The dinner party of silent gentlemen: the intrinsic violence of organisations∗I am indebted to the anonymous reviewers and Bob Westwood whose comments helped very much to improve the original manuscript.

Abstract

This paper follows a double intention. First, it tries to show that a piece of art is a relevant starting point for a reflection on a serious topic in organisation theory. The description and interpretation of Katharina Fritsch's sculpture Tischgesellschaft ¹ is seen as a comment on developments inside organisations. Secondly, reasons and sources for the intrinsic violence of organisations are explored. What the sculpture suggests is that violence is inherent in the very process of organising and that people are compelled into a conforming and ordered set of behaviours by the machinations of organising. This can be interpreted as an aspect of violence. The violence in question here is not wilful, physical violence, it is the subtle violence inherent to the imposition of ordering.

Keywords:

• Order
• Disorder
• Conformity
• Surveillance
• Aesthetics
• Immortality