Critical Flashcards
Bureaucratic Control
Control based on power of hierarchical structure and rational-legal rules
Concertive Control
A theory that explains how power relationships can be transformed in an era of team-based and “alternative form” organizations. CONTROL, IDENTIFICATION, DISCIPLINE
Critical Approaches
Approaches that consider organizations as sites of domination and see theory as a force that can emancipate individuals from these dominating forces.
Critical Modes of Being
Deetz - critical scholars should be “filled with care” in their empathetic approach to others, “filled with thought” in our consideration of the social and political ramifications of organizational experience, and “filled with good humor” in appreciating the irony and contradictions that are always part of organizational life.
Decision Premises
The options available to a decision-maker. these serve to restrict choice and provide an interpretation for organizational activity.
Deconstruction
A method of postmodern analysis in which texts are taken apart in order to reveal social and political meanings. an exploration of privileged and marginalized meanings within a text.
Dialectic of Control
Giddens- the notion that subordinates can exercise some degree of control over hegemonic power relationships
Discipline
In Concertive Control Theory, the techniques that develop as a result of communicative interaction to reward and punish behavior that conform with or deviates from the values identified as important by the work group.
Emancipation
The goal of critical theorists, in which people are liberated from restrictive ideologies and power relationships.
Feminist Theory
Critical theory that explores the ways in which organizational processes and structures are shaped by patriarchy and gender relationships.
Hegemony
The process in which a dominant group leads another group to accept domination as the norm.
Identification
When an individual takes on the concerns of the organization or group and accepts those concerns and his or her own.
Ideology
Taken-for-granted assumptions about reality that shape our beliefs about what exists, what is possible, and what is good.
Liberal Feminism
A group of feminists who believe that remedies for female subordination should come from within the system and that women should work to gain their fair share of control in institutions currently run by men.
Means of Production
According to Marxist theory, the actual work processes involved in production
Modes of Production
According to Marxist theory, the economic conditions that underlie the production process.
Pluralist Feminism
A form of feminist that argues for the need to be responsive to organizations that desire social change but are unable to engage in feminist practice because of the constrictions of business and bureaucracy.
Pluralist Frame of Reference
A political frame of reference to organizational study in which an emphasis is placed on the positive aspects of divergent interests within the organization
Postmodern Feminism
A form of feminism where supporters attempt to “deconstruct” male-dominated meaning systems in order to highlight women’s perspectives.
Radical-Critical Approach to Power
Assumption that there are inherent contradictions between the “surface structure” of power and the “deep structure” of power that must be explored.
Radical Feminism
Proponents of this form of feminism believe that emancipation for women can only occur through the destruction of male-dominated institutions or through the total separation of women from these institutions.
Radical Frame of Reference
A political frame of reference to organizational study in which the organization is seen as a battleground where rival forces seek largely incompatible goals.
Resistance
Research in this area considers the ways in which workers can exert counter pressure on the exercise of power and control by organizations.
Simple Control
A form of control which involves the direct and authoritarian exertion of control in the workplace.
Standpoint Feminism
A form of feminism where proponents work to enhance the opportunity for a variety of marginalized voices to be heard within societal dialogue
Symbological Approach to Power
Assumption that power is a product of communicative interactions and relationships.
Technological Control
A form of control which is exerted through technological workplace processes such as assembly lines or computer programs
Traditional Approach to Power
Assumption that power is a relatively stable entity that people or groups possess.
Unitary Frame of Reference
A political frame of reference to organizational study in which an emphasis is placed on common organizational goals.
