Anger and organization studies: from social disorder to moral order

Lindebaum, Dirk and Gabriel, Yiannis 2016. Anger and organization studies: from social disorder to moral order. Organization Studies 37 (7) , pp. 903-918. 10.1177/0170840616640848

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Abstract

In this essay, we oppose current conceptualizations of anger as, at least, a temporary individual psychological disorder and as the cause of a social disorder. We develop the view that anger can be a profoundly moral emotion aimed at maintaining moral order and restoring social order when this has been ruptured. Moral anger is distinguished from other types of anger, like the ones arising from routine frustration, break-downs of communication and ego violations. Through a close reading of the jury drama Twelve Angry Men, we demonstrate that moral anger has an information dimension, signaling a rupture of a moral code, as well as an energic dimension, as a source of energy aimed at putting right a wrong. We conclude that a world without anger would be, possibly, a compliant and quiescent world but not a just world.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Business (Including Economics)
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology H Social Sciences > HM Sociology
Uncontrolled Keywords:	moral anger; moral order; organizing; social disorder
Publisher:	SAGE
ISSN:	0170-8406
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	19 April 2016
Date of Acceptance:	18 November 2015
Last Modified:	21 May 2023 01:15
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/89376

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