PDF Alvesson, M. (2013). The Triumph of Emptiness. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 243 P. [Book Review] Download
- Author: Ziva Kos Kecojevic
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Functional stupidity can be catastrophic. It can cause organisational collapse, financial meltdown and technical disaster. And there are countless, more everyday examples of organisations accepting the dubious, the absurd and the downright idiotic, from unsustainable management fads to the cult of leadership or an over-reliance on brand and image. And yet a dose of stupidity can be useful and produce good, short-term results: it can nurture harmony, encourage people to get on with the job and drive success. This is the stupidity paradox. The Stupidity Paradox tackles head-on the pros and cons of functional stupidity. You'll discover what makes a workplace mindless, why being stupid might be a good thing in the short term but a disaster in the longer term, and how to make your workplace a little less stupid by challenging thoughtless conformity. It shows how harmony and action in the workplace can be balanced with a culture of questioning and challenge. The book is a wake-up call for smart organisations and smarter people. It encourages us to use our intelligence fully for the sake of personal satisfaction, organisational success and the flourishing of society as a whole.
The book views the contemporary economy as an economy of persuasion, where firms and institutions assign resources to rhetoric, image, and reputation rather than production of goods and services. It examines critically phenomena such as the knowledge society, consumption, higher education, organizational change, professionalization, and leadership.
International Practice Theory is the definitive introduction to the practice turn in world politics, providing an accessible, up-to-date guide to the approaches, concepts, methodologies and methods of the subject. Situating the study of practices in contemporary theory and reviewing approaches ranging from Bourdieu’s praxeology and communities of practice to actor-network theory and pragmatic sociology, it documents how they can be used to study international practices empirically. The book features a discussion of how scholars can navigate ontological challenges such as order and change, micro and macro, bodies and objects, and power and critique. Interpreting practice theory as a methodological orientation, it also provides an essential guide for the design, execution and drafting of a praxiographic study.
Academic identities research is a growing area of scholarly enquiry especially as academics themselves question the evolving nature of their roles in rapidly-changing university environments. Performative frameworks in many countries around the world reflect these changes and this volume brings a number of disciplinary perspectives to bear on how we understand the lived experiences of academic life in a global context. Contributors explore the power of conceptual tools drawn from Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology and Politics to challenge increasingly instrumental neoliberal political approaches to higher education, supported by empirical evidence. Worthwhile teaching, learning and research require significant personal investment, and the book pays particular attention to the deeply affective dimensions of current academic practices. In Part One, tools to conceptualise academic identity-work drawn from foundational academic disciplines are applied to contemporary higher education practices. Part Two foregrounds how working in universities today proceeds, with a particular focus on how academics respond to the multiplicity of institutional demands. The most pressing perceived demand, supported by contributions in Part Three, is publication: the need to be 'visible' to 'count' is now a global imperative, with the affective dimensions not yet well-understood at policy level. In Part Four, those who support colleagues negotiating a reconfigured academic terrain explore productive approaches towards this task to ensure that academic practice remains rooted in the values previously outlined. This book will be of interest to those working in universities globally who seek a deeper appreciation of the contextual drivers that shape academic work.
Social Perception and Social Reality contests the received wisdom in the field of social psychology that suggests that social perception and judgment are generally flawed, biased, and powerfully self-fulfilling. Jussim reviews a wealth of real world, survey, and experimental data collected over the last century to show that in fact, social psychological research consistently demonstrates that biases and self-fulfilling prophecies are generally weak, fragile, and fleeting. Furthermore, research in the social sciences has shown stereotypes to be accurate. Jussim overturns the received wisdom concerning social perception in several ways. He critically reviews studies that are highly cited darlings of the bias conclusion and shows how these studies demonstrate far more accuracy than bias, or are not replicable in subsequent research. Studies of equal or higher quality, which have been replicated consistently, are shown to demonstrate high accuracy, low bias, or both. The book is peppered with discussions suggesting that theoretical and political blinders have led to an odd state of affairs in which the flawed or misinterpreted bias studies receive a great deal of attention, while stronger and more replicable accuracy studies receive relatively little attention. In addition, the author presents both personal and real world examples (such as stock market prices, sporting events, and political elections) that routinely undermine heavy-handed emphases on error and bias, but are generally indicative of high levels of rationality and accuracy. He fully embraces scientific data, even when that data yields unpopular conclusions or contests prevailing conventions or the received wisdom in psychology, in other social sciences, and in broader society.
Most people know what management is but often people have vague ideas about Manageralism. This book introduces Manageralism and its ideology as a colonising project that has infiltrated nearly every eventuality of human society.
This powerful new book provides a clear framework for understanding and learning an emerging management practice, leading public design. Drawing on more than a decade of work on public sector innovation, Christian Bason uses his extensive practical experience and research conducted among public managers in the UK, the US, Australia, Finland and Denmark to explore how public organisations can be redesigned from the outside in, shaping policies and services that are truly experienced as useful and meaningful to citizens, and which leverage all of society’s resources to co-produce better outcomes. Through detailed case studies, the book presents six management practices which leaders in government can use to involve citizens, staff and other stakeholders in innovation processes. It shows how managers can challenge their own assumptions, leverage empathy with citizens, handle divergence, navigate unknown territory, experiment and rehearse future solutions through prototyping, and create more public value. Ultimately, Leading public design provides a pathway to a new and different way of governing public institutions: human-centred governance. As a more relational, networked, interactive and reflective approach to running organisations, this emerging governance model promises a more human yet effective public sector.
Movement Medicine is the kind of instruction manual you'll actually want to read. It is laced with personal stories from the authors’ lives that are funny, inspiring and moving, as well as 38 recipes that will change the way you see and feel about yourself and your place in this world. Anybody in a body can take part. So that means you. Take a deep breath. Your drum is calling you. Its rhythm is in your blood. We are being challenged as a species to raise our game. The 9 Gateways are a map and a guide for the critical times we live in. In them, you will see the ancient and the modern, the psychotherapeutic and the shamanic, the devotional and the traditional, the scientific and the mystical, all woven together into material that is strong enough to support you to 'Live Your Dream.'