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Human Relations, Vol. 41, No. 4, 305-329 (1988)
DOI: 10.1177/001872678804100403

The Mindlessness of Organizational Behaviors

Blake E. Ashforth

Department of Management, Faculty of Commerce and Administration, Concordia University, 1455 de Maisonneuve Blvd. W., Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3G 1M8.

Yitzhak Fried

Wayne State University

Much organizational behavior is argued to be performed mindlessly, on the basis of scripts learned through organizational socialization, work experience, and symbolic management. While scripts conserve cognitive capacity, provide a basis for organizing and evaluating behavior, legitimate organizational activities, moderate role conflict, andfacilitate sense making, prediction, and control, they also induce a lack of vigilance and authenticity in operating routines, and bunkered perceptions, premature closure, and superstitious learning in decision making. Directions for future research include documenting the existence and effects of mindlessness, and exploring the predisposing conditions of script processing and means of maximizing the functional and minimizing the dysfunctional aspects of scripts on organizational effectiveness.


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