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Organizational control: Restrictive or productive?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2015

Hannele Seeck  and
Anu Kantola
Hannele Seeck
Affiliation:
University of Helsinki, Senior Researcher, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland
Anu Kantola
Affiliation:
Academy of Finland, Department of Communication, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
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Abstract

Organizational control is conventionally – from a critical stance – viewed as a negative and restrictive phenomenon, which in one way or another subjugates workers. In this theoretical paper, we argue that organizational control is often based on a particular understanding of power; an understanding that views power as repressive, equating it with domination and subjugation while paying little attention to its productive function. We question what the implications for understanding organizational control would be if we were also to see power as productive. We contend that the Foucauldian notions of pastoral power, disciplinary power, and governmentality can be used together through the concept of regime of practices to enrich our understanding of the workings of organizational control. We thus delineate an analytical framework for the study of organizational control based on an open-ended investigation of the regimes of control in local settings.

Keywords

Foucaultgovernmentalityorganizational controldisciplinary powerpastoral powersubject
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 15 , Issue 2 , May 2009 , pp. 241 - 257
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2009

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