The comic strip Dilbert has been commercially successful in portraying dysfunctional aspects of the workplace. However, it is not well linked to related academic work, and its descriptive success is not matched by its prescriptive usefulness. This article (a) employs Francis Bacon's "idols of the mind"framework (b) to organize academic research in the field of organizational theory (c) for the purposes of better understanding the Dilbert principle and outlining appropriate coping mechanisms or, if changeable, managerial actions to address its different root causes.
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