Management Paradoxes: A Relational View

Abstract

Paradox is gaining more and more pervasiveness in and around organizations, thus increasing the need for an approach to management that allows both researchers and practitioners to address these paradoxes. We attempt to contribute to this project by suggesting a relational approach to paradoxes. To this aim, we first present the state of the art of research on management paradoxes and then explain four regularities surfaced in the literature on this topic. We conclude by arguing that taking these regularities as a whole allows us to suggest a new perspective on paradoxes - one with a positive regard for the co-presence of opposites but that takes seriously the potential relationship between these.

A Paradox Perspective on Corporate Sustainability: Descriptive, Instrumental, and Normative Aspects

“…To work through performing paradoxes, firms engage in ongoing improvisation to attend to the multiple performance areas in a balanced way (Beech et al 2004;Clegg et al 2002). Sustainability concerns that might be in conflict with the organizational goal of profitability will thus not be excluded.…”

Exploring the Nature of the Relationship Between CSR and Competitiveness

“…CSR paradoxes take two forms: (1) organizational paradoxes that arise from opposing CSR and business goals, values and processes (Handy, 2002;Joyner and Payne, 2002;Pruzan and Thyssen, 1990) and (2) paradoxes inherent to CSR that are generated by opposing or conflicting goals, values and processes within CSR frameworks (Elkington, 1998;Freeman, 1984;Goodpaster, 1991;Handy, 1994;Pruzan, 2001). That is, effectively implementing CSR in a corporate context involves managing organizational and inherent CSR paradoxes (Calton and Payne, 2003;Clegg et al, 2002;Lewis, 2000;Poole and Van de Ven, 1989).…”

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“…Organizations and organizing are increasingly accomplished through the complex interaction of people, artefacts, instruments and practices (Clegg et al, 2002). Operational Research (OR) interventions are exemplary in this regard, but there is a gap in our knowledge in understanding the effect on people/outcomes, and the interventions in situ (Keys, 1997;Hämäläinen et al, 2013).…”