The Assignment title

When some academics claim that management is a form of discourse, what do

they mean by this and how is it useful for studying management.

Unit title
Studying Management, ECONM1023

Candidate Number
65867

Word Count
2887

The analysis of organisations , as they struggle to survive and expand within the context of
globalizing market forces, presents us with a bewildering diversity of managerial strategies ,
policies and practices(Grant,Keenoy & Oswick , 1998: p1). The researchers and the
commentators want to know what factors play key role in success of an organisation. The
researchers have come across that discourse plays a very important role in an organisation
and this organisational discourse is an emerging focus of interest in current management
literature and thinking (Grant, Keenoy & Oswick, 1998: p1).

Overall, there are many definitions of discourse and no definition can or should claim to be
definitive. Despite numerous theoretical antecedents, it still has few clear parameters and, as
a field of study, it incorporates a variety of diverse perspective and methodologies reflecting
its multi-disciplinary origins (Grant, Keenoy & Oswick, 1998: p1). The Cambridge
dictionary (2013) defines discourse as a communication in speech or writing. Crystal (1997)
defines discourse as a term used in linguistics to refer to a continuous stretch of (especially
spoken) language larger than a sentence. Also, he defines discourse as a behavioural unit
which has a pre- theoretical status in linguistics. Discourse is a common and effective tool
which is used nowadays in every business, academics or conversation. For instance , in IT
industry , special words such as subroutine is used to define a procedure , macro and micro
managers for a supervisor who lets employees do their jobs with minimal supervision and a
supervisor who constantly looks over employees shoulder and is often perceived as
controlling and overly critical respectively(Macro Manager n.d.). Pink slip is used for a
notice of dismissal from employment (Oxford dictionary, 2013).The colours green yellow
red tell the status of a project. Green depicts that the project is under control and can be
delivered as per the schedule, yellow depicts that the project is under control but there are
some problems with schedule and lastly, red depicts that project is not under control and there
is serious problem with schedule. Immediate attention is needed.(Red/Yellow/Green
Project Status Reporting, 2012). In the medical industry, we use AKA for above knee
amputation, BKA for below knee amputation, ATD for admission , transfer and discharge,
HR for heart rate, H&H for hemoglobin & hematocrit, FH for family history , NaCl for
sodium chloride and many more( Medical Terminology Abbreviations, n.d.).Jargons are
special discourses and is like a type of shorthand between members of a particular group of
people, often words that are meaningless outside of a certain context (Examples of Jargon,
n.d.).For instance, some of the jargons used in business are air it out which means to discuss
an issue openly, ALAP means as late as possible, back door means unethical or dishonest, bad
paper means a business situation with many unexpected problems( The Ridiculous
Business Jargon Dictionary: B-words, n.d.).Some other jargons used in different industries
are anchor text, the text a link uses to refer to your site, backend, the backend of a website
is a part hidden from view of regular website visitors which are used in web design industry
(Chapman, 2009) whereas 19 delta and 74 delta are jargons used in military which means a
cavalry scout and a nuclear, biological and chemical weapons specialist (Army Jargon,
n.d.).

