” and “difficult” encourage the formation of in‐groups and out‐groups that lead to “cultural problems”. “Difference” becomes embodied in “the others” while “cultural problems” that are the results of their own actions are also embedded in “the others”. In multicultural organizations these understandings break down. “Difference” becomes disembodied, and “cultural problems” become embodied in “difference”. More cultural differences thus engender fewer “cultural problems”.

Research limitations/implications

The novel theoretical part of the study is so far untested. The paper thus calls for studies that apply the developed theoretical approach. The ethnographic observations that support the existence of the multicultural paradox are preliminary and ongoing.

Practical implications

The novel theoretical approach can immediately be applied to other organizational issues.

Originality/value

This paper introduces, for the first time, the Buddhist concept of anatta in the analysis of organizations. The theoretical approach is new, and can be applied to further studies of organizational problems.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 19 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 28 June 2013

Alexis Downs and T. Beth Stetson

The question of whether the words “American Dream” point to something of substance is at the heart of the authors' inquiry. James Truslow Adams coined the term in his 1933 book…

1964

Abstract

Purpose

The question of whether the words “American Dream” point to something of substance is at the heart of the authors' inquiry. James Truslow Adams coined the term in his 1933 book The Epic of America as a way to re‐establish a sense of optimism decimated by the Great Depression. Adams' contribution was to move the public discourse from that of individual effort to a sense of a collective identity. The American Dream is an element of the “cultural stuff” whose singularity (“dream”) rapidly breaks down into a variety of interpretations about the American nation (“dreams”). The popular press suggests that the Dream proposes to balance collective membership in a national identity with the individual freedom to achieve prosperity and success. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the Dream and the construction of an American identity by examining the accounts of men who surely represent the American Dream: US Presidential candidates.

Design/methodology/approach

In order to analyze the candidates' accounts of themselves as committed to their American identity and to the American Dream, the authors view the tax returns and speeches of Presidential candidates Barack Obama and Mitt Romney through the lens of the psychoanalytic theories of Jacques Lacan and locate the American Dream as a construct of the imaginary and symbolic orders, as they are defined by Jacques Lacan. The inspirations for the authors' analysis are twofold. One is a 1953 report in which Lacan said, “The unconscious of the subject is the discourse of the other”. The authors argue that the American Dream is the “discourse of the other” and suggest that the American identity is decentered: i.e. a signifying construct (the American Dream) substitutes for identity. The second inspiration is a 2009 paper titled “No one is perfect” by John Roberts, who argues, “The ideal of a transparency pretends to a mere making visible […] [But] transparency works to advertise an ideal against which we will always fail”.

Findings

It was found that the candidates' efforts to be transparent advertise an ideal: in this study, the ideal is the ideal of a “perfect‐able” American who lives the American Dream. It is an ideal against which the candidates fail because it is the “discourse of the other”.

Research limitations/implications

This study has limitations. The subjects are two American citizens and the authors' interpretation might not be appropriate to other American citizens and residents.

Originality/value

The authors are aware of no other study that uses Lacanian psychoanalytic views to examine the American Dream.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 26 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 6 May 2014

Alexis Downs

463

Abstract

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 27 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

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Article
Publication date: 1 July 2006

Tore Hundsnes and Christine B. Meyer

The purpose of this paper is to challenge the understanding of paradox in corporate strategy as unintended and unwanted consequences that must be overcome.

3280

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to challenge the understanding of paradox in corporate strategy as unintended and unwanted consequences that must be overcome.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper builds upon the concept of patching and holds the paradoxical nature of multi‐business firms as essential for corporate evolution. It presents an inherent contradiction of corporate organising, closely related to interdependency between patches. These interdependencies vary according to whether the patches are similar or different and whether there exist competing views on centralisation and decentralisation within the company.

Findings

Studying reorganizations in a large Norwegian telecommunication corporation, we explore these interdependencies and find that for the corporation to move in novel ways, combinations have to display a dynamic close to the edge of chaos.

Originality/value

This paper presents new research on organizational “patching”.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 19 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 12 October 2012

Jos H. Pieterse, Marjolein C.J. Caniëls and Thijs Homan

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how resistance to change might be a consequence of differences in professional discourse of professional groups working together in a…

15125

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how resistance to change might be a consequence of differences in professional discourse of professional groups working together in a change program.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses discourse analysis and rubrics to study the implementation of a new ICT system for an airline. Data for this case study were collected in semi‐structured interviews, desk research, participant observations and a diagnostic workshop.

Findings

The data suggest that the non‐aligned interaction between different professional discourses can be a source of resistance to change, in addition to other well‐known sources of resistance to change in the change management literature. Future research regarding change management should incorporate linguistics and discourse analysis. Investigating resistance to change could be done comprehensively, paying attention to differences in professional cultures in cross‐functional (project) teams. A managerial implication of the study is that making differences in professional discourses explicit is a constant point of attention in (project) teams.

Research limitations/implications

The authors' choices with regard to the sample size and methods limit the generalisability of the results. However, these choices were instrumental in reaching a rich set of data, which enabled the authors to get an understanding of the conversational dynamics in the case.

Originality/value

The paper argues that change programs contain subjective, informal and linguistic dimensions which might give reasons for understanding resistance to change in new ways. The theoretical contribution of the paper is that it integrates change management literature with linguistic literature about professional discourse.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 25 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Keywords

Available. Content available
Article
Publication date: 30 March 2012

Alexis Downs

927

Abstract

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 25 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

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