Marking to remember: Territoriality and failure to forget

Abstract

Abstract This paper links parallel discussions of territoriality and organizational forgetting to examine why public organizations may experience difficulties during political shifts using public accounts of the U.S. EPA. To accomplish this task, the metaphor of tattoo removal is explored through the criminal justice literature. In particular, tattoo removal provides an analogous set of concepts to understand, frame, and evaluate the enduring physical and psychological residues of organizational territoriality generally, and marking behavior specifically. Residues of political and other organizational changes can produce marks that are not easily removed or forgotten, stunting daily managerial practices. Difficulties with instituting corrective action can result when employees actively mark to remember.