
Mats Alvesson
Professor

Honorable Surrender : On the Erosion of Resistance in a University Setting
Author
Summary, in English
This article addresses the temporality of resistance in the work context. We focus on the challenge of increasingly diminishing professional autonomy in higher education institutions as well as the vulnerability of staff subjected to academic managerialism. A case where a lecturer is exposed to the requirements to revise grading by senior administration is investigated. Power is understood from the “target’s” perspective and viewed as the erosion of resistance. We introduce the concepts honorable surrender and smoothers to capture the process of giving up of resistance. We argue that these concepts are of special significance in autonomy-espousing work contexts where multiplicity of power resources are employed to subordinate employees and influence their professional identities. We contend that de-subjectification is key in understanding the erosion of resistance.
Department/s
- Organizational Studies
Publishing year
2021-10-01
Language
English
Pages
407-420
Publication/Series
Journal of Management Inquiry
Volume
30
Issue
4
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Topic
- Social Sciences Interdisciplinary
Keywords
- careers
- education
- power and politics
Status
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 1056-4926