Honorable Surrender : On the Erosion of Resistance in a University Setting
(2021) In Journal of Management Inquiry 30(4). p.407-420- Abstract
This article addresses the temporality of resistance in the work context. We focus on the challenge of increasingly diminishing professional autonomy in higher education institutions as well as the vulnerability of staff subjected to academic managerialism. A case where a lecturer is exposed to the requirements to revise grading by senior administration is investigated. Power is understood from the “target’s” perspective and viewed as the erosion of resistance. We introduce the concepts honorable surrender and smoothers to capture the process of giving up of resistance. We argue that these concepts are of special significance in autonomy-espousing work contexts where multiplicity of power resources are employed to subordinate employees... (More)
This article addresses the temporality of resistance in the work context. We focus on the challenge of increasingly diminishing professional autonomy in higher education institutions as well as the vulnerability of staff subjected to academic managerialism. A case where a lecturer is exposed to the requirements to revise grading by senior administration is investigated. Power is understood from the “target’s” perspective and viewed as the erosion of resistance. We introduce the concepts honorable surrender and smoothers to capture the process of giving up of resistance. We argue that these concepts are of special significance in autonomy-espousing work contexts where multiplicity of power resources are employed to subordinate employees and influence their professional identities. We contend that de-subjectification is key in understanding the erosion of resistance.
(Less)
- author
- Alvesson, Mats LU and Szkudlarek, Betina
- organization
- publishing date
- 2021-10-01
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- careers, education, power and politics
- in
- Journal of Management Inquiry
- volume
- 30
- issue
- 4
- pages
- 407 - 420
- publisher
- SAGE Publications
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85087951502
- ISSN
- 1056-4926
- DOI
- 10.1177/1056492620939189
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- d70eae56-9e75-496d-b9d5-8d7a633acbbb
- date added to LUP
- 2020-07-30 11:12:01
- date last changed
- 2022-04-18 23:57:19
@article{d70eae56-9e75-496d-b9d5-8d7a633acbbb,
abstract = {{<p>This article addresses the temporality of resistance in the work context. We focus on the challenge of increasingly diminishing professional autonomy in higher education institutions as well as the vulnerability of staff subjected to academic managerialism. A case where a lecturer is exposed to the requirements to revise grading by senior administration is investigated. Power is understood from the “target’s” perspective and viewed as the erosion of resistance. We introduce the concepts honorable surrender and smoothers to capture the process of giving up of resistance. We argue that these concepts are of special significance in autonomy-espousing work contexts where multiplicity of power resources are employed to subordinate employees and influence their professional identities. We contend that de-subjectification is key in understanding the erosion of resistance.</p>}},
author = {{Alvesson, Mats and Szkudlarek, Betina}},
issn = {{1056-4926}},
keywords = {{careers; education; power and politics}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{10}},
number = {{4}},
pages = {{407--420}},
publisher = {{SAGE Publications}},
series = {{Journal of Management Inquiry}},
title = {{Honorable Surrender : On the Erosion of Resistance in a University Setting}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1056492620939189}},
doi = {{10.1177/1056492620939189}},
volume = {{30}},
year = {{2021}},
}