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Grieving resulting from death is a painful process and individuals invariably seek support to help them through this difficult period. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role microblogs play in providing social support following the death of a public figure, Michael Jackson, “the King of Pop”.

In total, 50,000 tweets from the first 12 days after Jackson's death were harvested from Twitter. A content analysis using a coding instrument characterizing a set of social support categories was conducted. Categories not related to social support were also inductively constructed and applied to the tweets.

Twitter was primarily used for providing informational support, followed by emotional support. Surprisingly, categories not normally associated with grieving, such as spreading of rumours, expressions of hatred, and spam, also occupied a large proportion of tweets.

Results suggest that microblogging has the potential to facilitate the grieving process and in some aspects of social support. However, information quality could be an issue that calls for better information management tools.

There has been little work done in examining microblogs as platforms for grieving in general, and more specifically, for providing social support during bereavement. The present research is timely, as we seek to understand the role microblogs play in the grieving process.

This paper aims to examine how firms react to the loss of a major government contract. Reactions to contract loss are yet to be properly studied in public procurement.

The hypothesis is that contract loss triggers a five-stage grieving process, as predicted by the Kubler-Ross model. The hypothesis is tested using the recent UK passport contract in which the British supplier, De La Rue, lost to the Franco-Dutch supplier, Gemalto. Secondary data from corporate publications, news reporting, parliamentary debates and trade union press releases is used to compile the case.

The findings show that De La Rue and its supporters passed through the five stages of grief in response to their loss. De La Rue initially exhibited denial by vowing to appeal the decision. Next came anger directed at the UK Government. An attempt to bargain was made during the standstill period. Depression set in after De La Rue admitted it would not appeal. Finally, acceptance was indicated by De La Rue pursuing new opportunities in the product authentication market.

The study is based on a single case. Further case research is warranted to test the external validity of the results.

By debriefing unsuccessful bidders and listening to their viewpoint, public buyers can help to assuage the anger that accompanies contract loss.

Elected representatives, the media and civic society groups have vested interests in the outcome of contract competitions. Moreover, they use their agency in pursuit of their own interests, whether through political bargaining, lobbying or editorials.

The paper demonstrates that the Kubler-Ross model of grieving has utility for understanding reactions to loss in a public procurement context.

Grieving resulting from the death of a loved one or someone familiar is a painful process and individuals invariably seek support to help them through this difficult period. In this study, the paper investigates the role microblogs play by exploring the types of messages following the death of a public figure, Michael Jackson, “the King of Pop”.

Content analysis was conducted using 50,000 tweets harvested from Twitter from the first 12 days after Michael Jackson's death. A coding instrument characterizing a set of categories that users posted about Jackson's death was inductively constructed, and then applied to the entire dataset of tweets.

About 50 per cent of tweets fell into categories commonly associated with expressions of emotions or thoughts due to death. However, as the single largest category, Twitter was used primarily as a platform for sharing news and other information. Surprisingly, categories not normally associated with grieving, such as spreading of rumours, expressions of hatred and spam, also occupied a high proportion of tweets.

There has been little work done in examining microblogs as platforms for giving and receiving support in general and, more specifically, for the expression of grief. Therefore, the present research is timely, as it seeks to understand the role microblogs play in the grieving process.

This paper elucidates the role of anger in error management (EM) and organizational learning behaviors. The study explores how anger can catalyze learning, emphasizing its strategic implications.

A double-layered moderated-mediated model was developed and tested using data from 744 Chinese CEOs. The psychometric properties of the survey instrument were rigorously examined through structural equation modeling, and hypotheses were tested using Hayes's PROCESS macros.

The findings reveal that anger is a precursor for recognizing the value of significant errors, leading to a positive association with learning behavior among top management team members. Additionally, the study uncovers a triple interaction effect of anger, EM culture and supply chain disruptions on the value of learning from errors. Extensive experience and positive grieving strengthen the relationship between recognizing value from errors and learning behavior.

This study uniquely integrates affect-cognitive theory and organizational learning theory, examining anger in EM and learning. The authors provide empirical evidence that anger can drive error value recognition and learning. The authors incorporate a more fine-grained approach to leadership when including executive anger as a trigger to learning behavior. Factors like experience and positive grieving are explored, deepening the understanding of emotions in learning. The authors consider both negative and positive emotions to contribute to the complexity of organizational learning.

