Power-Maps for Organizational Change: Foucault's Archaeology as a Hypothetical Model for Mapping Strategies of Power and Resistance

Abstract

This paper explores techniques for maximizing organizational performance via the mapping of organizational knowledge and strategies of power. It explores the nexus between knowledge and strategies of power, envisioning knowledge as a practice of power embodied in organizational discourses. In order to trace organizational power-maps, Foucault's Archaeology of Knowledge is adopted as a hypothetical model for mapping strategies of power and resistance embedded in organizational knowledge. It is hoped that this knowledge of how power and resistance operate will enable organizations to position and plan policies when organizational change and restructuring are desired. The essay provides guidelines on how to conduct Archaeology and concludes by suggesting potential ways in which Archaeology may be applied by organizations.

“Working in Parallel”: Themes in Knowledge Management and Information Behavior

“…Postmodern theorists, such as Foucault (1972; and Lyotard (1984), have as yet had relatively little impact on knowledge management, although there are some notable exceptions such as Chay-Németh (2002) and Sbarcea (2003). However, with the growing influence of socio-cultural approaches and an increasing recognition of the importance of power-knowledge relations, we argue that poststructuralist…”