The Language of Managerialism: Organizational Communication or an Ideological Tool?

ISBN-13: 9783031163784 / Angielski / Twarda / 2023 / 259 str.

Thomas Klikauer

Opis

This book explains how management became Managerialism and how the language of managerialism was developed.Providing a comprehensive discussion of the managerialism-language interface, the book argues that firstly, managerialism itself has developed its distinctive language; and secondly, the two concepts of managerialism and language mutually depend upon each other. Written from the critical media studies perspective of the Frankfurt School of Critical Theory, the book reaches beyond simple business communication, illustrating how the language of managerialism is colonising the non-corporate lifeworld. The book concludes by offering fresh ideas on how to move beyond the language of managerialism.

Spis treści

Preface:        General statements found in most books.

Acknowledgements, Dedication, Table of Contents

List of Tables and Figures

 

Chapter one: Introduction

The Language of Managerialism is about two things – language and Managerialism – and outlines in particular what both create when they merge into the language of Managerialism. This introduction links the book to an established body of knowledge. In the case of Managerialism, there are two sets of literature. Firstly, three key books written on the subject of Managerialism: a) Enteman’s Managerialism (1993); b) Locke and Spender’s Confronting Managerialism (2011); and finally, Klikauer’s Managerialism (2013) and secondly, roughly a handful of academic journal articles written on the subject of Managerialism. The following also briefly outlines the contents of chapters two to eight.

 

 

Chapter two: Models of Managerialism

Chapter two provides a short history of what might be called “simple” management that came before management, i.e. the administration of factories, was established. Unlike Managerialism’s more ideological tone, factory administration and simple management were mostly concerned with the internal affairs of business organisations. The chapter also explains a formula that defines Managerialism and its spread into previously unrelated areas. The core of chapter is formed by three models that explain the modus operandi of Managerialism: the “organisational model” of Managerialism (fig. 2.1), a construction of what might be called a “global model” of Managerialism (fig. 2.2), and “trident model” (fig. 2.3).

 

Chapter three: The Twelve Language Areas of Managerialism

Chapter three is about twelve language areas in which Managerialism plays a significant role and which have developed strong forms of language use that justify a closer observation. The chapter also highlights the difference between the macro-economic language of neoliberalism and the micro-economic language of Managerialism. One of the distinct areas of language use in which the language of Managerialism makes a strong showing is that of profits. This is followed by the specifics of a thoroughly ideological language arguing that the language of Managerialism is ideological. This part focuses on areas where the language of Managerialism is not linked to a specific managerial area but uses language for purely ideological purposes. Going forward, the chapter discusses the use of language in the areas of growth, competition, ethics and morality, participation and democracy, quantification and numbers, humanising and dehumanising, exploitation; long-termism vs. short-termism; sustainability and environmentalism, and finally, the use of language to create the homogenisation of society.

 

Chapter 4: The Language of Managerialism and its Infiltration of the Lifeworld

After briefly examining the use of language in the public as well as in the corporate domain, as seen during a shift of language from simple management to Managerialism, the chapter outlines the philosophical origins of the concept of the lifeworld as developed by Husserl and Habermas. The philosophical concept of the lifeworld is then used to examine the language of Managerialism. In a final step, the chapter describes how the language of Managerialism seeks to infiltrate and attack the lifeworld.

 

Chapter 5: Business Schools and the language of Managerialism

The key theme of chapter five is to highlight the role of business schools as one of the key transmission institutions that drive the language of Managerialism. Together with the business press, business schools play an essential role in spreading managerial language and its infiltration and eventually colonisation of the lifeworld. The case of Enron (2004) is used to show how business schools and the business press rely on the language of Managerialism to advance the course of Managerialism. The chapter also includes a discussion on the role of business schools in developing business jargons, abbreviations, acronyms, circular reasoning, opposite qualifiers, and anecdotal evidence.

 

Chapter 6: Language & Rationality

This chapter is about the pretended rationality of the language of Managerialism. It discusses this rationality behind the managerialist concept of leadership, an idée fixe that is powerfully supported by academics. As a consequence, this chapter highlights the role of the language of rationality in fostering the language of Managerialism. It also shows how the use of the language of Managerialism inside universities can eliminate most remnants of critical thinking and philosophy in the Aristotelian, Kantian, and Hegelian understanding.

 

Chapter 7: Corporate Apparatchiks and Superlatives

The final chapter before the conclusion explains the link between Managerialism’s formula (M_A=MEI) and the language of Managerialism. It also clarifies why neither Managerialism nor the language of Managerialism are conspiracies. To highlight this, the World Economic Forum (Davos) is examined in more detail. It shows how the language of Managerialism works its way through such semi-official meetings of the self-appointed economy elite. At a corporate level, the chapter explains how the language of Managerialism works between those deemed to be subordinates and the upper ranks of corporate apparatchiks. The chapter ends by illuminating the use of the language of Managerialism in what might be termed “corporate superlatives”.

 

Chapter 8: The Curse of the Language of Managerialism

The concluding chapter highlights what we can learn from what has been outlined in the previous chapters (1-7). It demonstrates the impact of the language of Managerialism on the lifeworld. The core of this chapter is dedicated to the delivery of a possible solution to the problem of the language of Managerialism that is infiltrating the lifeworld. Part of the solution is resistance that might begin by developing something that could best be called intellectual self-defence against the ever-encroaching language of Managerialism. In the philosophy of Normand Baillargeon this might be called, find you inner Chomsky. The chapter also includes methods to eliminate the language of Managerialism. The book ends by proposing the application of Habermas’ theory of communicative action and ideal speech to eliminate the language of Managerialism.

O autorze

Thomas Klikauer is a Senior Lecturer at the SGSM (Western Sydney University). A prolific author, his publications include Management Education (2017), Hegel's Moral Corporation (2016), Seven Moralities of Human Resource Management (2014), Managerialism (2013), and Seven Management Moralities (2012). 

Blurb

"Take the red pill and discover how beneath the blah-blah of business-speak lies the pernicious ideology of Managerialism, which is progressively infecting our thinking and disabling our critical capacities. This book lays bare the ways instrumental reason is colonizing everyday life, and offers some powerful remedies. Read it and wake up!" —Paul S. Adler, University of Southern California.

"In the past century we have seen the inexorable rise of a class of people called managers who now seem to run every organization. In this sharp and beautifully written book, one of the major critics of managerialism shows us how this takeover relies on language to produce its own reality. If you want to speak like a manager, and understand what that speech does to you and others, then read this book." —Martin Parker, Lead for the Bristol Inclusive Economy initiative, Department of Management, Bristol University, UK.

This book explains how management became Managerialism and how the language of managerialism was developed. Providing a comprehensive discussion of the managerialism-language interface, the book argues that firstly, managerialism itself has developed its distinctive language; and secondly, the two concepts of managerialism and language mutually depend upon each other. 

Written from the critical media studies perspective of the Frankfurt School of Critical Theory, the book reaches beyond simple business communication, illustrating how the language of managerialism is colonising the non-corporate lifeworld. The book concludes by offering fresh ideas on how to move beyond the language of managerialism.

Thomas Klikauer is a Senior Lecturer at the SGSM (Western Sydney University). A prolific author, his publications include Management Education (2017), Hegel's Moral Corporation (2016), Seven Moralities of Human Resource Management (2014), Managerialism (2013), and Seven Management Moralities (2012).