ABSTRACT

Accessible and amusing in style, Humour, Work and Organization explores the critical, subversive and ambivalent character of humour, work and comedy as it relates to organizations and organized work. It examines the various individual, organizational, social and cultural means through which humour is represented, deployed, developed, used and understood.

Considering the relationship between humour and organization in a nuanced and radical way and this book takes the view that humour and comedy are pervasive and highly meaningful aspects of human experience.

The richness and complexity of this relationship is examined across three related domains. They are:

  • how humour is constructed, enacted and responded to in organizational settings
  • how organizations and work are represented comedically in various types of popular culture media
  • how humour is used in organizations where there is a more explicit relationship between the comedic and work.

An exciting and controversial text, Humour, Work and Organization will appeal to students of all levels as well as anyone interested the full complexities of human interactions in the workplace.

chapter 1|13 pages

Humour and the study of organizations

ByROBERT WESTWOOD, CARL RHODES

part |1 pages

PART I Theorizing humour, organization and work

chapter 3|12 pages

Humour and violation

ByHEATHER HÖPFL

chapter 4|29 pages

Theory as joke: a hysterical perturbation

ByROBERT WESTWOOD

part |1 pages

PART II Humour in organizations

chapter 7|26 pages

Representing the unrepresentable: gender, humour and organization

ByALL ANAH JOHNSTON, DENNIS MUMBY AND ROBERT WESTWOOD

chapter 8|19 pages

Humour in workplace meetings: challenging hierarchies

ByMEREDITH MARRA

part |1 pages

PART IV The organization of humour

chapter 12|14 pages

Advertising: the organizational production of humour

ByDONNCHA KAVANAGH AND DON O’SULLIVAN

chapter 13|22 pages

Grotesque humor regeneration of McDonaldization and McDonaldland

ByDAVID M. BOJE, YUE CAI-HILLON, GRACE-ANN ROSILE AND

chapter 14|27 pages

The staging of humour: organizing and managing comedy

ByROBERT WESTWOOD