Faculty

Professor Richard Badham

Professor of Management

Dip Sociol Warwick, BA/Pol. Warwick, PhD Warwick

Teaching Areas

• People & Organisations
• Research

Research Area Affiliations

• Drama Performance & Storytelling

Contact Details
Phone:  +61 2 9850 9021
Email:    richard.badham@mgsm.edu.au

Research Statement

Professor Badham’s research contributes to the general fields of strategy and organisational behavior, and in particular to studies of power and politics in organisations, and the dynamics and leadership of organisational change.   His work adopts a ‘strong’ cultural perspective, challenging the rituals of rationality that dominate contemporary organisations, and arguing for a view of organisations as narrative, drama and performance.  His research explores how greater openness, reflexivity and irony assists individuals and organisations to cope creatively with the dilemmas and pressures of life in complex and dynamic environments.

Contribution to Management Education

What ties these areas of research, education and intervention together is an approach to management education and organisational studies as a reflective professional practice.  In contrast to traditional views of management research and education as a technical discipline, Richard’s view is that it is an exercise in what the Greeks called phronesis, a practical art that seeks ‘wisdom in the doing’.  He advocates the development of PQ (political intelligence) and DQ (dramatic Intelligence) as a key component of this wisdom.

Contribution to Management Practice

Richard has spent twenty five years working as a consultant, educator and action researcher on the leadership of innovation and change.  Drawing on his experience in working with and studying private and public organisations in Australia, Europe and the US, he now focuses his attention on two areas: transformational leadership and the management of change; and the practical wisdom of an ironic and reflexive stance towards the drama of organisational performance.

Media Topics

• Leadership, Culture and Change
• Organisational Power and Politics Storytelling, Drama and Performance in Organisations
• Art and Theatre in Management Education

 

Publications

journal articles

• Fuda, P. & Badham, R. (2011). Fire, Snowball, Mask, Movie : How Leaders Spark and Sustain Change. Harvard Business Review, 89(11), 145-148.
• Zanko, M., Badham, R., Couchman, P. & Schubert, M. (2008). Innovation and HRM:  Absences and Politics, International Journal Of Human Resource Management, 19 (4), 562-581.
• Sense, A.J. & Badham, R. (2008). Cultivating situated learning within project management practice: A case study exploration of the dynamics of project-based learning. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 1(3), 432-438.
• Badham, R., Garrety, K; & Zanko, M. (2007). Rebels without applause: time, politics and irony in action research. Management Research News, 30(5), 324-334.
• Down, S., Garrety, K. & Badham, R. (2006). Fear and Loathing in the Field: Emotional Dissonance and Identity Work in Ethnographic Research. M@n@gement, 9(3), 87-107.
• Badham, R. & Sense, A.J. (2006). Spiralling Up or Spinning Out: A Guide For Reflecting On Action Research Practice. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 9(5), 367-377.
• Badham, R., McLoughlin, I. (2006). Ambivalence and Engagement: Irony and Cultural Change in Late Modern Organizations. International Journal of Knowledge, Culture and Change Managemen, 5(4), 133-144.
• Badham, R., (2006). Mudancas not Removalists: Rethinking the Management of Organizational Change. Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing, 16(3), 229-245.
• Sense, A.J. & Badham, R. (2006). Educating Bricoleurs: nurturing a situated learning environment in technology projects. International Journal of Continuing Engineering Education and Life-Long Learning, 16(6), 466-481.
• McLoughlin, I. & Badham, R., (2005). Political  process perspectives on organization and technological change. Human Relations, 58(7), 827-843.
• McLoughlin, I., Badham, R. & Palmer, G. (2005). Cultures of Ambiguity: design, emergence and ambivalence in the introduction of normative control. Work, Employment and Society, 19(1), 67-89.

books

• Badham, R. (under review 2012). Short Change: An Introduction to Managing Change, London: Palgrave/Macmillan.
• Buchanan, D.A. & Badham, R. (2008). Power, Politics and Organizational Change - Winning the Turf Game, London, UK: Sage Publications Ltd.