Life, in many ways, is simply grief waiting to happen. It is the emotions of death – simultaneously something ordinary and universal as well as extraordinary and unique – that we try to capture and make sense of with the notion of ‘grief’. The so-called ‘corona pandemic’ that has spread throughout the world during the past 2–3 years is in many ways a crisis of global proportions that, at its very core, is caused by and concerned with the fear of death and dying from a deadly disease. So far, six million people have died in the corona pandemic. The ways we grieve and mourn our dead are indicative and informative of the society/culture in which we live and the values, norms and ideas that prevail within it. This chapter deals with the emotion and practice of grief as it is particularly related to experiences of death and dying in a contemporary Western corona-ridden society. I explore challenges relating to the display of emotions, ritual practice and ceremonial closure – as well as the paradoxical way in which the corona pandemic has inaugurated a new great disappearing act of death and grief at a time when death and grief have been paramount experiences for many affected people. Today, we know more about grief than at any other time in human history, but the question remains whether we have become any better at accepting it, dealing with it and living with it.

The purpose of this paper is to determine how Australian workplaces, their managers and employees respond to those who are grieving at work, as a result of chronic or terminal illness, or caring for those with chronic or terminal illness. The review draws on Australian and relevant international literature and seeks to answer this question.

A literature review was undertaken in preparation for an Australian study examining workplace supports for people who are grieving – because they are carers, have experienced a death, or are balancing their own illness with their work. Using a range of search terms, the literature was searched for relevant work between 1980 and 2010. The search found examples of workplace supports throughout the world and some developing Australian literature.

Despite illness and death occurring at any stage of a person's life, there is little research that identifies workplace issues associated with grief and loss. And while workplace legislation allows for minimal supports, there was evidence that some workplaces have begun to offer flexibility for work life balance.

Effective workplace supports will involve individual and workplace responses, but also require legislative approaches in order to effect broad‐based system change.

The paper compares Australian and international literature about workplace supports and provides an overview of the issues arising.

Suggests bereavement strategies for educative leaders. Reports action research that helped a school community come to terms with the effects of a staff member committing suicide. Summarizes the advice to the principal from an external counsellor; the stages that people go through in learning how to cope with trauma, coming to terms with loss and negotiating a new stable state. Shows that the school community experienced extremes of emotion and a collapse of confidence and professional legitimacy. Argues that bereavement processes and particular strategies at each stage should be justified in terms of consequences. Finds the principal was central to the politics of grief. Examines different micro‐political leadership styles and suggests a fifth, more educative approach.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of pregnancy or baby loss on families, and their ability to access suitable support. Miscarriage and stillbirth are not rare events and losing a baby can have an overwhelming and long-term impact on parents and on existing and subsequent children.

This paper provides an overview of current relevant research, policy and practice.

Much research and service provision focuses on pregnancy or baby loss for parents without living children. This is predicated on the widely held assumption that existing children provide a protective factor mitigating the loss and going on to have another child is the best antidote to grief. Research does not substantiate this but highlights the difficulties parents experience when coping with pregnancy or baby loss alongside the needs of looking after existing children.

The identification of a “hidden” group of parents and children whose mental health and wellbeing is at risk without the provision of services. A tailored approach to the needs of the family is called for, including greater collaboration between statutory and third sector organisations.

Describes research into managers′ experiences of significant organizational change attempts. The research project was aimed at developing frameworks which: describe, illuminate and enable a better understanding of managers′ journeys through organizational change; serve as a template for bringing together the very diverse and fragmented literature relating to individuals experiencing change; highlight issues and pointers for the design and facilitation of effective organizational change initiatives. The first part describes the context, spirit, intentions, sample and methodology of the research. Also, reviews a broad range of literature which can inform our understanding of individuals in change. Propounds the need to open up the “real world” of organizational change, as perceived and experienced by managers, rather than any “ideal” view of how that world is desired or supposed to be. Presents and discusses research findings on the sensed and initiating “primary” triggers for change‐that is, the formal and communicated organizational change objectives; and the perceived and felt “secondary” triggers for change‐that is, the issues raised by, and the implications of, the organizational changes for individual managers. The second part presents a framework depicting the phases and components of managers′ journeys through organizational change. On the framework, the experience of managers can be located, in terms of their thoughts, feelings and behaviours, as the processes of change unfold. While each manager′s journey was found to be unique, the framework proved to be ubiquitous in enabling the mapping of all the managers′ journeys, and it also accommodates literature on phenomena as diverse as learning, personal transition, catastrophe and survival, trauma and stress, loss and “death”, and worry and grief. The findings emphasize the profoundness and deeply felt emotionality of many managers′ experiencing of change in organizations. Finally, identifies the outcomes of managers′ journeys through significant attempts at organizational change. Also presents the reported helping and hindering factors to those journeys. Implications of these findings are pursued, particularly in terms of the leadership and development roles and behaviours required, if the organization and its management are to move beyond simply requiring change towards actively facilitating its achievement.