Christian Maravelias, Torkild Thanem and Mikael Holmqvist
In contrast to the largely functionalist and apolitical literature which dominates organisational scholarship on exploitation and exploration after March, this paper seeks to…
Abstract
In contrast to the largely functionalist and apolitical literature which dominates organisational scholarship on exploitation and exploration after March, this paper seeks to complement this view of exploitation and exploration with a Marxist reading which is unwittingly implied by these terms. More specifically, we combine neo-Marxist and paleo-Marxist arguments to more fully understand the conflictual relations that underpin exploitation and exploration in the management of firms. This enables us to address both the objective and subjective dimensions of exploitation and exploration which firms and workers are involved in through the contemporary capitalist labour process. We illustrate this by drawing on a case study of a large Swedish manufacturing firm which sought to improve lean production by systematically helping employees to explore their own lifestyles and possibilities for a healthier and happier life.
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This paper aims to contribute to critical management studies (CMS) by developing an empirically grounded understanding of how post‐bureaucratic control operates implicitly, by…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to contribute to critical management studies (CMS) by developing an empirically grounded understanding of how post‐bureaucratic control operates implicitly, by seeping into the very identities of individual employees.
Design/methodology/approach
One longitudinal case study of multidisciplinary teamwork in a large insurance company was conducted during a five‐year period, beginning in the late 1990s.
Findings
Evidence from the case study shows how human resource management (HRM) techniques established among employees a desire to be recognised as a trustworthy member, on the one hand, and a constant fear of being unseen, on the other. This drove employees to continuously take initiatives that placed them in a self‐regulating limelight.
Research limitations/implications
The study uses a single case study, which limits the scope of the findings
Originality/value
The paper provides interesting clues as to how post‐bureaucratic control is driven not only by the risk of being “caught misbehavin'”, as CMS primarily has it, but also by the risk of being unseen and by the desire to be recognised.
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This article develops a framework for understanding autonomy and control in post‐bureaucratic organizations. It reviews two dominant discourses on post‐bureaucracy – the…
Abstract
This article develops a framework for understanding autonomy and control in post‐bureaucratic organizations. It reviews two dominant discourses on post‐bureaucracy – the managerial discourse and the critical management discourse. Whereas the one pictures post‐bureaucracy as an emancipating regime based on the personalities and social networks of individuals, the other pictures it as a totalitarian regime, which subordinates individuals’ thoughts, emotions and identities to its instrumental schemes. Both discourses are criticized for being grounded in a view of post‐bureaucracy as a “total” organization. An alternative conceptualization is developed, which shows that post‐bureaucracy neither emancipates individuals from control, nor captures them in totalitarian control. A distinguishing characteristic of post‐bureaucracy is that it displaces the responsibility for setting limits between professional and non‐professional concerns from the organization to the individual. Via a case study it is shown how this implies a specific form of control that does not restrict individual freedom, but uses it as its prime vehicle.
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Mikael Holmqvist and André Spicer
In this introduction to the special issue we propose the main problems and issues that are addressed, namely, how the ambidextrous ideal in contemporary working life plays out at…
Abstract
In this introduction to the special issue we propose the main problems and issues that are addressed, namely, how the ambidextrous ideal in contemporary working life plays out at the individual level. Today, employees need to have the intellectual, social, and physical capacity, will, strength and ability to produce, execute, refine, and choose. But they also need to have the intellectual, social and physical capacity, will, strength and ability to experiment, search, and play. They need both be able to discipline themselves and “go crazy.” They need both focus and fantasy. They need to adhere to organizational norms and values, as well as challenge them. We discuss the challenges and problems that face the ambidextrous person, and why he or she cannot remain but an ideal character. At the end of this introduction, we outline the contributions of all authors who seek to explore in various ways how the ambidextrous employee comes into play in contemporary society and its human and organizational consequences.
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Abstract
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Christian Kazuo Fuzyama, Ana Heloisa Lemos and Marcelo Almeida de Carvalho Silva
This study aims to understand the production of consent to precarious working conditions in administration students' internship experiences.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to understand the production of consent to precarious working conditions in administration students' internship experiences.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 13 students of an undergraduate program in Business Administration in a private university were interviewed. The students' perceptions about the dynamics of the internship and their engagement in this experience were explored through thematic analysis.
Findings
Internships became more than spaces to learn about the world of work. They are also the locus of professional socialization toward precarious work. The detachment of internships from their educational scope is mediated by neonormative control mechanisms that subjectively mobilize the interns, producing the institutionalization and appreciation of the precarious experience, resignified as something that leads to autonomy, learning and a job position.
Practical implications
The article can help students, universities and companies to assess the role of internships in training future professionals.
Social implications
The research problematizes the internship as a form of professional socialization toward precarious work and its detachment from the original educational purpose. The article critically contributes to the debate about the current professional socialization process of young students.
Originality/value
The article highlights the subjective dimension that supports students' consent to dysfunctional internships, discussing both the experience of work precariousness and exploitation, and the terms of the students' engagement in such dynamics, bridging consent to neonormative controls.
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With the shift from an industrial to a knowledge economy, organization theorists continue to address the role and nature of control in organizational structure. The continuing…
Abstract
With the shift from an industrial to a knowledge economy, organization theorists continue to address the role and nature of control in organizational structure. The continuing utility of bureaucracy in new organizational forms was a focal point for this discussion. Research on this shift contributes to the ongoing debate on the role of ethics in bureaucratic and post-bureaucratic organizations. This paper suggested that the work of the artist Joseph Cornell provides a visual representation of the dimensions of this debate. First, the paper introduced Cornell to the reader. Next, the paper reviewed the research on bureaucratic and post-bureaucratic organizations with a focus on ethics, control, and enchantment in organizations. To provide visual reflections of the literature, this paper embedded examples of Cornell’s works throughout the discussion. Cornell’s art not only provides representations of these organizational forms, but also demonstrates how conflicts of an artist capture the development of thought within this area of organizational analysis.
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The purpose of this paper is to discuss the philosophical baseline of two popular business schemes, the business model and a latter variation of human resource costing and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the philosophical baseline of two popular business schemes, the business model and a latter variation of human resource costing and accounting (HRCA). The aim is to identify crucial assumptions inherent in the models that may influence attempts of creating a symbiosis between them.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper provides a conceptual perspective on the two models. Data for the paper were gathered during a case study on the usefulness of HRCA for small and medium‐sized enterprises (SME) as well as from extensive literature readings. These data have been compiled and analysed under the influence of Weick's method for generating theory.
Findings
While the business model and HRCA share a common purpose they try to provide different qualities to the organisation. Whereas the former seeks to realise dreams and ambitions, the latter supports displacements of threats towards organisations and managers. This difference is a potential source of friction that may result in a harmful organisational behaviour.
Practical implications
The paper also expands on the theoretical baseline of two popular business schemes. By identifying crucial differences, amendments and adaptions are possible to make within organisation or among business consultants that could override the problems. Some suggestions are made on this issue.
Originality/value
The paper expands the theoretical and philosophical understanding of popular business schemes. By introducing a theory of happiness a new perspective providing crucial information of the function of the two business schemes is revealed.