Talking About Organizations Podcast

E139: Disruptive Technology and the War of the Currents

We conclude our discussion of the War of the Currents using an article from Cole and Chandler on competitive impression management as it applied during the famous War of

E139: Disruptive Technology and the War of the Currents (Part 2)

We continue or discussion of the War of the Currents using an article from Tushman and Anderson on the impacts of technological breakthroughs and how they increase uncert

139: Disruptive Technology and the War of the Currents (Part 1)

This is Part 1 of our latest "movie" episode. The film we watched is from 2017 The Current War, directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, and distribution by 101 Studios. It drama

139: Disruptive Technology and the War of the Currents

Coming soon! We will explore the famous War of the Currents as part of our occasional "movie" episode, this time the 2017 film "The Current War" that dramatized the dispu

138: Relational Work Perspective -- Zelizer & Bandelj (Part 2)

In Part 2, we further contrast the relational work perspective of Zelizer and Bandelj with the dominant embeddedness perspective promoted by Granovetter and other early e

138: Relational Work Perspective -- Zelizer & Bandelj (Part 1)

This month we examine three pieces from the relational work perspective in economic sociology, one by Viviana Zelizer and two by her former student Nina Bandelj. The rela

138: Relational Work Perspective -- Zelizer & Bandelj (Summary of Episode)

Coming soon! We will examine a contemporary stream in economic sociology, the relational work perspective, championed by Viviana Zelizer and furthered by some of her stud

137: Science as a Vocation -- Max Weber (Part 2)

In Part 2, we bring Max Weber’s speech about Science as a Vocation to the present day and show that many of the same themes and concerns Weber express are still relevant.

E137: Science as a Vocation -- Max Weber (Part 1)

We return once more to Max Weber and look at one of his most important and noteworthy speeches, “Science as a Vocation.” The speech includes a number of major themes such

E137: Science as a Vocation -- Max Weber (Summary of Episode)

Coming soon! We return once more to Max Weber and look at one of his most important and noteworthy speeches, “Science as a Vocation,” delivered in 1918 at Munich Universi

136: Bureaucracy (revisited) -- Max Weber (Part 4)

This is an expanded version of the supplement from the original Episode 6 on Max Weber's Bureaucracy. This release includes both the original supplement from Dmitrijs alo

136: Bureaucracy (revisited) -- Max Weber (Part 3)

In this release, we take a retrospective look at Weber's famous work and our original episode. How has our views about bureaucracy changed over the past decade (2016-when

136: Bureaucracy (revisited) -- Max Weber (Part 2)

This is an edited re-release of our Episode 6, Part 2 on Max Weber's bureaucracy, originally from January 2016. Next week, we will provide an additional discussion where

136: Bureaucracy (revisited) -- Max Weber (Part 1)

We are revisiting an older episode, our Episode 6 on Weber’s bureaucracy. The original episode explored the work objectively, trying to understand how Weber was encouragi

136: Bureaucracy (revisited) -- Max Weber (summary of episode)

Coming soon! We will re-examine one of our earlier episodes which deserves another look. Weber’s chapter on the meaning of bureaucracy (Episode 6) remains one of the most

135: Boundary Work in Science -- Thomas Gieryn (Part 2)

In Part 2 of our episode on Gieryn’s 1983 article “Boundary-Work and the Demarcation of Science from non-Science,” we review the main points in the context of contemporar

135: Boundary Work in Science -- Thomas Gieryn (Part 1)

We continue our series of discussions on the sociology of science and cover a seminal article that is commonly found as required reading in doctoral programs -- Thomas Gi

135: Boundary Work in Science -- Thomas Gieryn (Summary of Episode)

Coming soon! Our next episode features a 1983 article from Thomas Gieryn that discusses how the “boundary work” of scientists and others science contributes to a broader

134: Normal Accidents -- Charles Perrow (Part 2)

In Part 2 of our episode on Charles Perrow’s book Normal Accidents, we carry the framework forward into the 21st century to consider newer technological systems (especial

134: Normal Accidents -- Charles Perrow (Part 1)

This month we are discussing Charles Perrow’s book Normal Accidents that addresses the risks associated with complex, tightly coupled high-risk technological systems. Thr