| Triumph of Emptiness: Consumption, Higher Education, and Work Organization Contributor(s): Alvesson, Mats (Author) |
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ISBN: 0199660948 ISBN-13: 9780199660940 Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA OUR PRICE: $47.49 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: June 2013 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Business & Economics | Consumer Behavior - General - Business & Economics | Management - General - Business & Economics | Organizational Behavior |
| Dewey: 302.35 |
| Physical Information: 1.2" H x 6.1" W x 9.2" (1.25 lbs) 254 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: In this book, Mats Alvesson aims to demystify some popular and upbeat claims about a range of phenomena, including the knowledge society, consumption, branding, higher education, organizational change, professionalization, and leadership. He contends that a culture of grandiosity is leading to numerous inflated claims. We no longer talk about plans but 'strategies'. Supervisors have been replaced by 'managers', managers are referred to as executives. Management is about 'leadership'. Giving advice is 'coaching'. Companies become 'knowledge-intensive firms'. The book views the contemporary economy as an economy of persuasion, where firms and other institutions increasingly assign talent, energy, and resources to rhetoric, image, branding, reputation, and visibility. Using a wide range of empirical examples to illuminate the realms of consumption, higher education, organization, and leadership, this provocative and engaging book challenges established assumptions and contributes to a critical understanding of society as a whole. |