Toxic Emotions at Work

2004

Book Reviews

understand their positions” (p. 10) and “provide a sign of culture-awareness” (p. 10) when implementing TQM. Noronha structures the book systematically. He begins by laying a theoretical foundation for his argument that a “culture-specific TQM” exists in contrast to the universalistic approach to TQM. He then sets forth his research objective and briefly discusses his methodology. He follows his introductory remarks with two distinct chapters. In Chapter 2 he provides the finest and most comprehensive review of TQM literature I have ever read. He follows this chapter with an extensive review of empirical research relative to definitions of “value” and “culture,” succeeded by a very enlightening discussion of Chinese cultural values as they relate to Confucianism. Academics interested in the study of Chinese culture will find this discussion highly worthwhile. Scholars interested in TQM will find the discussion of TQM to be thought provoking. In Chapter 4 Noronha begins to integrate the two variables—TQM and culture—that were treated independently in earlier chapters into the development of his culture-specific TQM theory. Noronha ties together the two variables clearly and then proposes four interlocking propositions that “represent a process-based theoretical framework for cultural influence on TQM” (p. 74). Chapter 5 follows with a superb discussion of his research methodology. This chapter is an excellent example of the painstaking research methods utilized to control variables that may affect the outcomes of a study. After describing his sample companies and data collection methods, the author details the origin and structure of two research instruments, in the form of attitudinal questionnaires that were administered to quality managers or officers of sample companies. His instruments included a modified seventy-three-item version of the “quality and productivity self-assessment guide for defense organization versions” (p. 78) originally developed by the U.S. Department of Defense. Noronha then proposes a structural equation model to treat seven hypotheses. The data analysis and results chapter profiles the sampled companies (189 in Taiwan, 79 in Hong Kong, and 117 in mainland China who have earned ISO 9000 certifications), the assumptions underlying the statistical methods, and factors extracted from his TQM survey. Un-

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derstanding the results requires careful reading. To simply conclude that his results “only support a relationship between TQM and Chinese cultural values” would be an understatement. A particularly attractive feature of this research is the use of qualitative data in the form of three case studies. The purpose of these case studies is to “compliment and cross-validate the quantitative findings and to suggest the characteristics of a Chinese-style TQM model” (p. 12). These case studies are a must read. They not only serve to validate Noronha’s quantitative findings but also to enrich one’s understanding of TQM and culture in Chinese regions, as well as the dimensional elements and characteristics of Chinese-style TQM. An added bonus in this chapter is a clear and concise map of Chinese cultural values, along with a schematic framework of Chinese-style TQM. The final chapter presents excellent summary research findings, a discussion of implications, weaknesses of the study, and suggestions for further research. In summary, I found this book to be extremely fascinating. It covers two exciting subjects— TQM and culture—and adds to our understanding of TQM and the relationship between cultural values and TQM. It is clearly written and well documented. Noronha develops a theory based on classical studies and the philosophies of Krocber, Parsons, Guilford, and Kluckhohn and Strotbeck, as well as contemporary writers. The book provides results that indicate that there is a relationship between TQM and national culture. I strongly urge scholars in TQM and culture to read this exemplary book. They will not be disappointed.

Toxic Emotions at Work: How Compassionate Managers Handle Pain and Conflict, by Peter J. Frost. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 2003. Reviewed by Jean M. Bartunek, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.

