Susanne Ekman Phd Series 22.2010
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A Service of Leibniz-Informationszentrum econstor Wirtschaft Leibniz Information Centre Make Your Publications Visible. zbw for Economics Ekman, Susanne Doctoral Thesis Authority and Autonomy: Paradoxes of Modern Knowledge Work PhD Series, No. 22.2010 Provided in Cooperation with: Copenhagen Business School (CBS) Suggested Citation: Ekman, Susanne (2010) : Authority and Autonomy: Paradoxes of Modern Knowledge Work, PhD Series, No. 22.2010, ISBN 8759384350, Copenhagen Business School (CBS), Frederiksberg, http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8061 This Version is available at: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/208757 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. personal and scholarly purposes. 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No parts of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Contents INTRODUCTION: Desire, Discovery, and Disillusionment in modern working life ............................... 5 CHAPTER 1 : Affective Labor and Post-bureaucracy ................................................................................... 11 Detraditionalization and Flexible Capitalism ............................................................................................... 13 Corporate Culture as Individual Empowerment ......................................................................................... 18 Corporate Culture as Control ......................................................................................................................... 20 Teams as Iron Cages ........................................................................................................................................ 24 Emotional Labor and Authenticating Techniques ...................................................................................... 27 Freedom, Enterprise and Emotional Capital ............................................................................................... 31 Resistance in Capitalism .................................................................................................................................. 33 Concluding Remarks ........................................................................................................................................ 38 CHAPTER 2: Setting the Scene - Analytics of Compassion ......................................................................... 41 Booker ................................................................................................................................................................ 41 Media .................................................................................................................................................................. 42 Ethics and Politics ............................................................................................................................................ 45 The question of social science and normativity ...................................................................................... 46 Analytical Incisions .......................................................................................................................................... 52 Discourses ..................................................................................................................................................... 53 Ethical care for the self ............................................................................................................................... 57 Fantasmatic logic ......................................................................................................................................... 59 Forms of interaction.................................................................................................................................... 60 CHAPTER 3: Methods – The Solidarity of Detachment .............................................................................. 63 Solidarity and detachment ............................................................................................................................... 64 Constructing the field ...................................................................................................................................... 67 Designing interviews ........................................................................................................................................ 70 Presentation of empirical material ................................................................................................................. 72 Strategy of representation ............................................................................................................................... 75 Criteria of quality .............................................................................................................................................. 76 Anonymity ......................................................................................................................................................... 80 Blind spots ......................................................................................................................................................... 81 CHAPTER 4: Contractuality and Authenticity – the dual discourses about work ..................................... 85 Authenticity – transgressing limits ................................................................................................................. 85 Progression ................................................................................................................................................... 86 Passion ........................................................................................................................................................... 95 Indispensability ............................................................................................................................................ 99 Agency ......................................................................................................................................................... 103 The outside of authenticity ........................................................................................................................... 107 Contractuality - Embracing limits ................................................................................................................ 108 Craft ............................................................................................................................................................. 108 3 Collegiality ................................................................................................................................................... 112 The outside of contractuality ........................................................................................................................ 114 CHAPTER 5: Captain or Comrade – what employees expect from their managers ............................... 115 Contractuality discourse ................................................................................................................................ 116 Hierarchy ....................................................................................................................................................