Crisis as a plague on organisation: Defoe and A Journal of the Plague Year

Knowles, D., Hindley, C. and Ruth, D. 2019. Crisis as a plague on organisation: Defoe and A Journal of the Plague Year. Journal of Organizational Change Management. 32 (6), pp. 640-649. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-03-2019-0074

TitleCrisis as a plague on organisation: Defoe and A Journal of the Plague Year
TypeJournal article
AuthorsKnowles, D., Hindley, C. and Ruth, D.
Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to enrich the understanding of current models of organisational response to crises and offer additional perspectives on some of these models. It is also intended to confirm the value of fiction as a truth-seeking and hermeneutic device for enriching the imagination.
Design/methodology/approach – The study uses Daniel Defoe’s 1722 novel A Journal of the Plague Year to draw parallels between his portrayal of the London Great Plague of 1665 and the management of modern-day crises. Defoe uses London’s ordeal of the Great Plague to advise those subjected to future crises. Through his representation of plague-ridden streets, Defoe shows stakeholders acting in ways described in current crisis management literature.
Findings – The authors note how the management of the Plague crisis was unsuccessful and they challenge the very idea of managing a true crisis. The authors are able to illustrate and offer refinements to the Pearson and Clair (1998) and Janes (2010) models of crisis management as well as confirming the value of their constructs across a lapse of centuries.
Research limitations/implications – Although it is an examination of a single novel, the findings suggest value in conceptualising organisational crises in innovative and more imaginative ways.
Originality/value – It confirms the heuristic value of using fiction to understand organisational change and adds value to current models

KeywordsOrganizational change, Crisis management, Cities, Fiction, Defoe, Organization
JournalJournal of Organizational Change Management
Journal citation32 (6), pp. 640-649
ISSN0953-4814
Year2019
PublisherEmerald Publishing Limited
Accepted author manuscript
File Access Level
Open (open metadata and files)
Publisher's version
File Access Level
Open (open metadata and files)
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-03-2019-0074
Publication dates
Published07 Oct 2019
Supplemental file
File Access Level
Open (open metadata and files)

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