Organization violations in practice: a case study in a university setting

Organizational structures and processes produce and reproduce violence and violations. To conceptualize the complex interplay of violations and organizations, we may speak of “organization violations”: the simultaneous (re)production of “organization” and “violation”. This article examines micro-organizational violations in focusing on our own organizations in academia. Contemporary constructions of organization violations are examined through a case study of a university professorial appointment process, drawing on extensive public documentation. This has included a bizarre series of events, including giving false information, invention of procedures and many exclusionary practices. It has also involved the development of a reflexive composite methodology combining participatory action research, documentary analysis, and autoethnography. Multiple perspectives on and readings of the material are presented: the experience of organization violations; developing processes of organization violation over time; national, cultural violations in exclusion of “outsiders”; intersections with gendered power; and ethics, morality and moral practices.