1995/11/01 by Paul Thompson, Stephen Ackroyd · 2 citations
Business, Management and Accounting · Health Professions · Social Sciences · #Employment and Welfare Studies #Labor Movements and Unions #Management and Organizational Studies
paper · doi:10.1177/0038038595029004004
openalex publication_date 1995/11/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/25
Though perspectives underpinning research may have differed sharply, industrial sociology at its best has been able to uncover the variety of workplace resistance and misbehaviour that lies beneath the surface of the formal and consensual. The paper argues that this legacy is in danger of being lost as labour is taken out of the process and replaced by management as the active and successful agency. While there are a number of practical and theoretical forces shaping this trend, the paper identifies the growing influence of Foucauldian perspectives. It goes on to develop a critique of the way in which such theory and research overstates the extent and effectiveness of new management practices, while marginalising the potential for resistance.