The impact of structure and corporate ideology on leader–follower relations in the bureaucratic organization: a reflection on Moral mazes

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Kakavelakis, K. ORCID: 0000-0003-1841-4298 and Edwards, T.J., 2022. The impact of structure and corporate ideology on leader–follower relations in the bureaucratic organization: a reflection on Moral mazes. Journal of Business Ethics, 181 (1), pp. 69-82. ISSN 0167-4544

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-021-04919-9

Abstract

In the wake of organizational scandals associated with corporate America servant as well as transformational leadership are seen as approaches capable of engendering a type of morality — on the part of leaders and followers — based on shared values, universal moral principles and an orientation towards a pro-social behavior serving the common good. However, recent critiques have highlighted the tendency in the relevant literature to overlook the systemic context within which leadership and followership are situated. Given this oversight this paper re-visits a classic piece of ethnography on corporate America: Robert Jackal’s Moral Mazes. Employing concepts from critical realism fused with insights from studies on management and bureaucracy we analyse the key themes from the book pertaining to the nature of the leader-follower dynamic in shareholder capitalism. The analysis highlights the role of bureaucracy and corporate ideology as key elements shaping leader-follower relationships, encouraging a type of morality associated with guarding self-interest whilst undermining relationality. The influence of the structural and cultural context in which leader-follower relations unfold draws attention to morality as relationally contingent as opposed to an ideal state.

Item Type:

Journal article

Publication Title:

Journal of Business Ethics

Creators:

Kakavelakis, K. and Edwards, T.J.

Publisher:

Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Date:

November 2022

Volume:

181

Number:

ISSN:

0167-4544

Identifiers:

Number	Type
10.1007/s10551-021-04919-9	DOI
1757622	Other

Rights:

This version of the article has been accepted for publication, after peer review (when applicable) and is subject to Springer Nature’s AM terms of use, but is not the Version of Record and does not reflect post-acceptance improvements, or any corrections. The Version of Record is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-021-04919-9

Divisions:

Schools > Nottingham Business School

Record created by:

Laura Ward

Date Added:

11 May 2023 14:44

Last Modified:

11 May 2023 14:44

URI:

https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/48934