organization and identity dec 30

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! ' fu thi,,} ~1,apter ie 'ill,us, ~ate,,ho\4 different kind~ of wo!k a~e me~~ngful to so~ people and not 1 1 'l,1 [

1 '.1 ID ot~rs •. \i~11~ !~~0. e1q>~o1r~· how tl:V! nawre and ,orga1111.at1011 of work change m lhe context of

Ii' II ii, compl,ex and ~adable;, p~wer.,r,eJ.atio~,. \~ ,dr:aw ,on David Lodge's novel Nice l\brk to 'bring ·, , I ' to , life \ and iUuminate':~ssues that. Q)ly otherw'ise seem rallrr abs1ract .and remote. This we do

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, by :~~pl~yi~ a~,1~nte~~tive , ~amew~k fo~ed on four cenaral aoo i,llerrelated concepts - · 11 , pQ,, er, 1dentlt)~~ l!"~hly and mse~wny. , ', , ' :

1 i As ~•e no~~d· 1in11 die previous d.apte~,. oov:els could shed ligln on the everyday lived

1: experienc~s ~f nrn ~ 'wo~n ~t work. They can cowttract textbook accounts of managenrnt in which ,mipla~fif are represented as: disen:bodied subjects, narrowly confined to the

· i:nstrwr~~tal, iµ1.d tecmucal conlem of dleir fmction in the division of labour. On their OWfi» however~• novels liar~ eas.Uy. read :as aJl e111enaining story devoid of any wider significance. An absQrbing anp ent~naining Mrr,ative may~ paradoxicallt, .act to limit reflection on its Uluninatjon 1of ~ WQdd. of everyday lifeJ. iocluding the realms of work aoo management. To counter ,thi~ !Pfdagogiq1I UmitatiOL\ we select from and, in effect, disr~t the seductive power

, ot th~ 11na1:r~ti\lle as .w~ d~re~ auentio1) towards ,\1'1der isslle'S ~tare ilhnunated through the use of OW' fo~ key CO:f,IC~pts.. ' ,

,J(l;!, ~!pter ~oaq>rises three rmio s,ectlons. Tiie first1 presents the elements of our concept~ 1:.~amew, ,ir~, f4)f .interpr, eting the experieoce of worJang in rmdem organi1.ations. In the sec;:b~ l~e~~on,,:iwe draw 100 this ,.fra.JD!work tp ,examine the working lives of Vic. a middle­ age~ .nJ;le, ~~ging djr~~or of a factory, and ~byn, a young female academic - the two main chara~r~ !.ijn

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Nice ·~Qrk. 'rn~ l~a~ irlo a dis_C'.µssl on of ~\l'ork from a historical and then an exist~l~)!i ~r~pecti~'~, 1-nus ~,c~on conclw:le,s wilh a discussion of co.irasting and shifting orie~~·~ij~ to , 'work, Ulustrated by:

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::reference to,· characters in ,Lodge's mvel. In the tmrd secti~ l j~~f,f/ eJami~ yarious _q>~eplions of ~a~ng and its problemati,c character in paid employment ~ foriti l1Jtiall}~'!Pn ~lqlloyees a( v,ic~s wodcplace before addressing the work of :staff aa;ad'~nxl~tc. .at umverc.ipe,s. Our aim is 'to ·cotmter the tendency of texibook accowus of 1r 1

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1 ~f\red1 txperience· ,of rmnagers aoo the personal and social

reiJe\'ijnc:e1 ,bf O~OlZlr,g wc;irki \Ve a~sol\ seek to show how broader social issues relating to inequall'ties of ownership and llto~l are irxertwi~ with personal worries and dilemmas ~r~sini from ill!ifCll"ities about id~ntily and ire exercise of power. ;::11 ll1,1111l11 l1111 111i11,1 ,, I ", ' ' ' I

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Conceptualizing (working) life

Our four interrelated concepts ..,... power, inequality. identity and insecurity - in comination provide a franrwo.rk for inlerpreting the social worl~ i.n,;luding the fictional worlds portrayed

