Contributions of the activity theory to analyse disturbances in organisations: the case of solid waste management within a university hospital

Marcio Pascoal Cassandre*, Carine Maria Senger, Marco Antonio Pereira Querol

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaperJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

Dilemmas, conflicts, disturbances, and contradictions are constantly manifested in organisational environments, which stimulate changes and learning. In order to comprehend the historical and systemic origins of these events, it is necessary to research theoretical and methodological frameworks aiming at avoiding the misunderstanding of them as individual, shortsighted and superficial. This study's objective is to identify and analyse disturbances and contradictory manifestations in organisational management. The development of this method is based on the Cultural-Historical Activity Theory, which was empirically applied in the activity of solid waste management of a university hospital. It was possible to analyse the existent disturbances between the ideal disposals of hospital residues and how the community has been discarding them. Therefore, it is necessary to understand that the analysis of the disturbances needs to precede the identification of the main hypothesis that causes the contradictions through the recuperation of the main historical changes occurred.

Original languageEnglish
JournalInternational Journal of Learning and Change
Volume10
Issue4
Pages (from-to)300-324
Number of pages25
ISSN1740-2875
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2018

Keywords

  • Cultural-historical activity theory
  • Disturbances
  • Organisational change
  • Solid waste management
  • University hospital

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