The Frantic Gesture of Interpassivity – Maintaining the separation between the corporate and authentic self
(2009) In Journal of Organizational Change Management 22(2). p.202-213- Abstract
- Purpose - With the help of Slavoj Zizek's concept of interpassivity, this paper seeks to illustrate the frantic activities performed by employees to maintain a separation between the idea of an authentic self and the idea of a corporate self. Furthermore, this paper aims to illustrate these activities empirically. Design/methodology/approach - The empirical example is based on a case study of three of the largest international consultancy firms. About 50 consultants were interviewed in this study, but this paper primarily focuses on the experiences of one of these consultants, and goes into depth with his experiences to illustrate the frantic mechanisms of interpassivity. Findings - The paper shows how the maintenance of an "authentic... (More)
- Purpose - With the help of Slavoj Zizek's concept of interpassivity, this paper seeks to illustrate the frantic activities performed by employees to maintain a separation between the idea of an authentic self and the idea of a corporate self. Furthermore, this paper aims to illustrate these activities empirically. Design/methodology/approach - The empirical example is based on a case study of three of the largest international consultancy firms. About 50 consultants were interviewed in this study, but this paper primarily focuses on the experiences of one of these consultants, and goes into depth with his experiences to illustrate the frantic mechanisms of interpassivity. Findings - The paper shows how the maintenance of an "authentic self' outside of the corporate culture demands a distinct and frantic activity; that this activity can best be understood as interpassive in the sense that it involves taking over the passive acknowledgement for which someone else is responsible; and how the separation of an authentic from a corporate self, rather than resist the demand to enjoy one's work - prescribed by contemporary management programs - nourishes it. Originality/value - The paper builds on recent literature on cynicism and normative control in organisations. It introduces intetpassivity to this discussion. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/1388608
- author
- Muhr, Sara Louise LU ; Johnsen, Rasmus and Pedersen, Michael
- organization
- publishing date
- 2009
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Cynicism Zizek, Interpassivity, Consultants, Authenticity, Fantasy
- in
- Journal of Organizational Change Management
- volume
- 22
- issue
- 2
- pages
- 202 - 213
- publisher
- Emerald Group Publishing Limited
- external identifiers
-
- wos:000265887000005
- scopus:69449092350
- ISSN
- 0953-4814
- DOI
- 10.1108/09534810910947217
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 869f18eb-426c-46aa-90f3-871eb2ebb250 (old id 1388608)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 14:02:00
- date last changed
- 2022-02-12 00:22:20
@article{869f18eb-426c-46aa-90f3-871eb2ebb250,
abstract = {{Purpose - With the help of Slavoj Zizek's concept of interpassivity, this paper seeks to illustrate the frantic activities performed by employees to maintain a separation between the idea of an authentic self and the idea of a corporate self. Furthermore, this paper aims to illustrate these activities empirically. Design/methodology/approach - The empirical example is based on a case study of three of the largest international consultancy firms. About 50 consultants were interviewed in this study, but this paper primarily focuses on the experiences of one of these consultants, and goes into depth with his experiences to illustrate the frantic mechanisms of interpassivity. Findings - The paper shows how the maintenance of an "authentic self' outside of the corporate culture demands a distinct and frantic activity; that this activity can best be understood as interpassive in the sense that it involves taking over the passive acknowledgement for which someone else is responsible; and how the separation of an authentic from a corporate self, rather than resist the demand to enjoy one's work - prescribed by contemporary management programs - nourishes it. Originality/value - The paper builds on recent literature on cynicism and normative control in organisations. It introduces intetpassivity to this discussion.}},
author = {{Muhr, Sara Louise and Johnsen, Rasmus and Pedersen, Michael}},
issn = {{0953-4814}},
keywords = {{Cynicism
Zizek; Interpassivity; Consultants; Authenticity; Fantasy}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{2}},
pages = {{202--213}},
publisher = {{Emerald Group Publishing Limited}},
series = {{Journal of Organizational Change Management}},
title = {{The Frantic Gesture of Interpassivity – Maintaining the separation between the corporate and authentic self}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/09534810910947217}},
doi = {{10.1108/09534810910947217}},
volume = {{22}},
year = {{2009}},
}