Talking About Organizations Podcast

Anthony Myers, scholar of care theory who focuses on building communities and advisor relationships. Jonas Friedrich, researcher of creativity and queer-informed pedagogy who explores sensory, performance-based teaching and failing forward. Mika Rajanov, qualitative researcher blending tech and activism who crafts research identity. Lauren Kaufman, ethics professor who teaches presenting with presence and authenticity. They discuss presenting, pedagogy, research identity, care, and recognition.

Malia Cavaglio, an organization scholar exploring embodiment in workplace practices. Stefan Manning, a researcher using film and impact storytelling to bring research to publics. Ann Muller, a sociologist studying deliberation and frontline professional decision-making. Akshay Mangla, an academic who co-designs SOPs with police to improve women's safety. They discuss SOP design and piloting, deliberative workshops, film-driven impact campaigns, and embodiment as translation.

They compare retreat versus service communities and why service missions build stronger commitment. They explore how boundaries, rituals and sacrifice create lasting ties. They link communal commitment to firms, movements and religious orders. They warn how the same mechanisms can be used harmfully and discuss what organizations owe their members.

A deep dive into communes and utopias across American history. They explore why people join or start communes and what commitment means for group survival. The conversation covers study design, success criteria, and commitment mechanisms like sacrifice, rituals, and control. Financial viability, leadership versus structures, perfectionism, and lifecycle challenges are also examined.

A lively tour of why American utopian communes formed and how leaders and collective withdrawal shaped their creation. It outlines motives that drew people in like escape and brotherhood. A framework of instrumental, affective, and moral commitment is highlighted. Comparisons span 19th-century and 1960s communes, plus risks when communes become dystopian and modern parallels with online movements.

They revisit Kuhn’s idea of paradigm shifts and test it against social sciences today. The group debates whether social theories create self-fulfilling effects and whether management studies have a shared core. Conversations cover fragmented academic conversations, cultural anomalies, and whether shocks like the pandemic or AI reshape research priorities.

Dive into the transformative ideas of Thomas Kuhn's philosophy of science. Discover how scientific revolutions aren't linear but occur through disruptive shifts. Hosts discuss the concept of 'normal science' and how it's shaped by shared paradigms. They explore the psychology of perception in recognizing anomalies and how entrenched beliefs resist change. Kuhn's insights on institutional and social dynamics echo through academia, shedding light on the evolution of scientific thought. This engaging discussion uncovers the value and limitations of conventional research.

A concise tour of Kuhn’s ideas about how science progresses through long stretches of refinement followed by disruptive shifts. The discussion highlights anomalies that accumulate until they topple accepted frameworks. It connects paradigms to research communities, peer review, and what counts as legitimate questions. It also raises doubts about applying Kuhn to contemporary social sciences and public attitudes toward science.

10 years ago today, on October 13th, 2015, four rising scholars – Dmitrijs, Pedro, Miranda, and Ralph – launched the Talking About Organization Podcast with an episode on Frederic Taylor’s The Principles of Scientific Management. In this special, current-day cast members reflect on what we have done and what we would like to continue doing in the program. To learn more about this program and its mission, please go to our website at www.talkingaboutorganizations.com

In Part 2 of the episode on the Private SNAFU video series, we recount the various trials and tribulations of developing training modules for organizational use. What kinds of media and approaches would be most effective and most efficient, given the increasing breadth and complexity of workplace rules and policies that need to be socialized among the workforce?