Change of management control discourse : a result of dominating management ideologies

• Barley & Kunda (1992) state that the development of managerial discourse is best understood as the result of different dominating ideologies. The argument is that the managerial discourse has developed in waves that have alternated between rational and normative rhetoric. According to the ideology of rational control the manager should manage on basis of expertise. Centralised ecision-making and specialization are therefore desirable. In the ideology of normative control influencing the subordinate's attitudes, satisfaction and beliefs are given preference. The manager should be a leader who sets the goals, which the subordinates are responsible for reaching. During the period 1955 - 1980 the ideology that dominated management was rational control and from 1980 management has been dominated by an ideology of normative control. As management control is a management activity, it is assumable that management control discourse would develop in a similar way. This pilot study shows a change from rhetoric of rationalism to normative rhetoric. Furthermore, as management control is based on rational assumptions, the concept have rhetorically been broadened to include organization culture and HRM, perhaps as a means "to survive" in a dominating managerial ideology of normative control

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