| 1. |
- Alvehus, Johan, 1973-, et al.
(författare)
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Financialization as a strategy of workplace control in professional service firms
- 2012
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Ingår i: Critical Perspectives on Accounting. - 1045-2354 .- 1095-9955. ; 23, s. 497-510
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Recently, there has been an increased focus on finance as a form of control in corporations. In this paper, we explore financialization as an employee control strategy in a Big Four accountancy firm, and more specifically how it affects the everyday lives of the professionals within the firm. We found financialization involved attempts to transform employees working lives into an investment activity where work was experienced as ‘billable hours’ that are ‘invested’ in the hope of a high future pay-off. Employees sought to increase the value of their investment by skilful manipulation. If wisely managed, this investment could yield significant benefits in the future. We argue that financialization involves active employee participation and is a way of binding other forms of control together.
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| 2. |
- Alvehus, Johan, et al.
(författare)
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Financialization as a strategy of workplace control in professional service firms
- 2012
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Ingår i: Critical Perspectives on Accounting. - : Academic Press Inc.. - 1045-2354 .- 1095-9955. ; 23:497-510
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Recently, there has been an increased focus on finance as a form of control in corporations. In this paper, we explore financialization as an employee control strategy in a Big Four accountancy firm, and more specifically how it affects the everyday lives of the professionals within the firm. We found financialization involved attempts to transform employees work- ing lives into an investment activity where work was experienced as ‘billable hours’ that are ‘invested’ in the hope of a high future pay-off. Employees sought to increase the value of their investment by skilful manipulation. If wisely managed, this investment could yield significant benefits in the future. We argue that financialization involves active employee participation and is a way of binding other forms of control together.
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| 3. |
- Alvesson, Mats, et al.
(författare)
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A Stupidity-Based Theory of Organizations
- 2012
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Ingår i: Journal of Management Studies. - : Wiley. - 1467-6486 .- 0022-2380. ; 49:7, s. 1194-1220
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this paper we question the one-sided thesis that contemporary organizations rely on the mobilization of cognitive capacities. We suggest that severe restrictions on these capacities in the form of what we call functional stupidity are an equally important if under-recognized part of organizational life. Functional stupidity refers to an absence of reflexivity, a refusal to use intellectual capacities in other than myopic ways, and avoidance of justifications. We argue that functional stupidity is prevalent in contexts dominated by economy in persuasion which emphasizes image and symbolic manipulation. This gives rise to forms of stupidity management that repress or marginalize doubt and block communicative action. In turn, this structures individuals' internal conversations in ways that emphasize positive and coherent narratives and marginalize more negative or ambiguous ones. This can have productive outcomes such as providing a degree of certainty for individuals and organizations. But it can have corrosive consequences such as creating a sense of dissonance among individuals and the organization as a whole. The positive consequences can give rise to self-reinforcing stupidity. The negative consequences can spark dialogue, which may undermine functional stupidity.
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| 4. |
- Alvesson, Mats, et al.
(författare)
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Critical leadership studies: The case for critical performativity
- 2012
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Ingår i: Human Relations. - : SAGE Publications. - 0018-7267 .- 1741-282X. ; 65:3, s. 367-390
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Existing accounts of leadership are underpinned by two dominant approaches: functionalist studies, which have tried to identify correlations between variables associated with leadership; and interpretive studies, which have tried to trace out the meaning-making process associated with leadership. Eschewing these approaches, we turn to an emerging strand of literature that develops a critical approach to leadership. This literature draws our attention to the dialectics of control and resistance and the ideological aspect of leadership. However, it largely posits a negative critique of leadership. We think this is legitimate and important, but extend this agenda. We posit a performative critique of leadership that emphasizes tactics of circumspect care, progressive pragmatism and searching for present potentialities. We use these tactics to sketch out a practice of deliberated leadership that involves collective reflection on when, what kind and if leadership is appropriate.
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| 5. |
- Alvesson, Mats, et al.