Readers of the Academy of Management Review generally expect theory pieces, the development of new constructs and the constructs’ embeddedness within causal chains, to appear in the articles located in the front section of the

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journal. Theory development is, after all, the purpose of AMR. It’s a bit strange, then, to find a masterful development of constructs and their related links discussed in the book review section, especially when some (Martens, Gagne´ , & Brown, 2003) have already begun developing reliable measures of the constructs presented. Conversely, readers of the Academy of Management Executive usually do not expect that a book reviewed in AMR will also be reviewed in AME (Safferstone, 2003). The overlap between theory building work and direct contributions to managers is often not very great. So Peter Frost’s book, Toxic Emotions at Work: How Compassionate Managers Handle Pain and Conflict, is a bit unusual. It is conceptually sound, thorough, and creative, and it simultaneously gives thoughtful, timely, and inspirational advice for managers and their organizations. It is a very important contribution, one that identifies and develops the construct of “ toxicity” in organizations and its links, and explores how toxin handlers and their organizations might deal with it and how toxin handlers may be protected. Its importance has been recognized in its having been the recipient of the 2003 George R. Terry book award. This award, presented by the Academy of Management, is granted annually to the book judged to have made the most outstanding contribution to the advancement of management knowledge. The book’s chapters can be thought of as falling into three primary sections, along with a personal prologue and a conclusion (Chapter 9). In all the chapters clear outlines are given at the beginning, and these make it easy to follow the argument. The first section (first two chapters) introduces the main ideas behind the book. Here Frost discusses emotional pain as a fact of organizational life that can become toxic, depending on how it is handled. He indicates how the human body takes in toxins and, if healthy, naturally flushes them out. However, there is no “ natural” equivalent cleansing process in organizations. Frost defines toxicity as “ the outcome of emotionally insensitive attitudes and actions of managers and the practices of their companies” (p. 13). There are wide varieties of such insensitive attitudes and actions, including abusive and unfeeling managers, unreasonable policies, disruptive coworkers or clients, and poorly managed change. These act “ as a noxious sub-

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stance, draining vitality from individuals and the entire organization” (p. 13). Chapter 2 is an extensive discussion of multiple sources of toxicity in organizations, such as malice, incompetence, and contemporary corporate agendas. But Frost also introduces the healing possibilities of people and organizations who respond compassionately and, in so doing, help remove the toxins from the system. The second section (Chapters 3 through 6) concentrates on the experiences of toxin handlers, what they can do, and the types of supports that might be provided for them. In Chapter 3 several characteristics of the work of toxin handlers are described. These include listening, holding space for healing, buffering and transforming pain, and extricating others from painful situations. Frost gives examples of all of these, as well as descriptions of the skills needed to accomplish them. Chapter 4 makes evident that toxin handling exacts a considerable toll on those carrying it out. Toxin handling is stressful, and it is often unnoticed and unappreciated by others in the organization. Moreover, it is full of potential traps for toxin handlers, such as an insidious need to be liked. Thus, it is necessary to provide ways toxin handlers can strengthen themselves. The means Frost describes in Chapter 5 include strengthening their physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual capacities. In Chapter 6 Frost suggests ways that toxin handlers can identify their work to others in their organizations and help create recognition and respect for it. Organizations can help by acknowledging the toxicity and toxin-handling dynamic, offering support, assigning handlers to safe zones, modeling health toxin handling, and creating a supportive culture. The third section (Chapters 7 and 8) gives a larger picture of the roles of leaders and organizations in handling toxicity. In Chapter 7 Frost focuses on how important it is for leaders to pay attention to their employees, treat their employees as important, learn skills of professional intimacy, anticipate emotional reactions to announcements, and challenge the sources of emotional pain. Chapter 8 includes several challenges for organizations as wholes regarding ways to prevent toxicity in the first place, intervene when it occurs, and help employees recover from it. The chapter includes a way of

