Abstract

Hannah Arendt was profoundly influenced by Martin Heidegger both intellectually and personally. Arendt’s process philosophy of organizational ethics and politics remains relevant today. In 1963, she published a book entitled Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil. She is known for her analysis of authoritarian organizations and the emergent archetype of a middle-level manager based on Adolf Eichmann. This chapter provides a biographical sketch of Arendt and Eichmann and discusses the emergent archetype organizational and Eichmann dimensions considered by Arendt, including administrative harm, organizational requirements to obey orders, and ‘banality’ of organizational evil or at least unethical organizational behaviour. It also looks at the views of Heidegger, Eichmann, and Arendt regarding organizational becoming.