There are many other definitions for discourse given by other major theorists of discourse and
discursive regimes. Some researchers define discourse as language in its social context, as it
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is used to carry out the social and intellectual life of a community (Mercer, 1995: p79). This
discourse shows the importance of looking at the language in context and usually involves an
analysis of actual stretches of spoken and written language, even visual images. I agree to the
definition of discourse given by Mercer. I strongly believe that we experience all social life
through languages. A language is important for communicating to someone. Saying, doing,
thinking, behaving, believing, valuing and interacting combinations show who we are.
Communication helps us to develop a good bond with people. Language is what takes place
between people, not inside them. Using language is exchanging and sharing of ideas. People
are social beings. They grow intellectually if they are integrated in communities (Teubert,
2010: p114).We have learned to distinguish between different things for instance stuff we
hear, feel, apples and pears, temperature, different kinds of music, people around us etc. For
those who do not have any language, all this is no more than stuff .For them there are no
apples or pears as objects of reality because they have no expressions, no lexical items, no
language signs that would enable them to distinguish between the two .People who are not
taking part in any discourse might still feel hungry, cold but they would not be conscious of
their states (Teubert, 2010: p115).The discourse is a live, active archive and a never ending
stream of new texts is continually added to it.(Teubert, 2010: p116). Without discourse,
there is no kinship relations, there are neither friends nor foes , there are no kings and no
subjects, there is no property, there is no freedom and there are perhaps not even
genders( Teubert,2010 : p122). For many social theorists, notably post structuralist social
philosophers such as Foucault (1980) who defined discourse as the use of language and other
sign systems as a means to control peoples actions. Foucauldian analysis might provide an
alternative perspective for us to understand discourse. Discourse focuses on the relationship
among knowledge ,power, subjective , discipline, communication and they assume discourse,
as a key approach, may help us to study and mediate social and management
phenomena(Leclercq-Vandelannoitte, 2011).

Discourse has played an important role in deconstructionism, postmodernism and post

structuralist feminism. Jacques Derrida (1930-2004) was well known for his work on theory
of deconstruction. Deconstruction theory shows up the deficiencies of those philosophical
perspectives that claim they can dispense with examining the role of a language.
Deconstruction served as a major challenge to the tradition of western philosophy because it
showed up the binary oppositions that structure conventional ways of thinking, reading and
writing (Kelemen & Rumens, 2008: p70). This theory states that a particular text or a piece
of writing doesnt have one meaning, rather it depends on the reader that how he perceives
the text. What is wrong in opinion of one person, can be right in the others opinion.
According to Derrida (1976), all forms of discourse are textual. Spoken language is a species
of writing. With this notion of discourse in mind, Derridas deconstructionist approach aims
to uproot,decompose,undo,dismantle and overturn western rationality through the sustained
and multiple textual analysis of writings(Derrida, 1976)( Kelemen & Rumens, 2008: p70).I
agree with Derridas notion of discourse as this will help the reader in thinking in a more
rational manner. The reader will be able to think the pros and cons of the text. This in turn
will help the reader evaluate and understand the text more logically and in depth. Derridas
notion of discourse, is just an attempt to transform taken for granted concepts with a view to
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opening up new possibilities of thought and not a complete dismissal of western rationalism(
Kelemen & Rumens, 2008: p70). According to Calas and Smircich (1991), deconstruction
attempts to displace the taken for granted meanings of the text by exploiting the possibilities
of other meanings while accounting for the impossibility of a final interpretation (Kelemen
& Rumens, 2008: p71).Deconstruction cannot, and does not, claim to reveal the truth about
what the author of a text intended to communicate. Rather, it permits the reader to question
the limits that authorship may have imposed upon knowledge and opens up the possibility of
enacting different alternatives. In contradiction to Derridas deconstruction theory,
Kilduff(1993) states that a text may have various serious difficulties and the researchers
need to find out the difficulty within the textual context at hand, rather than according to
some grand method of deconstruction( Kelemen & Rumens, 2008: p71). I am not very
convinced with the ideas of kilduff on deconstruction and still support Derridas idea of
deconstruction. In short, deconstruction is interested in what is absent from the text as much
as what is present in the text (Kelemen & Rumens, 2008: p74). The most powerful
deconstructive gesture of all is to reveal to the startled reader a hidden text, glossed over
countless times by inattentive eyes, but suddenly present for all to see only too clearly once
its boundaries, its syntax, its phrasings and its hiding places are abstracted from the protective
embeddedness of the surrounding rhetoric (Kelemen & Rumens, 2008: p75).
Deconstruction though a controversial theory, still it has fostered some of the most
fascinating analysis of organisation (weitzner, 2007) (Kelemen & Rumens, 2008: p82).

