Systemic Flaws in Modern Management Practices: An Auto ethnographic Examination of Leadership Failure, Organizational Politics, and Structural Misalignment

Abstract

Even though management theory, leadership training, and organizational governance are always changing, many organizations still have deep-seated problems that hurt their effectiveness and the health of their employees. Organizations frequently implement formal management frameworks, ethical standards, and performance assessment systems; however, these overt measures often obscure enduring challenges. Common problems include authoritarian leadership, favoritism, a lack of accountability, and a lack of alignment within the organization. These problems are especially obvious in companies with strict hierarchies and cultures that are very far apart in terms of power. In these companies, authority is centralized, decision-making is concentrated, and questioning leadership is not encouraged. In these situations, employees often feel like they have no power, and the way the organization works becomes inflexible and ineffective. This study examines systemic issues through an auto ethnographic lens, focusing on a mid-sized contracting and logistics firm in Saudi Arabia, designated as Company X. Auto ethnography facilitates a comprehensive investigation of organizational life by integrating personal experience with analysis rooted in management theory. This research analyzes the interplay of rigid leadership styles, political alliances, departmental isolation, and inadequate governance structures in diminishing organizational performance and adversely affecting employee satisfaction, leveraging extensive professional experience and pertinent literature. The results demonstrate that these issues are not merely attributable to suboptimal individual choices. Instead, they come from structural, cultural, and managerial conditions that are linked and make things less efficient, less ethical, and less engaged for employees. The study stresses that real change in an organization can't come from just updating policies or making things look better. For real and lasting change to happen, there needs to be ethical leadership, open governance, fair and merit-based decision-making, and work environments that are safe for employees to speak up and work together. This research provides pragmatic lessons for managers and organizations seeking to rectify entrenched dysfunctions by integrating experiential knowledge with academic analysis. It also adds to management theory by showing that organizational failure has human and cultural aspects and that long-term success depends on fixing both structural and ethical issues within organizations. The study elucidates the persistence of systemic management failures, their effects on employees, and the critical measures organizations must implement to cultivate ethical, efficient, and inclusive work environments.