(författare)
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Critical perspectives on leadership
- 2014
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Ingår i: The Oxford Handbook of Leadership and Organizations. - : Oxford University Press. - 9780199755615
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This chapter reviews the emerging body of literature on critical theories of leadership. It begins by putting critical approaches to leadership in the context of broader debates about leadership. It notes that most existing work builds on either functional or interpretive assumptions. After noting some of the shortcomings with these directions, this chapter offers an alternative set of ideas based on critical theory. These suggest that leadership should be denaturalized and studied reflexively, and that this research should be done with a noninstrumental intent. The chapter then reviews the growing body of work that has built on these ideas. This work addresses issues including ideology, identity, exclusions and inclusions, and interventions. The chapter concludes by outlining a range of areas for future research.
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| 6. |
- Alvesson, Mats, et al.
(författare)
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Does leadership create stupidity?
- 2013
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Ingår i: Critical Perspectives on Leadership – Emotion, Toxicity and Dysfunction. - 978 0 85793 112 2
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Alvesson, Mats, et al.
(författare)
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Neo-Institutional Theory and Organization Studies : A Mid-Life Crisis?
- 2019
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Ingår i: Organization Studies. - : SAGE Publications. - 0170-8406 .- 1741-3044. ; 40:2, s. 199-218
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We trace the development of neo-institutional theory in Organization Studies from a marginal topic to the dominant theory. We show how it has evolved from infancy, through adolescence and early adulthood to being a fully mature theory, which we think is now facing a mid-life crisis. Some of the features of this mid-life crisis include over-reach, myopia, tautology, pseudo-progress and re-inventing the wheel. To address these problems, we argue that institutional theorists should limit the range of the concept, sharpen their lens, avoid tautologies and problematize the concept. By doing this, we think institutional theorists could develop a narrower and more focused conception of institutions.
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| 10. |
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| 11. |
- Alvesson, Mats, et al.
(författare)
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(Un)Conditional surrender? Why do professionals willingly comply with managerialism
- 2016
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Ingår i: Journal of Organizational Change Management. - 0953-4814. ; 29:1, s. 1-19
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to explore the question – why do professionals surrender their autonomy? This paper looks at the case of academics, in particular business school academics. It traces how this group of professionals have progressively surrendered their autonomy and complied with the demands of managerialism. Design/methodology/approach – This largely theoretical paper looks to develop an understanding of (over)compliance with the bureaucratization of research using the four faces of power – coercive, agenda setting, ideological and discursive.Findings– The discussion of this paper argues that the surrendering of autonomy has been reinforced through coercive forms of power like rewards and punishment and bureaucratization; manipulation and mainstreaming through pushing a particular version of research to the top of the agenda; domination through shaping norms and values; and subjectification through creating new identities.Originality/value– The paper explores how academics deal with tensions and paradoxes such as compliance and resistance, as well as love of work and loathing of it. To deal with these paradoxes, academics often treat their work as a game and see themselves as players. While this process enables academics to reconcile themselves with their loss of autonomy, it has troubling collective outcomes: the production of increasing uninteresting and irrelevant research.
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| 12. |
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| 13. |
- Alvesson, Mats, et al.
(författare)
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Uninhibited Institutionalisms
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of Management Inquiry. - : SAGE Publications. - 1056-4926 .- 1552-6542. ; 28:2, s. 119-127
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Institutional theory (IT) is a very influential set of approaches in organization studies. There is increasing critique that the set is becoming uninhibited: too broad, dispersed, and confusing. Efforts to rejuvinate the field(s) have led to all-embracing definitions and efforts to account for too much, which makes it difficult to identify what is distinct about the assembly of research. This article discusses critically the state of IT and suggests some reconceptualizations of institution and institutional theory and points at some alternative lines of development.
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| 14. |
- Bramming, Pia, et al.
(författare)
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Roundtable: Management of self-management
- 2011
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Ingår i: Ephemera: Theory and Politics in Organization. - 2052-1499. ; 11:2, s. 212-224
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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| 15. |
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| 16. |
- Frandsen, Sanne, et al.
