Scapegoating: How Organizations Assign Blame

A large cruise ship sinks after hitting some outcropping rocks near the shore. Who is to blame? In the face of negative events - accidents, corporate scandals, crises and bankruptcies - there are two organizational strategies for managing blame. The first is to take full responsibility for the event and to implement adequate corrective measures. The second is to create one or more scapegoats by transferring blame to some of the people directly involved in the event. In this way, the organization can appear blameless and avoid costly remedial interventions. Reappraising the Costa Concordia shipwreck and other well-known cases, Catino analyzes the processes and mechanisms behind creating the 'organizational scapegoat.' In doing so, Catino highlights the limits of explanations centered on guilt and individual solutions to organizational problems, and underlines the need for a different civic epistemology.

Author: Maurizio Catino
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 06/15/2023
Pages: 262
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.77lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.54d
ISBN13: 9781009297196
ISBN10: 1009297198
BISAC Categories:
- Business & Economics | Organizational Behavior