Management Runway: a Metaphor of the Consequences of Management Fashion

This paper compares management fashion to runway fashion, positing a link between their consequences. While runway fashion has been widely judged as a potential trigger to the development of anorexia nervosa, this essay provides a metaphor of management fashion and the development of anorexia-like disorders in three diagnostic factors: restriction of energy intake, fear of gaining weight, and disturbance in self-image. Each of the diagnostic factors is explored in depth, providing organisational analogies to the psychological disorder. Restriction of energy intake is examined as the retrenchment from exploration and emphasis on exploitation of fashion. Fear of gaining weight concerns the cutting of slack resources essential for innovation and learning. Disturbance in self-image relates to the metrics employed to measure success which may be distorted by distress. Using the anorexia metaphor, the essay makes a critical analysis of the organisational consequences of mindlessly following fashion, highlighting its potential perils.