(författare)
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Faculty responses to business school branding : A discursive approach
- 2018
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Ingår i: European Journal of Marketing. - : Emerald Group Publishing. - 1758-7123 .- 0309-0566. ; 52:5-6, s. 1128-1153
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose The branding of universities is increasingly recognized to present a different set of challenges than in corporate, for-profit sectors. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how faculty make sense of branding in the context of higher education, specifically considering branding initiatives in business schools. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on qualitative interviews with faculty regarding their responses to organizational branding at four business schools. Discourse analysis was used to analyze the interview data. Findings The study reveals varied, fluid and reflexive faculty interpretations of organizational branding. Faculty interviewed in the study adopted a number of stances towards their schools' branding efforts. In particular, the study identifies three main faculty responses to branding: endorsement, ambivalence and cynicism. Originality/value The study contributes by highlighting the ambiguities and ambivalence generated by brand management initiatives in the higher education context, offering original insights into the multiple ways that faculty exploit, frame and resist attempts to brand their organizations. The authors conclude by discussing the implications of these findings for branding in university contexts.
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| 17. |
- Frandsen, Sanne, et al.
(författare)
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Faculty responses to business school branding : a discursive approach
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Ingår i: European Journal of Marketing. - 0309-0566.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- PurposeThe branding of universities is increasingly recognized to present a different set of challenges than in corporate, for-profit sectors. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how faculty make sense of branding in the context of higher education, specifically considering branding initiatives in business schools.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on qualitative interviews with faculty regarding their responses to organizational branding at four business schools. Discourse analysis was used to analyze the interview data.FindingsThe study reveals varied, fluid and reflexive faculty interpretations of organizational branding. Faculty interviewed in the study adopted a number of stances towards their schools’ branding efforts. In particular, the study identifies three main faculty responses to branding: endorsement, ambivalence and cynicism.Originality/valueThe study contributes by highlighting the ambiguities and ambivalence generated by brand management initiatives in the higher education context, offering original insights into the multiple ways that faculty exploit, frame and resist attempts to brand their organizations. The authors conclude by discussing the implications of these findings for branding in university contexts.
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| 24. |
- Spicer, André, et al.
(författare)
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Critical Management Studies : A Critical Review
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Ingår i: Journal of Management Studies. - 0022-2380.
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this paper, we review the development of critical management studies, point at problems and explore possible developments. We begin by tracing out two previous waves of critical management studies. We then focus on more recent work in critical management studies and identify ten over-arching themes (Academia, alternatives organizations, control and resistance, discourse, Foucauldian studies, gender, identity, Marxism, post-colonialism, and psychoanalysis). We argue that CMS has largely relied on one-dimensional critique which focused on negation. This has made the field increasingly stale, focused on the usual suspects and predictable. We identify a number of problems calling for critique and rethinking. We label these author-itarianism, obscurantism, formulaic radicalism, usual-suspectism and empirical light-touchism.
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| 25. |
- Spicer, Andre, et al.
(författare)
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Critical performativity: The unfinished business of critical management studies
- 2009
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Ingår i: Human Relations. - : SAGE Publications. - 1741-282X .- 0018-7267. ; 62:4, s. 537-560
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- We argue that critical management studies (CMS) should be conceptualized as a profoundly performative project. The central task of CMS should be to actively and pragmatically intervene in specific debates about management and encourage progressive forms of management. This involves CMS becoming affirmative, caring, pragmatic, potential focused, and normative. To do this, we suggest a range of tactics including affirming ambiguity, working with mysteries, applied communicative action, exploring heterotopias and engaging micro-emancipations.
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| 26. |
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| 27. |
- Spicer, André, et al.
(författare)
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Extending critical performativity
- 2016
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Ingår i: Human Relations. - : SAGE Publications. - 0018-7267 .- 1741-282X. ; 69:2, s. 225-249
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this article we extend the debate about critical performativity. We begin by outlining the basic tenets of critical performativity and how this has been applied in the study of management and organization. We then address recent critiques of critical performance. We note these arguments suffer from an undue focus on intra-academic debates; engage in author-itarian theoretical policing; feign relevance through symbolic radicalism; and repackage common sense. We take these critiques as an opportunity to offer an extended model of critical performativity that involves focusing on issues of public importance; engaging with non-academic groups using dialectical reasoning; scaling up insights through movement building; and propagating deliberation.
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