208
Views
11
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Articles

Contemplation and the ‘Performative Absolute’: submission and identity in managerial modernity

Pages 9-29 | Published online: 19 Dec 2011
 

Abstract

Practices derived from the ‘vita contemplativa’ and other spiritual sources are drawn upon by management, but as the power of human resources management (HRM) is extended so the relationship between ‘contemplation’ and the surrender of self-identity required by HRM demands critical examination. The conscious construction of the individual has become a social and political goal. Subjects are required to strip away attributes of their identity that might impede protocols that cascade down from the executive. Total transparency becomes a condition of the re-creation of individual identity. Practices drawn from religious and spiritual traditions that enact the surrender of the self facilitate submission to the demands of the Performative Absolute, the immanent sublime, Demiurge or dieu caché articulated by HRM. The informed passivity of the employee precedes oblation, the sacrificial offering of the self that facilitates the donation by HRM of the attuned identity that ensures the organisational survival of the individual.

Notes

1. . The present writer has served on the Ministries Council of the Church of Scotland which is responsible for 86% of the total budget of the Church and manages a wide array of activities through a complex and pillarised committee structure.

2. . The consequences of a decade of educational change in the UK are becoming apparent. See OECD report of December 2010 and http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/8185935/OECD-school-league-tables-UK-ranked-28th-for-maths.html.

3. . The present writer has conducted extensive field research into a wide range of practices, many of which have been drawn upon to facilitate identity change in both managers in training and their subjects.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.