2004

Book Reviews

assessing organizational capacity for dealing with toxicity. In Chapter 9 Frost concludes with a call to, and illustrations of how to, recognize events through the lens of pain— to pay attention to it and see what insights it can offer. Such attention can, perhaps counterintuitively, help lead to a healthy workplace. There are some small problems in the book. It is sometimes difficult to distinguish between emotional pain and toxicity in organizations, and the title (rather than the subtitle) probably should have focused more on the role of the toxin handler. However, these are minor issues in comparison with the book’s strengths. In addition to being well outlined, each chapter is full of vivid examples that bring the points home and enable readers to think about their own roles in both causing and responding to toxicity in their own organizations. The style of writing makes the book readable and absorbing. Alone, however, this would not be enough to make the book so important for both theory and practice. Some time ago anthropologist Clifford Geertz (1983), adapting a term developed by psychoanalyst Heinz Kohut, distinguished between “ experience-near” and “ experience-distant” concepts. He writes: “ An experience-near concept is, roughly, one that someone . . . might himself naturally and effortlessly use to define what he or his fellows see, feel, think, imagine. . . An experience-distant concept is one that specialists . . . employ to forward their scientific, philosophical, or practical aims” (1983: 57). Geertz distinguishes between “ love” and “ object catharsis” to illustrate the difference between these two types of concepts. He argues that the use of experience-near concepts “ leaves an ethnographer awash in immediacies, as well as entangled in vernacular. Confinement to experiencedistant ones leaves him stranded in abstractions and smothered in jargon” (1983: 57). Most concepts in AMR are presented in experience-distant, specialist terms. They may link with the experience of the scholars publishing them. However, that is not a requirement, and the presentation of the concepts is for analytical purposes. Yet practitioners may find it difficult to move beyond experience-near conceptualizing, especially in areas in which they do not have technical knowledge.

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It is particularly rare, and a major contribution of this book, that the conceptualizing in it has both experience-near and experience-distant features. As the prologue makes evident, the work described in the book arises in part from Peter Frost’s cancer, which, in turn, can be partly traced to his experience as associate dean in his university and to the toxicity he experienced in that setting. The concept of toxin handling was evoked for him at a seminar presented by a medical scientist that he attended after he became ill. Thus, the concept is very close to his lived experience, and something with which readers, even if they are not specialists in management research, can identify. But Frost has also transformed this experience into terms that specialists can use for organizational and management theory building. The terms toxicity and toxin handling are precise, are part of causal chains, and contribute new insights into organizational practices. This combination gives the concepts great strength and versatility. What does it take for experience, especially experience that is quite literally as personally painful as what Frost has experienced, to broaden into concepts that are both experiencedistant and experience-near, intellectually stimulating, personal, and of considerable practical value? A 1991 chapter on shamanism and change by Egri and Frost may give a hint. In that chapter Egri and Frost discuss shamans, people who can see the symbolic as well as the material nature of human relationships and integrate multiple religious and spiritual traditions. The authors suggest that shamans may be healers. But “ to become a healer, the shaman needs to be wounded (physically or psychically) as part of the initiatory process. . . . Shamans function not as ‘wounded healers,’ but as ‘healed healers’ who, as survivors of a transformational rite, can help others along their own transformational journeys” (1991: 180 – 181). Perhaps the kind of conceptualizing that appears in this book requires personal, transformational journeys on the part of authors. Perhaps the kind of insights a book like this provides— enabling organizations and their members to see and name phenomena they could not recognize before— cannot happen unless an author has lived through the phenomenon being described and has been willing to pay disciplined scholarly attention to the expe-

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rience in a way that can help others. Contributions like this are very difficult to achieve. But on the rare occasions when they are accomplished, the work that emerges may be generative for all those who encounter it.

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organizational change and development, vol. 5: 175– 221. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press. Geertz, C. 1983. Local knowledge: Further essays in interpretive anthropology. New York: Basic Books.

REFERENCES

Martens, M. L., Gagne´ , M., & Brown, G. 2003. Toxin handler behaviour: An initial assessment of a new measure. Proceedings of the Administrative Sciences Association of Canada Annual Conference: 95– 105.

Egri, C. P., & Frost, P. J. 1991. Shamanism and change: Bringing back the magic in organizational transformation. In R. W. Woodman & W. A. Pasmore (Eds.), Research in

Safferstone, M. J. 2003. Review of toxic emotions at work: How compassionate managers handle pain and conflict. Academy of Management Executive, 17(2): 141– 142.