Christopher M. Hartt

Markets, organizations, institutions and national identity

Purpose – Through a case study of Pan American World Airways (Pan Am), this paper sets out to explore the roots of twentieth century globalization and the postcolonial nature of the trading relations involved.Design/methodology/approach – Drawing on Foucaults broad notion of “the archive” a critical hermeneutics approach is used to examine a series of company‐produced texts, including minutes, travelogues, company narratives, annual reports, film, diaries, and published histories.Findings – The paper argues that Pan Am contributed to the “idea of Latin America” and, in the process contributed to practices of dependency that served the interests of the USA. Drawing on a case study of Pan Am, the paper further argues that multi‐national corporations help to establish the contours of international trade by influencing the very character and boundaries of the territories traded in, with troubling implications for the countries traded in.Research limitations/implications – As a detailed case study extension o...

Guiding the Space Age from the ground up: Pan Am, Cold War and guided missiles

Abstract This article analyses the role of Pan American Airways (Pan Am) in the shaping of the ‘Space Age’.The study arises out of our interest in the role of the organization in the development of discourse (Foucault 1979).While much has been written on discourse (Phillips and Hardy 2002) there have been few applied studies, and they tend to focus on the reproduction of discourse (e.g.New Public Management) within organizations (Thomas and Davies 2004) rather than on the role of organizations in the production of discourses. Pan Am was studied because of its role in the development of the US space program; its prominence as a major international company; and the availability of an extensive archive of company materials. Using critical hermeneutics (Prasad and Mir 2002), discourse analysis (Phillips and Hardy 2002), and archaeo-genealogical historiography (Rowlinson 2004), we examined the implications for organizational management and the study of organizational and management history.We conclude that the study of organizations as sites of discourse production is a fruitful area for further research; drawing attention to the implications for change by revealing the importance not only of the ‘localized’ aspects of discourse but also the discursive character of analyses of ‘the past’.

Sense-making and actor networks: the non-corporeal actant and the making of an Air Canada history

This paper contributes to critical organizational historiography and the development of ANTi-History through analysis of the history of a major event in the development of Air Canada. We contend that an important gap in ANTi-History is the explanation of the point where decisions occur (i.e. understandings of the micro-processes involved in enrollment, network establishment and the production of knowledges of the past). To deal with the lacuna, we draw on insights from Critical Sense-making in the performance of our historical analysis – undertaken through a seven-step process of moves. We identify not only the need to understand the role of sense-making in network formation and the production of knowledges of the past, but also the role of actants that transcend human and nonhuman actors in influencing behavior (i.e. non-corporeal actants).

Does Entrepreneurship Meet the Aspirations of Canada’s Aboriginal Peoples?

This paper interrogates the notion of Indigenous Entrepreneurship through an analysis of the literature claiming the concept. [Indigenous is a term used in Canada to refer to Aboriginal, Native, Me...

We the Inuit: Fluid Notions of Age and Non-corporeal Actants

The narratives in this chapter provide insight into the value of the elderly; the meaningfulness of connections with an Elder; the fluidity of age definitions as related to Elder versus elderly; and the transference of knowledge from Elder to youth in an Inuit culture. In Management and Organizational Studies (MOS), organizational elders have multiple roles impacted by varying understandings from sources of history to barriers to progress. There is an intersection between cultural understandings of age and organizational operationalizations of the elder. We explore these phenomena so as to reveal the struggles that are experienced when attempting to construct a durable identity and attempt to better understand how the self-relationship with identity changes as ideas, values, and beliefs on ageing change.

On the Cold War Front: Dissent, Misbehavior, and Discursive Relations at Pan American Airways’ Guided Missiles Division

Purpose – To study misbehavior as a form of dissent and resistance in an organized labor situation where traditional forms of labor unrest are suppressed and the implications for how we understand the socio-political processes through which misbehavior is constructed. Methodology/approach – Archival research, cluster analysis, thematic analysis, critical discourse analysis, actor-network theory Findings – Misbehavior is linked to a series of sociological practices not least of which is the production of knowledge through actor-networks and their relationship to far-reaching discourses. In the empirical material we find a conflict between discourses of labor solidarity and unfair management practices and discourses of patriotism and anticommunism. Research limitations/implications (if applicable) – This research is based on archival data, as such it is subject to the choices of holders to contribute and archivists to collect. Practical implications (if applicable) – This work has implications for labor leadership in the understanding of which disputes may be constrained by contextual discourses and by management in the exploration of possible means of suppressing labor unrest. Social implications – We have found that labor unrest may be constrained by contextual discourse but that suppressed unrest may result in misbehavior and other forms of counterproductive workplace activities. Originality/value of chapter – The relationship between contextual discourse and employee misbehavior has not been studied in depth. This work presents a new view of the struggles of the unionized workplace.