The Triumph of Emptiness

Consumption, Higher Education, and Work Organization
2. Auflage 2022
ISBN: 978-0-19-286527-4
Verlag: Oxford University Press

Buch, Englisch, 240 Seiten, Print PDF, Format (B × H): 154 mm x 230 mm, Gewicht: 378 g

In today's world, considerable time and effort is devoted to appearance, both for individuals and organizations; the right look, an impressive title, a favourable connection. The focus is on the surface, with considerations of substance often overlooked. In this book, Mats Alvesson demystifies some popular and upbeat claims about a range of phenomena, including the knowledge society, consumption, branding, higher education, organizational change, professionalization, and leadership. He contends that a culture of 'grandiosity' is leading to numerous inflated claims. We no longer talk about plans but 'strategies'. Supervisors have been replaced by 'managers', and managers are referred to as 'executives'. Management itself is about 'leadership'. Giving advice is 'coaching'. Companies become 'knowledge-intensive firms'. This book views the contemporary economy as an economy of persuasion, where firms and other institutions increasingly assign talent, energy, and resources to rhetoric, image, branding, reputation, and visibility.

This second edition uses a wide range of empirical examples to illuminate the realms of consumption, higher education, organization, and leadership in the 21st century. Exploring new areas such as strategic management in higher education, title inflation, and the increasing imbalance between knowledge, manual, and care work, this provocative and engaging book challenges established assumptions and contributes to a critical understanding of society as a whole.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Alvesson, Mats

Fachgebiete

• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Betriebswirtschaft Unternehmensorganisation, Corporate Responsibility Unternehmensethik
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Freizeitsoziologie, Konsumsoziologie, Alltagssoziologie, Populärkultur
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Angewandte Ethik & Soziale Verantwortung Wirtschaftsethik, Unternehmensethik
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Betriebswirtschaft Organisationstheorie, Organisationssoziologie, Organisationspsychologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

- 1: Introduction: Zero-Sum Games, Grandiosity, and Illusion Trick

- 2: Consumption: the Shortcomings of Affluence

- 3: Explaining the Consumption Paradox: Why Aren't People (More) Satisfied?

- 4: Higher Education: Triumph of the Knowledge Intensive Society or a Statistical Cosmetics Project?

- 5: Higher Education: An Image-Boosting Business?

- 6: Modern Working Life and Organizations: Change, Dynamism, and Post-Bureaucracy?

- 7: Organizational Structures on the Beauty Parade: Imitation and Shop-Window Dressing

- 8: A Place in the Sun: Occupational Groups' Professionalization Projects and Other Status and Influence Ambitions

- 9: Leadership: A Driving Force or Empty Talk

- 10: The Triumph of Imagology: A Paradise for Tricksters?

- 11: The Costs of Grandiosity

Über Autor(innen)

Mats Alvesson is a Professor in Organization Studies at Lund University. His research focuses on leadership, critical theory, gender, power, identity, and organizational image and culture.