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in novels. Clearly. this way of. reading reali1:yltexts is. analytical' in orientation. ' = a •

concerned less 1-tlith the details of the main ,characters ~· d)e~f lives ·tmn with therr I issues - 'the messages• ... that ·,,~e detect. dmqgh the. ~~ 10,f' 10 ,1.111 int~rpretiv~· franrwo "- "' : begin by sketching briefly our fotlf key iCA~pt-5 before tmyi,1~ .. ~~~ately to an examination of various aspects of workini life il.lustrated lhro~ ~1i(;e. \.~~ .. Head~rs miy wish to consult this conceptual ske.tch as they·work through, the rema~ sec:tiq,M'•t>f the ,chapterr,

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Power, inequality, ldenticy and inseturi'ty 'I I

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Power i~ often associated wi.th the coercive 1~00 repress\1~1' 1 feantes of ,5'odal Ii.fe. It is the

means through which a 1

~ing c~ass, p.oliucal I ~li~ or, 1.~~~r~al1Jvo~ tQ~,ols subordinate SV~ta witqiµ 1a s9dety· ot ~ organizatipn~ .,Mo~~ treq!~y1 pQw1e~ ~s been ,8$~iated with the 'very exist~~~ Pif: ~9ciijl ~-~~ans. t F.ro'1} ~s ,nei,;tet ,~,~~pef.ti v~~· ,'~wer "1ts not sill1)ly or e~~ti~l;y ~ .~(lv~~ t~rc~'{'· ~ad· ,-ero !!lllD (ile.,.~ \~~ .~W.~f ·1pver B). It is also productive and1pos!tiv

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~ .(,,~ • • A 18'Kl B· ~~ ~,~ enableij ~ 1w~,n,,~~1 ,~·~aine.~ ~1~ reJ~tions o_f power). Power ~~ ·tiplei:~toQd tQ transform ~~ bem~, \DID' iSubJetts ~t ,identify w1.th ~ ideas and practi_ces. throqd.l'wmqi powt-r is e~e~se~. ·

\Vhe.9 1lp]cler~.t~1in1' dJis ,w1ay~ power i~ se~p 1tpi1coqstU~ s~jects .... whe~r meni:,ers of lhe rqling c~ssf elite QI' ~~er$1 ~f ~ sti>on;liqate1 gr~up. 1A,t, die sanr tilD!, there is no suggestion o~· pre-slDJl>tionl~t ipdi,v;iduals ne~.ssarny defert succumb o.r s..,jugate thermelves lD forms Q,f power. On the1 ,co~ary, sli>jects often exercise their own power in the form of

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Power, inequality, identity and insecurity

Po .. 'f!r is often associated w.ith the coerci\re aid fiepressi\•e features of social life. It is the means dirough which a ruling class, political elite or mmagerial group controls subordinate strata within a society or an organiz.ation.. More receltly, power has been associated with the very existence of social relations.1 From this newer _perspective, power is not sirqily or exhaustiveJy negative. coercive and zero swn (te. A has power over B). It is also productive and positive (ie. A and B are each enabled as well as constrained widin relatioas of power). Power .is lllderstood to transform ht.mm beings iito subje~~t identify with the ideas and

I practices thro~ which power is exercised. ~

When amderstood in this w,ay, power is seen to constitlle subjects - whether mermers of rhe ruling class/elite or mermers of a subordinate group. At lhe sanr tilD!, there is no suggestion or presUIJl)tion that inruviduals necessarily defer, succmi> or stmjugate diemselves to forms of power. On the colltt'ary, subjeclS often exercise · their own. power in the form of resisLince.

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I ln ·Nice hbrk, both \iic (tht businessman) and Robyn (the academic) may be seen as

prodocts of the -exercise of power arouoo particular 1tt>dels or koowledge of the organi:r.ation of work - one based prilmrily on market prirriples, the other on collegial relatiom. fu tll1l, they exercise power respectively over emplo)'ees and students. Vic draws on lis. knowledge of the imrket for laboll" and oow to work jt to his advantage as a tmd-oosed businessmm Roh}'n's knowledge of postsoucturalist theory enables her to cons.truer aoo affirm her identity as a leadi~ge literary ~rist a Vlc relares to tis staff in accordance with a view that they helve ,little opporllHty to resist ,his conmands. In. ·contrast, RQbyn invites her .studems to cballenge the ronvertio1111J wisdom in everyday _ life as part of dw!ir developing a posts(RJCn.-alist sensitivity. . . · . 1

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Inequality describes differen:es :in wealth and' ~nis. ~~ as dr inequalities of income and pdviJege betwefn 111;1mgm aoo e,..lo~es and. between men am wolD!n. These inequalities are in;stiniiooalll.fd in so far as they are ermeqded in,, and reprodoced by, working reJatiQD$ (e.g. -hierjrcby and Jpb· segregation by geooer or e~city), emplo)1Dflt practices (e.g. recruitmeLV and pronntioo) and other sQdal formarioos (e.g. ·mirkets or~ family).

