In an age when large corporations dominate the economic and political landscape, it is tempting to think that their power goes largely unchecked. Originally published in 2007, Contesting the Corporation counters this view by showing that today's corporations are driven by political struggle, power plays and attempts to resist control. Building on a wide range of theoretical sources, Fleming and Spicer present an analysis of the different ways in which power operates within the modern workplace. They begin by building a theoretical perspective that synthesizes previous investigations of power and resistance, identifying struggle as a key concept. Each chapter illustrates a different dimension of workplace struggle through an array of original empirical studies relating to sexuality, cynicism, new social movements and new-wave trade unionism. The book concludes by demonstrating that social justice claims underlie even the most innocuous forms of resistance, helping to transform some of the largest modern corporations.

Contesting the Corporation: Struggle, Power and Resistance in Organizations

Business & Money

FLEMING, PETER

Spicer, André

Management & Leadership

Cambridge University Press

In an age when large corporations dominate the economic and political landscape, it is tempting to think that their power goes largely unchecked. Originally published in 2007, Contesting the Corporation counters this view by showing that today's corporations are driven by political struggle, power plays and attempts to resist control. Building on a wide range of theoretical sources, Fleming and Spicer present an analysis of the different ways in which power operates within the modern workplace. They begin by building a theoretical perspective that synthesizes previous investigations of power and resistance, identifying struggle as a key concept. Each chapter illustrates a different dimension of workplace struggle through an array of original empirical studies relating to sexuality, cynicism, new social movements and new-wave trade unionism. The book concludes by demonstrating that social justice claims underlie even the most innocuous forms of resistance, helping to transform some of the largest modern corporations.

The Wellness Syndrome

Not exercising as much as you should? Counting your calories in your sleep? Feeling ashamed for not being happier? You may be a victim of the wellness syndrome. In this ground-breaking new book, Carl Cederström and André Spicer argue that the ever-present pressure to maximize our wellness has started to work against us, making us feel worse and provoking us to withdraw into ourselves. The Wellness Syndrome follows health freaks who go to extremes to find the perfect diet, corporate athletes who start the day with a dance party, and the self-trackers who monitor everything, including their own toilet habits. This is a world where feeling good has become indistinguishable from being good. Visions of social change have been reduced to dreams of individual transformation, political debate has been replaced by insipid moralising, and scientific evidence has been traded for new-age delusions. A lively and humorous diagnosis of the cult of wellness, this book is an indispensable guide for everyone suspicious of our relentless quest to be happier and healthier.

Politics & Social Sciences

Cederström, Carl

Philosophy

Polity

Metaphors We Lead By

Alvesson,Mats

Taylor&Francis

Business Bullshit

Our organizations are flooded with empty talk. We are constantly "going forward" to lands of "deliverables", stopping off on the "journey" to "drill down" into "best practice". Being an expert at using management speak has become more important in corporate life than delivering long lasting results. The upshot is that meaningless corporate jargon is killing our organizations. In this book, management scholar the author argues we need to call this empty talk what it is: bullshit. The book looks at how organizations have become vast machines for manufacturing, distributing and consuming bullshit. It follows how the meaningless language of management has spread through schools, NGOs, politics and the media. Business Bullshit shows you how to spot business bullshit, considers why it is so popular, and outlines the impact it has on organizations and the people who work there. It also outlines what we can do to minimise bullshit at work. The author makes a case for why organizations need to avoid empty talk and reconnect with core activities.

Reference

Routledge

Why do smart people do stupid things at work? Welcome to the idea of functional stupidity. 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 Stupidity Paradox: The Power and Pitfalls of Functional Stupidity at Work

