Organizational History Network How do firms manage ethically-contested organisational paradoxes? Insights from two historical case studies of modern slavery, By Nicholas D. Wong, Andrew Smith, Allan Discua Cruz, Nicholas Burton & Elenia Charalambous https://doi.org/10.1080/00076791.2024.2442337 Abstract Management researchers, particularly those focused on socially important issues such as worker exploitation, are increasingly interested in what this study terms ethically-contested organisational paradoxes. Such paradoxes occur when there is an incongruity between the ethical dimensions of a firm’s action in one area, geographical or functional, and another. To understand how firms manage ethically-contested organisational paradoxes, this study conducts historical research on two twentieth century firms, Cadbury and Rowntree, who were lauded by contemporaries for their enlightened treatment of domestic workforces whilst simultaneously being engaged in labour practices overseas that were controversial and exploitative. This study examines how two multigenerational family firms managed the paradox inherent in the significant difference in how they treated their workers at home and abroad. This study identifies three types of strategies that firm leaders used to manage the existence of ethically-contested organisational paradoxes: disinforming, subordinating, and self-doubting. Organizational History Network is free today. But if you enjoyed this post, you can tell Organizational History Network that their writing is valuable by pledging a future subscription. You won't be charged unless they enable payments. |
Monday, 17 February 2025
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