In Nice ~rk, the s0<;ia, di,stance 1between Vic and the shopftoor workers rmke it easier for him to contrive the di~Jriissal of one of his workers, \'t."hich we described .in Chlpter 1. Howe1,'er,· 11! is then shown to be depeooent on,the workforce who, collectively, withdraw their labow- when they fi,d out about . his. pla11 The existeoce of interdependencies through which inequalities are routinely m1iiia.ined aoo periodically challenged means thilc toose who occupy

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rmre s.eni~~ 1privileged :p1>siUoos depeoo on others ,with whQm they are obliged to nego .~ · conciliate ·when. in di.~ute. ' , · · ·

Jden~ity l~escribes the sta'-'15 dlat .is widely .ascribed to a persott For example, 'mana .Er' t. ·

• i:IC~demic~ is ,an identity, as cerlain cult1ral understandings are conveyed about the person who is so i.de~ed. Associated.! ·wj~ lhese tmderstandi~ are· expectations abo~ how such a person wiU~ .aoo shoul:~. beha~e. Often but: no,t invariably, ,many of these cornmn LE4erstandings are .adopted and shared by that person. In such a ,case ,there is a degree of cons'i.steocy between ·tf-e individual's self-:identity .«lad the social identi.ty ' iJSCribed to him or Iler... ;I ,I I ' I

·10 N~ce ~d:~ we see d1e dynamics of me co1110ect10lil ,~preen soda) identity and self­ ide,1ii1ty. ~c. ·begius to see discrepancies or ioconsisteodes airbis social identity as a tough, ''1m,.1Cho' 1,uanager v-1·ho :is, DOnetheless, offended,, when he· comes to think about it, by the soft 1poroography mat decorates, the factory :shopftoor. Ordinari.ly, such a person would not find 'girlie~ pictures offensive, nor ·would diey normally develop a keen appreciation of literaue and ·poetty. Tus alternative sense of self-identity his been amused as a consequence of Vic's ~sociation with, R~yn.. the .ac~etric feminis~ in wlxlm be ~~ to develop a nnre than pr9fessional interest , , ,

l~security ,arises when people are urable to interpret a .siruation in a way that confirrffi rheif ,own ~~e of themselves - for example, as a· 'briglt·. stude~' or as a 'caring persoo'. Social s~tualions are especially difficult in this respec~ since we can never be fully sme of, let alo~ ,,cootrolJ .. oow ,others view us. Yet it is diough oi.- sense of how others view us lhat we develop. ~nd evaluatr 'Self-identicy. ~ Knowing' the other person reduces the stress or tension of lhi~ 1,q:~rtainty in social encomters; However, tms uncertilinty cannot be entirely elimirnted, as people ~~e conlinwlly dk1nging a, a rfsult of · new1 circumstances, experiences and relation~m~~ ·, ' . ' . . ', ' . ' I ' ' • .

One way 1nf attempting 'to limit or ~ve :.tnsecmity ,ts to reduce and displace the complexity1and idiosyncrasy of individual ~erience by attaching oneself to a typical social identity. Social idemties are institllionalized or regularized in socially established se~ of ·values/ideologies (e.g. 'feminist". 'socialist'., 'ChrislianJ) or'.roles such as family position (e.g. &wife', 'father'), occupation (e.g. 'mana8&\ 'teacher•) or leisure activity (e.g. 'football supporter', 'rock fan'). Even so. lbese identities reimin precarious because individuals are lllilble to control the conditions ~t give rise to their fonration and reproduction.

·In Nice kbrk, Vic lies awake in the early hours wo.rrying whether he will succeed in holding his job down. His fear is lhat he will not be confirmed in ms self-identity as an effective. ao-nonse~e manager. Rob)n experiences some insecl.D'ity when she imves o~ide of her established sphere of llliversity life imo a managerial territory where her identity as a feninist (and an academic) is viewed negatively.

