Antagonism, accommodation and agonism in Critical Management Studies: Alternative organizations as allies

Abstract

Critical Management Studies has long been engaged in discussions about the purpose of critique and the possibilities of engagement. A recent expression calls for Critical Management Studies to moderate its ‘negative’ critique of management and instead use words like care, engagement and affirmation in order to enable ‘progressive’ engagement with managers. This ‘performative turn’ has been poorly received by some who see it as a dilution of radical intent. We argue for a middle ground between the antagonistic versions of Critical Management Studies that appear to want to oppose management, and ‘performative’ scholars who appear to accommodate with managerialism. We do this by planting the debate firmly within an empirical setting and a crisis that the first author experienced as a ‘critical scholar’ when conducting an ethnography at a sustainable financial services firm. In order to do this, we explore Chantal Mouffe’s concept of agonism to establish a particular mode of political engagement that acknowledges a space between being ‘for’ and being ‘against’. We conclude by suggesting that the exploration of alternative forms of organization and management, themselves already involved in struggle against a hegemonic present, should be the proper task of a discipline that wishes to engage with the present and remain ‘critical’.

When Do Theories Become Self-Fulfilling? Exploring the Boundary Conditions of Performativity

“…Which theories reshape social reality matters because it is possible to create multiple futures in many areas of social life, from different modes of collaboration within organizations (Ghoshal & Moran, 1996;Parker & Parker, 2017) to different organizational forms (Leca, Gond, & Cruz, 2014;Paranque & Willmott, 2014) and different ways of structuring the economy (Hall & Soskice, 2001;Rawls, 1971). If the boundary conditions we identified are met, theories may help realize one of these many possible futures.…”

Reflexive learning and performative failure

“…If students dislocate themselves from a context in favour of critical theory and limit their discussion to the academic domain, we have concerns as to what this might achieve. Although we maintain our position that all forms of critique are both useful and problematic in different ways, we argue that antagonistic and scholarly forms of critique facilitate discursive closure by shutting down voices via a strong and disengaged monologue, while more agonistic and engaged forms of critique (Parker and Parker, 2017;Reedy and Learmonth, 2009) make students learn that reflexivity can, and sometimes does, lead to changes in the world and dialogue. We believe that critique should be articulated and heard outside of the classroom and a reflexive experience.…”

“…Therefore, besides continuing with practising the academic critique we know all so well, we should also consider more extensively how we can expose students to contexts where their performances might find fertile ground. One of our options is to seek out and endorse potentially welcoming organizations for our students to explore and learn (Parker and Parker, 2017). However, we also need to acknowledge that we are not in control of the messy realities students face and cannot foresee how they might encounter such places.…”

Alternative enterprises, local economies, and social justice: why smaller is still more beautiful

“…", and its criteria are pragmatic simply because idealism has little traction in committee rooms or board rooms. As Chantal Mouffe argues, there is a distinction here between "politics" (which is comprised of concrete political struggles, interventions and recommendations, and "the political" (which is a description of a contingent social ontology in which interests are permanently in conflict) (Parker & Parker, 2017). To put it simply, politics will always fall short of the demands of the political.…”

“…This paper was written in the conviction that describing an economy that works for the common good is the most important current task for critical academics who work in business and management. Much of the time, critical management academics shy away from the dangerous matters of suggesting just what should be done, even in books about getting things done (Malin, Murphy & Siltoaja, 2013), and "debates" about how to be both critical and performative (Parker & Parker, 2017). When they do engage with policy, they tend to tell readers what should not be done, rather than what should.…”