Working Shadow Side Management

This practical "starter kit" shows how to identify, manage, and benefit from the activities that happen below the surface of an organization. It is valuable reading for managers, consultants, and employees alike.

Special favors, broken rules, political promotions, and undiscussed firings all take place behind the scenes of most organizations. These "shadow side" arrangements are often overlooked and rarely discussed. Egan contends that managers who understand the "shadow side" currents moving below the surface can better manipulate those currents to their advantage. Here, he identifies the categories of behavior that affect both productivity and quality of work life. Index.

Offers managers, consultants, and employees alike a practical starter kit that reveals how to identify, manage, and gain value from the below-the surface activities in an organization. Drawing on his worldwide consulting, teaching, and research experience, Gerard Egan shows how to create opportunity and competitive advantage by learning how to manage shadow-side realities. He identifies five interactive categories of behavior that affect both productivity and quality of work life in today's organizations—covert culture, the idiosyncrasies of individuals, the interactions of the organization's social system, institutional politics, and the hidden organization—and details specific skills and strategies for mining economic value from each one.

Harness the covert aspects of your organization — covert culture, individual idiosyncrasies, institutional politics — for competitive advantage. World-renown consultant, teacher and researcher Gerard Egan identifies five shadow side work behaviors, and details specifics for mining the economic value of each.

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A Loyola University of Chicago professor of organization development and psychology, Egan argues persuasively that an organization's "hidden culture" can add to its value. The shadow side of the institution--the unspoken, unacknowledged, behind-the-scenes stuff--is usually assumed to be negative and to get in the way of organizational efficiency and effectiveness. But managers who can develop a set of strategies and day-to-day skills for handling the shadow side can bring on positive change in today's fast-paced business environment. The author explains and gives advise on what goes on in the shadows and how to mine value from the shadow side, illustrating how managers who gain the skills necessary to deal with the hidden culture and hehind-the-scenes events can reduce the negative financial implications and turn shadow-side realities into competitive advantages. Highly recommended for all levels of managers in today's organizations; scholars, consultants, and advanced students of business and organizational studies will also find it useful.

GERARD EGAN is professor of organization studies and psychology at Loyola University of Chicago. He consults to a variety of organizations worldwide including The World Bank, British Airways, and Amoco Corporation and is the author of numerous books, including the best-selling The Skilled Helper (4th edition, 1990).