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Working lives

~ lives ~f v,~ Wilcox ,and Robyn Pell'OSe collide when she agrees to participate in a joiril mdustry-mnversaty scheme. This requires her to spend a day a week 'shadowing' Vic. Vic had

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recertly been appoiit~d as tim~ging 1gireotor ,of iLmeditm-sized engineering firm di., I Pringle's. which had lust 1been a,~quiried1 by ,a \\ligger indµs·trial oolding company, ~ I Amalgamated_ · ' · .

'Whei1Vic first'nttts Rob)'ll, he .is1 filled ,,,id) ·.r. and horror. He reco~zes Robyn as the same woI111n woo had been 1pi~ti~ ,o~i.4e the ·llliversity the previous week when this industrial action had held 'Up ~ , traffic~ His .. ;sec,etary had told him verbally that his shadow was 'Robin• and it had ~er pcan:,r~.d,'b:J, 'Vic' ~J Ibis migl't be 'Robyn', i.e_ female. Flustered, bll determined oot to show .U~ ·Vi~ ,retre,c!lS ·ID 1the toilets for a few mome.is to think abotx how ID 1cleal wida thls unexnPcted de11t1einnmPnt.,' ,:t\s ·~ . :.relieves hinRlf, he thinks:

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Je~us ·~~pt! Not just ,a ':lecture·t, f~~ \English Uterature, oot j~t a woman lecturer in English Uter~rure., b1:]l a trendy, leftis~: fenir,tist' 1lect1Rr in English Literature! A tall trendy, leftist .femiQi~J lecturer in English literature .. , .. 'Wrat tre hell was be going to do with this wom1D

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Li~ ¢~, Vi~ limagh~ ,that wi1hin a f-e\,1 weeks ·he would become infawated with Robyn, and arfaqge 1Jor ~r tij , accompany him on a business nip to Germany where she would 'allow t.et~l:fi' 't~ ·~v~ 1S~X wi~ him'

'~o~yn j~ 1

pof(ra)ied ~ a 'politically correct' feminist. She is seen to encm.ner ,coosicl,!rabl~ difficulty in. ,appl}1ng her principles when lhese collide with the c0Iq1lexities and ambi~lti.e~ of,

1 ~ ~rs9~al a~ professional life. To her partner, she professes a distaste for

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LlUle did Vic imagine that wi,thin a fe\\r weeks he would become ,infatuated with Robyn, and aITange for her to accompany him on a business trip to, Genmny where she' would 'allow her.self to have sex with him

Rob}TI is portrayed as, a 'politically correct' feminist; She ,is seen to encolllter considerable difficuhy in ,appl,ying her principles when these ,collide with the co~lexities and ambiguities of her personal -and professional life. To her partner, she professes a distaste for • peneu·ative sex', especially of the missionary variety. Nonetheless, she Ollkes herself ava.ilable 10 Vic, a.,decision that could, be,.intetpreted in many differe.m. ways. Itcould be seen as an exercise of ·power over Vic, and certainly it left him besotted by her. Alternatively, it miglt be viewed as a f~st project to liberate a man from his Oi3sculinist perception of woIIY!n as passive ,aoo submissive objects of sex. Lodge writes ~~' she sees herself not as seducing Vic b~ as potting lim om of his nwsery' .3 &i is this the misEiy of Vic's sexmlity that she perceives to be ttapped within one dimension- sexual colXjuest. and 'penetrative sex'? Or is it a ·rmsery born of not having experienced the pleasure of sex? Is Robyn behaving lumnely (i .. e. with e~ath}T and consideration) to offer Vic a taste of wJiat he has missed? Or is she cultivating.a desire that: she ·will decline to fulfil as she escapes Vic's unwanted attemons by pLnuing her academic work? , Eilher way, Rabyn's actions ·have the effeci of increa~ing the power that she exercises in me relationship. Initially, she ·was dependent on Vlc to make her weekly visits to Pringle's mlerable. Following the trip to Germmy, the tables are turned. Vic's Wlderstanding of Robyn's consent to sex leads him to asswne an intimacy .,,.rith Rob)n to which she is, al best, indifferent. This is not just a poYt1er reversal but a reve.rsal of ·how sexuality has been traditionally and stereotypically ( and patriarchall y) · viewed - that is, as ,imie conquest with minimal connnitmelllS a~ as female sdlmission with the expectation of. ,a permanent elJX)tional relationslip.4 .It is also possible to imerpret Robyn's apparent indifference as a rationalization of a tension ,betwee~ Ol) the one hand., her self-idemity as a feminist woo is resistant to male conquests and,. Qn ~ .r, the flattery of her femininity by the ardour of Vic's desire.

