Reaching Into the Dark Side of Organisations: The Banality and Emergence of Administrative Evil in the Light of Two Case Examples

Authors

  • Petri Virtanen School of Management, University of Vaasa, Finland
  • Tommi Lehtonen Innovation and Entrepreneurship InnoLab, University of Vaasa, Finland
  • Harri Raisio School of Management, University of Vaasa, Finland

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.58235/sjpa.v26i2.7015

Keywords:

administrative evil, types of evil, moral, organisation

Abstract

This article uses the tools and distinctions derived from a twofold analysis to develop and refine the perception of administrative evil. First, the general problem of evil is discussed and nuanced, and second, two case examples from the Finnish context are examined and explained – the notion of so-called old boys’ networks and the case of unethical behaviour in a psychiatric hospital. The article defines administrative evil as actions by civil servants and government employees when they do what they are expected to do to fulfil their organisational roles and responsibilities without considering or recognising that they are engaging in or contributing to evil. Based on a conceptual analysis, the article suggests that administrative evil is a middle form between moral and natural evil. This view yields a solid basis for further analysis in which the concept of the banality of evil – as introduced by Hannah Arendt – provides valuable insights. The article is based upon the conviction that the concept of administrative evil offers explanatory power to understand and describe why and how people behave badly and even unethically in organisational contexts. In doing so, the article connects the concept of administrative evil to organisational studies and links the concept with the distinction between types of evil. The paper concludes that a major problem in theorising administrative evil is that the concept (as advanced by Adams and Balfour) has remained isolated and is not an organic part of modern organisation theory.

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Author Biographies

Petri Virtanen, School of Management, University of Vaasa, Finland

Petri Virtanen, PhD, is Professor of Administrative Sciences at the University of Vaasa and the CEO of Itla Children´s Foundation. He is an Adjunct Professor at the Universities of Lapland, Tampere and Helsinki. His research interests have concentrated on the topics of organizational intelligence, public services, governance policies, service systems, public policy, and leadership. He has published more than 80 journal articles and 25 books on public services, public leadership and related topics. His latest book Developing Public Sector Leadership: New Rationale, Best Practices and Tools (co-authored with Marika Tammeaid) was published by Springer in 2020.

Tommi Lehtonen, Innovation and Entrepreneurship InnoLab, University of Vaasa, Finland

Tommi Lehtonen, ThD, is a Professor of Applied Philosophy at the University of Vaasa. He specializes in social ethics, cultural studies, and philosophy of management. His current research focuses on the role of attitudes in decision-making, and values and ethics of governance. He is the author of several books, book chapters and journal articles on various topics including democracy, secularization and the perspectivism of knowledge. He is a member of editorial board for the Journal of Indian Philosophy and Religion.

Harri Raisio, School of Management, University of Vaasa, Finland

Harri Raisio, PhD, is a Senior Researcher in Social and Health Management at the University of Vaasa and Adjunct Professor at the University of Eastern Finland. His research has focused on the topics of wicked problems, complexity sciences, and public deliberation. He has published in journals such as Landscape and Urban Planning, Policy Sciences, Administration & Society, Journal of Health Organization and Management, Public Administration Quarterly, and Defence Studies.

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Published

2022-06-15

How to Cite

Virtanen, P., Lehtonen, T., & Raisio, H. (2022). Reaching Into the Dark Side of Organisations: The Banality and Emergence of Administrative Evil in the Light of Two Case Examples. Scandinavian Journal of Public Administration, 26(2), 3–21. https://doi.org/10.58235/sjpa.v26i2.7015

Issue

Section

Original Articles