
Mats Alvesson
Professor

‘Is it worth doing this or is it better to commit suicide?’ : On ethical clearance at a university
Author
Summary, in English
The article examines the formal process of ‘ethical clearance’ for social science research at a large university and illuminates how it functions to undermine its stated purpose. We find that rather than promoting ethical standards, the bureaucratic process creates negative and cynical attitudes and game playing. For almost all participants, the entire procedure is counterproductive and experienced as absurd, creating a boomerang effect. The findings reveal how a specific rationalization effort leads to widespread experiences of irrationality, where detailed and strict organization merges with experiences of the bizarre. The article develops concepts capturing the experience and resulting organizational type: ‘orbizzarization’ and ‘absurdocracy’. These concepts enrich our understanding of toxic/irrational organizations, including Kafkaesque organizations.
Department/s
- Organizational Studies
Publishing year
2024
Language
English
Publication/Series
Human Relations
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Topic
- Business Administration
Keywords
- absurd
- bureaucracy
- ethical regulation
- Kafkaesque
- research ethics
Status
Epub
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 0018-7267