The organization of hypocrisy

This book suggests that legitimacy is secured by conflict rather than by unity, and by dealing with problems rather than by providing solutions.

Hypocrisy - the practice of incorporating different organizational structures, processes and ideologies for internal and external use - is an important feature of viable organizations in modern societies. It is an effective way of achieving organizational legitimacy in a world where organizations are exposed to an increasing number of inconsistent and conflicting norms and demands.

Nils Brunsson is professor of management at the Stockholm School of Economics and Chairman of the Stockholm Center for Organizational Research (SCORE). He has published more than 20 books and numerous articles in the field of organizational science.

«Det er nærliggende å tenke seg at Brunssons argumentasjon er grunnleggende kynisk, altså at det han sier koker ned til at hensikten helliger midlet. Diskusjonene hans om synd, moral og etikk tyder på at han har tenkt på dette og at slik er det ikke. Det er snarere slik at man må tenke annerledes rundt hykleri. [...] Brunssons bok er full av spennende refleksjoner som utfordrer til tenkning.»
Rolf Marvin Bøe Lindgren i Scandinavian Journal of Organizational Psychology 1/2011