book chapters

• Badham, R., Mead, A. & Antonacopoulou, E. (2012). “Performing change : a dramaturgical approach to the practice of managing change”, in Boje, D.M., Burnes, B. & Hassard, J., (Eds) The Routledge companion to organizational change. (pp. 187-205). New York, USA: Routledge.
• Badham, R., Claydon, R. & Down, S. (2012). “The Ambivalence paradox in cultural change”, in Boje, D.M., Burnes, B. & Hassard, J., (Eds) The Routledge companion to organizational change. (pp. 407- 424). New York, USA: Routledge.
• Meisiek, S., Matula, L., & Badham, R. (2012). "Who Controls the Looking Glass? Organizational Theatre and Synoptic Power", In Eberl, O., Geiger, D, Koch J. (Ed.) Organisation und Komplexitat: Unternehmenssteuterung zwischen Ordnung Chaos. Berlin, Germany: Erich schmidt Verlag.
• Badham, R. J. (2010). "Organisational Politics", Managing Organisations: Fundamentals and Latest Thinking, The Marketing and Management Collection. Henry Stewart Talks Ltd, London.
• Badham, R. (2008). “Organizational Politics”, S.R. Clegg and J.R. Bailey (Eds) International Encyclopedia of Organization Studies. (pp. 1156-1160). USA: Sage Publications.
• Badham, R. (2008). “Post-Fordist Economy”, S.R. Clegg and J.R. Bailey (Eds) International Encyclopedia of Organization Studies. (pp. 1278-1280). USA: Sage Publications.
• Badham, R., (2005). “Technology and the Transformation of Work”. In S. Ackroyd, R. Batt and P. Thomson (Eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Work and Organization, (pp.115-137). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