Vk J11;1Jres s~me of his f~~Ungs tQwards Ro_byn in te~ of romanoc Jove. As he kisses her

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-· be arb11faruy 'f.esmctec(. ro . adi ,·Uies. that ,afe .rew,arded by wa,ges·. or .ril ·1aoo. Virtually-every kind of activity b~orres ~blIIIOOdified as :sometling that 1,ts ~xchaaged for ~ wage - from corporate 1transactions (e.g. 1111nagtnl!nt 'cons.ulta.ncy) lO .~r~onal services (e.g. sexual conswtati:ons). Howe\re'r, the, boundaries ,are 1ohen blurred -• as 'ln the C'ase of the lllpaid 'work' of '1homeworkers•, ,1min1y \\"OnER, ,,.roo 1>erform, low status., u111a.id labour (e.g. tbildminding, cleaning,. c;;ooki.ng, washi~. !and o:~n caringJor ;disabled:· andfor frail relatives). Indeed, lhe staws of thi:s activity 1s .•so, low that :it is rare'.IJr graced ·w•ith .me temt' ·~,work t People 'go out' to work.., :that. is,. their activi1ty ,.01.1Stbe. ,:Sold to 1an eiq>loyef as ',a ~Q~dity before it deserves to '~e valued as '\•,ork~. f.Jlen have not generally bee.o inclined,,to .parti:tipat~ ~ctively-in forllli of

· 'tqWtid. wor~ 'thus leaving women woo pursue paid employnE,1t 1a~ a source of status or •meaning -with a ~ dooole burden' . !Jt. i.s, not SLl'prtsing that ,the .feqn~st mvemect, to which Robyn in '.Nice \~k is, oo.nmttedf 'has ~en p11eoccapi.ed1 ·with ~-~att:i~ the position of \f!Qtren,in die \'11'1orkplace (ather than v:alLBng the activity qf ,~,hi.Id: ·s:eari~ and other aspects of mpaid ,!~bolll:. . · , . , .

In pre.}industrial cottage, ~ndustryl work ',afMl oome 'Wff~' ,dQs~ly integrated aoo family ._ffle'mbers e~rdsed ,control over the prodoction process. lq, adva1,1c.e4 .capitalist societies, by ,contra~t., work ha.s c~zre 41 be equated •with paid erq>i~,nent ,a1,a b assmied to occur amide ,of '.~e horre. factory work.,di\1ides ·tne spheres of emplo,)ied ·w,01:k ~~,holl'W!, as labom is hired by la separate class ,of owne.rs and[ ·organii.ed b,y m.1~.gerrem, 11:n Nke W>rk, Vic had overall resppns,ib1lity:for dlf ,day .. l0-4ayrunniag of Pringle's factory,. l::le was assisted by a nwmer of senior DEnagers ~ibo , 1had, responsibility for· 4iff~rent. ~ir.~oqs' ,, such as production and maike~ Jtm!or ·mal)agers anq supervisors were ~spoostbl~, for the direction of shopfloor and office sta:ff. As. work,i~ loccited in tre factory ,or ~ · offi~e.l ~.tqlloyees experience a gradual loss of ,co .. ol oV~[ '\iheq, ,iJOO hq~r ~y work ~~ge~ ~ ,overseers are erq>lo)led by facrory ow~rs tp org~~ze ,and s~e:rv.ise their labo1111• apd prQ~IJti,on. . .

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Current forms of maQilg~IPf-Jt aQd workplace ·orgariizatiol\ -~~ typified by Pringle's, are lhe product of ~ioeco~m,ic ~ansilions from feudal to iaxlqs~al wcietie~. This tram formation of work has been theori7.f~' i;n mfferent ways by dlr~~ of sq~ial scieoce·1s founding theorists - Durkheim, l\•farx ~ ~&er: Durkheim ( 1858-1917_) believed that the workplace provides a basis of social irtegranpn 5i0, long as people are 1not forced to do jobs. and acquire skills lhat are ~aningless to ~m He contended that nnual imerdependence and reciprocal exchange could fill the V~CUURlQ>QSe(luem on the erosion of solid~rity aoo stability mat accompanied the

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