Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall: Reflecting on the Ethics and Effects of a Collective Critical Management Studies Identity Project

Abstract

This article explores the relationship between the identity of critical management studies (CMS) academics and that of managers. The article argues that, as a result of the way in which CMS identities are pursued, managers often become represented as culpable dupes. This instrumental 'othering' of managers tends to work against an empathetic understanding of their lives. The article suggests that this raises ethical problems as it runs counter to the espoused aims of much CMS work. The article fi rst considers the nature of CMS through a number of key 'positioning' articles that suggest an identity attractive to many of its members. It goes on to analyse how this identity positions the managerial other, using a theoretical framework derived from Sartre, Heidegger and Ricoeur. The article concludes with a discussion of how CMS might address the implications of the interdependent identity projects of academics and managers.

The elephant in the room: Critical management studies conferences as a site of body pedagogics

“…These practices gender CMS culture in a way that inherently favours masculine identities and bodies and is symbolic of masculine power; thus 'it hardly takes a sophisticated feminist critique to realize that British critters are a bit too blokeish to be inclusive' (Rowlinson and Hassard, 2008: 4). CMS's adoption of a coherent, preconceived, rebellious identity in opposition to the dominant culture of mainstream management studies (Reedy, 2008;Worthington and Hodgson, 2005) may further discourage examination of these practices.…”

“…Much has been said about the intellectual principles that differentiate critical from mainstream management studies (Clegg et al, 2006;Fournier and Grey, 2000;Reedy, 2008;Walsh and Weber, 2002 ). However, far less attention has been paid to the ritual and bodily practices that characterize CMS, including the processes of socialization whereby certain identities are constructed and communicated.…”

Autoethnography and academic identity: glimpsing business school doppelgängers

“…Therefore, we argue that intimate stories of the academic self, must be subjected to critique and analysis. Without it, such stories (including those written with the best motives) will inevitably reflect our cosy, middle-class professional lives and aspirations -even as they seduce their authors into thinking of themselves as radicals (Reedy, 2008). For us, then, an explicitly analytical element is always going to be essential for autoethnography to have any chance of sidestepping the trap into which both we and Ellis fell.…”

The possibilities and perils of critical performativity: Learning from four case studies

“…Whilst CMS location within the Business School certainly offers opportunities for expansion as an academic discipline, its isolation from organizational practice, means its locked within an 'ivory tower' (Parker, 2002;Voronov & Coleman, 2003;Wolfram Cox, et al, 2009), unable, or possibly even unwilling (Reedy, 2008) to transform organizational practice.…”