Business Culture

IPS - Profile Books

Unmasking the Entrepreneur

`"Entrepreneurship" has been used to describe so many different kinds of situations that it has become, essentially, meaningless as a concept. This book critically examines taken-for-granted views of entrepreneurship and offers many needed insights into entrepreneurship's economic, social, political, and moral characteristics. By "unmasking" the entrepreneur, Jones and Spicer reveal the different roles entrepreneurial actors play, as well as set the stage on which other characters come to the forefront in the entrepreneurial process. Through the use of some innovative exemplars, the authors demonstrate that the leading players in the phenomena of entrepreneurship are more often "others" rather than the entrepreneurs we want to believe in.' - Professor William B. Gartner, Clemson University, US 
`In an accessible and focused book, Jones and Spicer unmask the pretensions, presuppositions, and prejudices of entrepreneurship discourse. Their critique is multifaceted, well-illustrated, and affirmative. What do the authors find behind the mask of the entrepreneur: a grim smile, a phantom, just another mask, or the face of the other? Readers will enjoy the suspense as they watch this alternative unfolding of entrepreneurship. Moreover, this timely book will provide momentum to the emergence of a critical theory of entrepreneurship. Its philosophical and ethical positioning offers profound guidance and sturdy inspiration for all scholars wanting to contribute to the critical turn in entrepreneurship studies in the years to come.' - Professor Chris Steyaert, University of St. Gallen, Switzerland 
`In this critical tour de force, Jones and Spicer take aim at the figure of the entrepreneur that has loomed so large in programmes of political and organizational reform over the last three decades. Drawing on an impressively wide range of sources, they offer a timely and disturbing meditation on a category of personhood whose ideals of conduct we are all increasingly expected to imitate, no matter how perverse this injunction turns out to be. This is a fascinating and original text, that offers a sustained, sideways look at one of the key characters of our times.' - Professor Paul du Gay, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark 
This book asks what lies behind the friendly face of the entrepreneur. It challenges the widespread idea that entrepreneurship is a necessary and good thing, subjecting `the entrepreneur' to critical analysis. Unmasking the Entrepreneur demonstrates the socially embedded nature of entrepreneurship and considers the history, ethics and politics of entrepreneurship. Drawing on a range of ideas from critical social theory and philosophy, it investigates entrepreneurship in unusual places such as among illegal immigrants and revolutionary France. Ultimately, this book offers a unique and powerful critique of the very idea of the entrepreneur.

Jones, Campbell

Edward Elgar Publishing

''Entrepreneurship' has been used to describe so many different kinds of situations that it has become, essentially, meaningless as a concept. This book critically examines taken-for-granted views of entrepreneurship and offers many needed insights into entrepreneurship's economic, social, political, and moral characteristics. By 'unmasking' the entrepreneur, Jones and Spicer reveal the different roles entrepreneurial actors play, as well as set the stage on which other characters come to the forefront in the entrepreneurial process. Through the use of some innovative exemplars, the authors demonstrate that the leading players in the phenomena of entrepreneurship are more often 'others' rather than the entrepreneurs we want to believe in.' Professor William B. Gartner, Clemson University, US 'In an accessible and focused book, Jones and Spicer unmask the pretensions, presuppositions, and prejudices of entrepreneurship discourse. Their critique is multifaceted, well-illustrated, and affirmative. What do the authors find behind the mask of the entrepreneur: a grim smile, a phantom, just another mask, or the face of the other? Readers will enjoy the suspense as they watch this alternative unfolding of entrepreneurship. Moreover, this timely book will provide momentum to the emergence of a critical theory of entrepreneurship. Its philosophical and ethical positioning offers profound guidance and sturdy inspiration for all scholars wanting to contribute to the critical turn in entrepreneurship studies in the years to come.' Professor Chris Steyaert, University of St. Gallen, Switzerland 'In this critical tour de force, Jones and Spicer take aim at the figure of the entrepreneur that has loomed so large in programmes of political and organizational reform over the last three decades. Drawing on an impressively wide range of sources, they offer a timely and disturbing meditation on a category of personhood whose ideals of conduct we are all increasingly expected to imitate, no matter how perverse this injunction turns out to be. This is a fascinating and original text, that offers a sustained, sideways look at one of the key characters of our times.' Professor Paul du Gay, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark  This book asks what lies behind the friendly face of the entrepreneur. It challenges the widespread idea that entrepreneurship is a necessary and good thing, subjecting the entrepreneur to critical analysis. Unmasking the Entrepreneur demonstrates the socially embedded nature of entrepreneurship and considers the history, ethics and politics of entrepreneurship. Drawing on a range of ideas from critical social theory and philosophy, it investigates entrepreneurship in unusual places such as among illegal immigrants and revolutionary France. Ultimately, this book offers a unique and powerful critique of the very idea of the entrepreneur.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Spicer, André. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Spicer, André

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Spicer, André. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Contesting the Corporation: Struggle, Power and Resistance in Organizations

Contesting the Corporation: Struggle, Power and Resistance in Organizations

The Wellness Syndrome

The Wellness Syndrome

Metaphors We Lead By

Business Bullshit

Business Bullshit

The Stupidity Paradox: The Power and Pitfalls of Functional Stupidity at Work

Unmasking the Entrepreneur

Unmasking the Entrepreneur