Moral frictions : ethics, creativity and social responsibility in stem cell science

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2012.

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Evans, Joëlle
Other Authors: Wanda Orlikowski and Susan Silbey.
Format: Thesis
Language:eng
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2013
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/77820
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author Evans, Joëlle
author2 Wanda Orlikowski and Susan Silbey.
author_facet Wanda Orlikowski and Susan Silbey.
Evans, Joëlle
author_sort Evans, Joëlle
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description Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2012.
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spelling mit-1721.1/778202019-04-11T10:47:25Z Moral frictions : ethics, creativity and social responsibility in stem cell science Ethics, creativity and social responsibility in stem cell science Evans, Joëlle Wanda Orlikowski and Susan Silbey. Sloan School of Management. Sloan School of Management. Sloan School of Management. Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2012. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (p. 237-250). Competing moral orders pervade markets and organizations. Previous studies of morals and markets show that organizational and occupational communities in contested areas promote one unique moral perspective in order to gain legitimacy and ensure organizational survival. In this perspective, change and innovation are only possible when distinct actors with a competing moral perspective enter a market. Yet communities do sometimes produce innovations at odds with the moral position they promote. How do they achieve this? Drawing on a 17-months ethnography of a stem cell laboratory, I explore the ways in which competing moral orders intersect in the workplace and how this collision shapes work and innovation practices. I examine two distinct moral conflicts: conflicts over safety and conflicts over bioethics. These two different types of conflicts suggest together that, far from being ethical deserts where workers conform to their organization's perspective, workplaces dealing with contested objects and technologies are spaces of intense ethical questioning and negotiation. Local moral contests are rich with creative opportunities: organizational actors innovate and shape their organizations as they seek to couple the practices and goals of their organization with their avowed personal values. This dissertation contributes to unpacking the links between morals and organizations by showing that moral legitimacy is not just a post-hoc justification of organizational products or practices but is integral to the constitution of these products and practices. This work also contributes to studies of expert work by highlighting the role of moral heterogeneity, local contests, authority over tasks, and technological innovation on the definition of social responsibility in expert communities. by Joëlle Evans. Ph.D. 2013-03-13T15:51:03Z 2013-03-13T15:51:03Z 2012 2012 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/77820 828429448 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 250 p. application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Sloan School of Management.
Evans, Joëlle
Moral frictions : ethics, creativity and social responsibility in stem cell science
title Moral frictions : ethics, creativity and social responsibility in stem cell science
title_full Moral frictions : ethics, creativity and social responsibility in stem cell science
title_fullStr Moral frictions : ethics, creativity and social responsibility in stem cell science
title_full_unstemmed Moral frictions : ethics, creativity and social responsibility in stem cell science
title_short Moral frictions : ethics, creativity and social responsibility in stem cell science
title_sort moral frictions ethics creativity and social responsibility in stem cell science
topic Sloan School of Management.
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/77820
work_keys_str_mv AT evansjoelle moralfrictionsethicscreativityandsocialresponsibilityinstemcellscience
AT evansjoelle ethicscreativityandsocialresponsibilityinstemcellscience