Getting Thrown Under The Bus: The Impact Of Destructive Narcissistic Management On Group Sensemaking
Date of Award
1-1-2013
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Specialization
Communication and Leadership
School or Department
School of Leadership Studies
First Advisor
Dr. Carolyn Cunningham
Second Advisor
Dr. Diana Osborne
Abstract
Despite the vast research and scholarship on leaders with narcissistic traits and tendencies, little research has focused on the impact these leaders have on group communication. This thesis uses an ethnographic research methodology to explore a group under destructive narcissistic management. Karl Weick’s (1995) theory of organizational sensemaking is used to examine the affected group’s communication. The study was conducted from a phenomenological perspective of the group’s lived experience. Kierkegaard’s theory of communication is also applied to learn how the group made sense of was happening to them during a period of substantial change (Anderson, 1963). The results show that the group sensed a distinct difference between what was communicated to them directly and what they understood from the experience of working under narcissistic management. These findings have significance as they provide an opportunity for understanding the combined impact of communication and action on how employees make sense of being a part of an organization.
Recommended Citation
Royston, Russell Allen, "Getting Thrown Under The Bus: The Impact Of Destructive Narcissistic Management On Group Sensemaking" (2013). Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses. 154.
https://repository.gonzaga.edu/comlead_etds/154
Included in
Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons, Communication Commons, Leadership Studies Commons, Organizational Behavior and Theory Commons
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