conference papers

• Badham, R. (2011). Cosmopolitanism, irony and public culture: A manifesto for organizations as paradox handling machines. Asia-Pacific Researchers in Organization Studies Conference, Auckland, New Zealand.
• Badham, R. & Zanko, M. (2011). Process and ethics in collaborative management research. Asia-Pacific Researchers in Organization Studies Conference, Auckland, New Zealand.
• Meisiek, S., Matula, L. & Badham, R. (2011). Who controls the looking glass? : Organizational theatre and synoptic power, Standing Conference on Organizational Symbolism, Istanbul, Turkey.
• Matula, L., Badham, R. & Meisiek, S. (2011). Becoming polyphonic : towards a theoretical framework and research methodology for exploring the political dynamics of organizational theatre. European Group for Organization Studies (EGOS) Colloquium, Gothenburg, Sweden.
• Carter, R., Badham, R., Matula, L., Parker, S. & Nesbit, P. (2011). Empowerment or control : A longitudinal experimental field study of the effects of organization theatre. European Group for Organization Studies (EGOS) Colloquium, Gothenburg, Sweden.
• Carter, R., Nesbit, P. & Badham, R. (2010). The Effect of Self-Efficacy, Employee Engagement, and Personality on Work Place Performance in a large Australian Financial Services Firm. 11th International Human Resource Management Conference, Birmingham, UK.
• Zaeemdar, S. &Badham, R. (2010).The Tragedy of a Devil's Advocate: A Positioning Approach to the Lived Experience of Frame-Breaking, 26th EGOS Colloquium - Waves of globalization: Repetition and difference in organizing over time and space, Lisbon, Portugal.
• Badham, R. J. & Zanko, M. (2010). From Ticking Boxes to Ethical Reflexivity: Ethics and Process in Collaborative Business Research. British Academy of Management Conference, Sheffield University, UK.
• Badham, R. & Mead, A. (2009). The translation performance: An ethnography of 'success' in critical executive education on managing change. Passion for creativity and innovation 25th EGOS Colloquium, Barcelona, Spain.
• Attar, H. & Badham, R. (2009). The Mapping is the Territory: Existential Artistry in Converting Uncertainty into Risk in the Early Stages of Product Innovation. Passion for creativity and innovation 25th EGOS Colloquium, Barcelona, Spain.
• Darief, T. & Badham, R. (2009). How to Stimulate Critical Reflection? The Brechtian V-Effekt Applied to Films in Management Education. Passion for creativity and innovation 25th EGOS Colloquium, Barcelona, Spain.
• Carter, R., Parker, S., Badham, R. & Nesbit, P. (2009). Increasing employee engagement and performance: A self-efficacy based intervention. 24th Annual SIOP Conference, New Orleans, USA.
• Carter, R., Parker, S., Badham, R. & Nesbit, P. (2009). Role Breadth Self-Efficacy, Role Orientation and Performance: A Field Experiment. 117th APA Annual Convention, Toronto, Canada.
• Attar, H., Badham, R. & Couchman, P. (2008). Converting Uncertainty to Risk: A Critical Examination of Organizational Risk Management Practices During Innovation. 24th EGOS Colloquium, Amsterdam, The Netherland.
• Badham, R. J. & Claydon, R. (2007). The Dance of Identification: Ambivalence, Irony and Organisational Self. 23rd EGOS Colloquium, Vienna, Austria.
• Attar, H. & Badham, R. J. (2007). Politics of Risk and the Risk of Politics: Opening Up the Black Box of 'Unreflexive Modernisation'. 23rd EGOS Colloquium, Vienna, Austria.
• Badham, R. J. & Claydon, R. (2007). The Power of the Irony and the Irony of Power. APROS 12, New Delhi, India.
• Attar, H., Badham, R. & Couchman P. (2007). Opening up the Black Box of Unreflexive Modernisation. APROS 12, New Delhi, India.
• Badham, R. J. & Mead, A. (2007). Learning to Waltz with Multiple Partners: A Goffmanesque Approach to Interaction Work in Change meetings. APROS 12, New Delhi, India.
• Mead, A. & Badham, R. (2007). Meetings Bloody Meetings! A Goffmanesque Approach to Interaction Work in Change Meetings. APROS 12, New Delhi, India.
• Couchman, P. K., McLoughlin, I., Badham, R. & Zanko, M. (2007), Lost in translation? Localised innovation spaces as arenas for novel university-industry-government relationships. APROS 12, New Delhi, India.
• Garrety, K., Down, S. & Badham, R. (2007), Forms of power-as-agency in organizational change: A comparison of two change initiative in a single organisation. APROS 12, New Delhi, India.
• Badham, R. & Down, S. (2006). A (Bi) Polar Night of Icy Darkness? Ambiguity and Ambivalence in the Rationalisation of the Organisational Self. 22nd EGOS Colloquium, Oslo, Norway.
• Down, S., Garrety, K. & Badham, R. (2006). Fear and loathing in the field: how to improve your analysis of cultural change by getting in touch with your emotions. 22nd EGOS Colloquium, Oslo, Norway.
• Badham, R. & McLoughlin, I. (2006). Ironic Engagement and Cultural Change in Industrial Organisations. ACREW/KCL 2006 Conference, Tuscany, Italy.
• Badham, R. J. & Down, S. (2006). Wrestling with Ambivalence: Liberty, Freedom and the Organisational Self. ANZAM Conference, Yeppoon, Australia.
• Badham, R. (2006). Mind(ing) the Gap: The Irony of Practice and the Practice of Irony. 2nd Organisation Studies Summer Workshop, Mycanos, Greece.
• Badham, R. (2005). The Dance of Identification: Ambivalence, Irony and the Organisational Self. Asia-Pacific Researchers in Organisational Studies 11th International Colloquium.
• Zanko, M., Badham, R., & Garrety, K. (2005). Interorganisational Collaboration in University-Industry Management Research from a Social World Perspective. British Academy of Management Conference, Oxford, UK.
• Badham, R. J. & Down, S. (2005). Taking Liberties: Rhetorics of Freedom in Corporate Change Programs. ANZAM Conference, Canberrra, Australia.
• Badham, R. (2005). Ambiguity and Ambivalence in the Rationalisation of the Organisational Self. ANZAM Conference.
• McLoughlin, I. & Badham, R. (2005). Unlocking Transformational Change in the Local State-Three Dimensions of E-Government. 21st EGOS Annual Colloquium, Freie Unviersitat, Berlin.
• Badham, R. & McLoughlin, I. (2005). Irony and Commitment in Cultural Change Programs. Fifth International Conference on Knowledge, Culture and Change Management, University of Aegean, Rhodes.
• Badham, R. & Down, S. (2005). Bewitched. Bothered and Bewildered. ANZAM Conference.