TY - JOUR
T1 - Wicked problems and new ways of organising: How Fe y Alegria confronted changing manifestations of poverty
AU - Arciniegas Pradilla, Camilo
AU - Bento da Silva, Jose
AU - Reinecke, Juliane
PY - 2020/9/1
Y1 - 2020/9/1
N2 - Wicked problems are causally complex, lack definite solutions, and re-emerge in different guises. This chapter discusses how new ways of organising emerge to tackle changing manifestations of wicked problems. Focusing on the wicked problem of poverty, we conducted a longitudinal study of Fe y Alegria (FyA), one of the world’s largest non-governmental organisation, which provides education for the poor across 21 countries in Latin America and Africa. Drawing on archival and ethnographic data, we trace the historical narratives of how FyA defined poverty as a problem and developed new ways of organising, from its foundation by a Jesuit priest in 1955 to its current networked structure. Our findings reveal the ongoing cycle of interpretive problem definition and organising solutions for wicked problems. First, since there is no ‘true’ formulation of a wicked problem, actors construct narrative explanations based on their understanding of the problem. Second, organisational solutions to a wicked problem are thus reflections of these narrative constructions. Third, emerging and changing narratives about what the problem is inspire new organisational responses. Our findings provide insights into the dynamic relationship between organising for wicked problems, narratives, and the changing manifestations of wicked problems and grand challenges more broadly.
AB - Wicked problems are causally complex, lack definite solutions, and re-emerge in different guises. This chapter discusses how new ways of organising emerge to tackle changing manifestations of wicked problems. Focusing on the wicked problem of poverty, we conducted a longitudinal study of Fe y Alegria (FyA), one of the world’s largest non-governmental organisation, which provides education for the poor across 21 countries in Latin America and Africa. Drawing on archival and ethnographic data, we trace the historical narratives of how FyA defined poverty as a problem and developed new ways of organising, from its foundation by a Jesuit priest in 1955 to its current networked structure. Our findings reveal the ongoing cycle of interpretive problem definition and organising solutions for wicked problems. First, since there is no ‘true’ formulation of a wicked problem, actors construct narrative explanations based on their understanding of the problem. Second, organisational solutions to a wicked problem are thus reflections of these narrative constructions. Third, emerging and changing narratives about what the problem is inspire new organisational responses. Our findings provide insights into the dynamic relationship between organising for wicked problems, narratives, and the changing manifestations of wicked problems and grand challenges more broadly.
KW - narratives
KW - poverty
KW - education
KW - grand challenges
KW - wicked problems
M3 - Article
SN - 0733-558X
JO - Research in the Sociology of Organizations
JF - Research in the Sociology of Organizations
ER -