Scarlett Haig talks to Mark Fenton-O’Creevy, Professor of Organisational Behaviour and Chair of the Advisory Group for the Centre of Policing Research and Learning at the Open University Business School. He has conducted organisational research over more than three decades on organisations such as investment banks, multinational companies, and (more recently) policing organisations.

Mark shares his research for a recent article in Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, “Uncomfortable knowledge, the production of ignorance, and the trustworthiness of UK policing”. Mark asks how organisations that employ many good people can fail to challenge persistent and egregious misbehaviour to the extent that it threatens their legitimacy in the public eye.

In part one Mark explores how organisations can fail to address bad behavior due to ignorance and the strategies they employ to avoid uncomfortable knowledge. The discussion also delves into the concept of organisational silence, where employees feel unable to speak out about critical issues, leading to systemic problems within the organisation.

Mark authored this article with Benjamin Bowles, Linda Maguire, and Emma Williams. The article is available here.

Dr Benjamin Bowles is a Senior Lecturer in Social Anthropology at SOAS , who draws on anthropological insights in the study of organisations.

Dr Linda Maguire is an Associate Professor and the Deputy Director of the Institute for Social Justice and Crime (ISJC), Suffolk University. She has helped influence national policy on police investigations of rape and serious sexual offences (RASSO).

Prof. Emma Williams is Director of the Centre of Excellence for Equity in Uniformed Public Services at Anglia Ruskin University and previously Director of the Centre for Policing Research and Learning at the Open University.

Scarlett Haig has previously conducted research with police officers for her masters in Anthropology at SOAS, University of London. She has been exploring the world of academia and policing for Policing TV.

Takeaways

• Organisations often ignore bad behavior due to systemic issues.
• Ignorance can be produced and reproduced within organizations.
• Uncomfortable knowledge challenges core narratives of identity.
• Strategies to avoid uncomfortable knowledge include denial and dismissal.
• Organisational silence can stem from learned helplessness and fear.
• Double binds create conflicting pressures that hinder communication.
• Policing organisations may become non-learning entities over time.
• The emotional impact of information affects organisational responses.
• Diversion tactics can redirect focus away from real issues.
• Addressing misogyny and racism requires open dialogue and resources.

Sound Bites

• “How do organisations fail to notice bad behaviour?”
• “How does ignorance get produced in organisations?”
• “Denial of systemic problems is a common strategy.”

Chapters
00:00 – Introduction to Organisational Behaviour in Policing
01:30 – Understanding Ignorance in Organisations
05:18 – Strategies for Avoiding Uncomfortable Knowledge
12:57 – Organizational Silence and Its Implications

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