Management and dehumanisation in late modernity

摘要

This essay argues that managerial practices have contributed to dehumanising contemporary societies, and that management studies bear an important share of the blame. In accordance with prior claims made by Ghoshal it explores how management studies conveys, and reproduces, a gloomy vision of humanity that ignores agents’ moral powers, that encourages systems of collaboration based on fear or greed and that encourages workers to identify with the selfish persona they are deemed to possess. This is followed by a brief reflection on the significance of bureaucracy, of corporate culture, of meaningless or precarious work, of physical violence, and of robotization. The resulting picture indicates avenues for future research in management and organisation studies that may help understanding of and resistance to dehumanisation, but also inspire more humane ways of organising work tasks.