Author Description

Humour in the workplace is rarely neutral, trivial or random. It is deployed for the achievement of quite specific purposes, to do with self-preservation, getting things done or getting one's way. Managers use humour as a to influence and persuade, to motivate and unite, to say the unspeakable and to facilitate change. They also use humour as a to deflect criticism, to cope with failure, to defuse tension and to make their working lives more bearable. An awareness of how humour is used, by individuals and on them, is critical to managerial effectiveness. Humour also plays a wider role in business, reinforcing shared values at every bonding teams in organizations, shaping and perpetuating corporate cultures, underpinning national management styles, and even helping advertisers to segment consumers by the humorous cues to which they respond. In Funny Business Jean-Louis Barsoux explores the neglected area of humour in business. From first-hand observation and from interviews with a range of practising managers and top industrialists, including Sir John Harvey-Jones, Sir Peter Parker and Sir Allen Sheppard, he identifies the way humour is employed at all levels of organizations and in different sectors of the economy.