As we demonstrated in previous episodes about “Twelve Angry Men” and “Modern Times,” movies can be effective tools for discussing concepts, ideas, and experiences about organizations and management. Add to this the ‘instant’ classic film WALL-E, released in 2008 by Pixar Animation Studios and directed by Andrew Stanton. WALL-E is the story of a robot who at one time was part of a massive clean-up effort on Earth while all the humans left to live on cruise ships in space. But the effort failed centuries earlier, and now WALL-E continued his duties all alone — accompanied only by a cockroach. When a probe returns to Earth searching for renewed signs of life, WALL-E follows the probe back to the lead cruise ship and learns how much the humans have devolved over the centuries. The story is about awakening, about recognizing how one is bounded and shut off from a wider world. The film was hailed as one of the best of the 2000s.
In this episode, we talk about the setting and the story for clues about organizational behavior and management. (Spoiler alert!) Through flashback images and other evidence, we learn of the backstory about how one corporation called “BuyNLarge” — came to dominate both public and private sectors of society, providing everything for the humans, and doing so in an indulgent fashion. Eventually, the humans kept buying and consuming until the garbage overtook everything. But on the cruise ship (Axiom), the vision of BuyNLarge is realized as the humans do indeed live in a paradise where they can buy and consume just about anything they want. Meanwhile, BuyNLarge’s CEO Shelby Forthright is portrayed only minimally, yet is a central figure in the film. His decision making centuries earlier set in motion the chain of events that led to the Axiom remaining in space far longer than originally planned. Organizational behavior, leadership, change, culture, automation and artificial intelligence — we discuss these topics and more! Listen in as Tom, Pedro, Maikel, and Ralph have a fun conversation discussing this wonderful film!
Watch With Us:
WALL-E (film). (2008). Director: Andrew Stanton. Pixar Animation Studios.
Related Episodes of the Talking About Organizations Podcast:
Anteby, Michel. (2003) “The Moralities’ of Poaching: Manufacturing Personal Artifacts on the Factory Floor.” Ethnography, 4(2): 217-239.
Faraj, Samer, Stella Pachidi, and Karla Sayegh. (2018). “Working and organizing in the age of the learning algorithm.” Information and Organization, 28(1): 62-70.
Mintzberg, Henry. (1980). “Structure in 5’s: A Synthesis of the Research on Organization Design.” Management science26(3): 322-341.
List of Movies Relevant for Management — https://twitter.com/search?q=%23LeoMovieList&src=typd&f=live
Featured Image Credit: Lenin Estrada via Pexels.com, Creative Commons License 0
As we demonstrated in previous episodes about “Twelve Angry Men” and “Modern Times,” movies can be effective tools for discussing concepts, ideas, and experiences about organizations and management. Add to this the ‘instant’ classic film WALL-E, released in 2008 by Pixar Animation Studios and directed by Andrew Stanton. WALL-E is the story of a robot who at one time was part of a massive clean-up effort on Earth while all the humans left to live on cruise ships in space. But the effort failed centuries earlier, and now WALL-E continued his duties all alone — accompanied only by a cockroach. When a probe returns to Earth searching for renewed signs of life, WALL-E follows the probe back to the lead cruise ship and learns how much the humans have devolved over the centuries. The story is about awakening, about recognizing how one is bounded and shut off from a wider world. The film was hailed as one of the best of the 2000s.
In this episode, we talk about the setting and the story for clues about organizational behavior and management. (Spoiler alert!) Through flashback images and other evidence, we learn of the backstory about how one corporation called “BuyNLarge” — came to dominate both public and private sectors of society, providing everything for the humans, and doing so in an indulgent fashion. Eventually, the humans kept buying and consuming until the garbage overtook everything. But on the cruise ship (Axiom), the vision of BuyNLarge is realized as the humans do indeed live in a paradise where they can buy and consume just about anything they want. Meanwhile, BuyNLarge’s CEO Shelby Forthright is portrayed only minimally, yet is a central figure in the film. His decision making centuries earlier set in motion the chain of events that led to the Axiom remaining in space far longer than originally planned. Organizational behavior, leadership, change, culture, automation and artificial intelligence — we discuss these topics and more! Listen in as Tom, Pedro, Maikel, and Ralph have a fun conversation discussing this wonderful film!
Watch With Us:
WALL-E (film). (2008). Director: Andrew Stanton. Pixar Animation Studios.
Related Episodes of the Talking About Organizations Podcast:
Episode 1: Principles of Scientific Management – F.W. Taylor’s One Best Way
Episode 3: Theory of Human Motivation – Abraham Maslow
Episode 6: Bureaucracy – Max Weber
Episode 13: Banana Time – Donald Roy
Episode 20: High Reliability in Practice – USN Rear Admiral Tom Mercer
To Know More:
Anteby, Michel. (2003) “The Moralities’ of Poaching: Manufacturing Personal Artifacts on the Factory Floor.” Ethnography, 4(2): 217-239.
Faraj, Samer, Stella Pachidi, and Karla Sayegh. (2018). “Working and organizing in the age of the learning algorithm.” Information and Organization, 28(1): 62-70.
Mintzberg, Henry. (1980). “Structure in 5’s: A Synthesis of the Research on Organization Design.” Management science 26(3): 322-341.
List of Movies Relevant for Management — https://twitter.com/search?q=%23LeoMovieList&src=typd&f=live
Featured Image Credit: Lenin Estrada via Pexels.com, Creative Commons License 0