Discourse can also be related to postmodernism. Postmodernism is all around us.

Postmodernism can be seen in various domains such as music, international relations,
architecture, sociology, politics and more recently organizational studies. Boje (2006) states
that there is no single approach to understand the essence of postmodernism; instead, there
are many different strands of postmodern theorising. Martin Parker (1992) defines
postmodernism as a particular change in a period that pre supposes new economic,
technological, political and spatial configurations. Postmodernism views organisational
reality as constantly being in the making, rather than something static and observable at a
glance (Kelemen & Rumens, 2008: pp 54-55). Postmodernism questions the neutrality of
language. It argues that the language of management research and therefore of social science
is more appropriate to literature and can be interpreted like any other text( Kelemen &
Rumens, 2008: p57).

Michel Foucault was a French historian and philosopher associated with the structuralist and
post structuralist movements. He has had strong influence not only in philosophy but also in a
wide range of humanistic and social scientific disciplines. Foucault states that discourse
comprise of images, beliefs, concepts, language and action. Foucault views discourse as a
group of statements which form to be a language or talking about a topic. He also believes
that certain types of discourse enable a person to speak the truth. I agree to Foucaults views
on discourse. Its only the discourse which helps us perceive things in a specific manner. I
believe that unless and until we dont have an insight or understanding of a language, we
wont be able to express and hence no communication would occur. Foucault on power is one
of his greatest works. According to Foucault, power is like fluid. It just flows within an
organisation. Furthermore, certain types of discourse enables a person to speak the truth. For
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instance, when a person goes to church, without knowing the priest personally, he speaks
truth or confesses in front of him. Here, the discourse that the priest speaks to people makes
them trust on him. Foucault argues a number of points in relation to power and offer
definitions that are directly opposed to more traditional liberal and Marxist theories of power.
According to Foucault, power is not located in a group of institutions rather it is exercised
throughout the system. He believes that power is everywhere because it comes from
everywhere. It is always exercised and never possessed. He strongly believes that where there
is power, there is resistance (Farrell, 2007). Foucault did not support the ideas of Marxist
theory. Marxists stress that political power tends to preserve both the prevailing economic
system and the dominance of those who effectively own the productive resources within it
(Analytical Marxism and Foucaults Theory of Disciplinary Power, n.d.:p2). From a
Marxist /socialist perspective, political power cannot be exercised legitimately unless
working people gain a substantial measure of control of the means of production (Analytical
Marxism and Foucaults Theory of Disciplinary Power, n.d.:3). In Foucaults view,
Marxists theory neglects the complexity and immediacy of power in everyday life, and they
underestimate the extent to which modern identities have been produced, if not repressed,
by various overlapping networks of power and knowledge; and (in later work) by modes of
social policing or governmentality whose small beginnings Foucault found in early modern
Europe, paving the way for a broader, more intensive scientific management of social life
(Foucault, 1980)( Analytical Marxism and Foucaults Theory of Disciplinary
Power,n.d.:p1). According to Foucaults modern form of power, it should not concern
itself with the regulated and legitimate forms of power in their central locations" but "with
power at its extremities, in its ultimate destinations, with those points where it becomes
capillary, that is, in its more regional and local forms and institutions". Foucault questioned
the idea that power ultimately resides in a central sovereign authority, even when the
sovereign is viewed as an imperfect liberal democratic state with law-making and lawenforcing powers, the power (and the right and duty) to protect citizens from dangerous
enemies and, in principle, the potential to facilitate, democratically, the resolution or fair
negotiation of the major disputes and conflicts among those citizens. Foucault was highly
criticized for his ideas by other philosophers such as Walzer (1988) and Taylor (1986)
(Analytical Marxism and Foucaults Theory of Disciplinary Power, n.d.:p5-6). Foucaults
theory has gained popularity over the years as more of his works are being translated into
English along with the development of Foucauldian Studies. The works of Foucault can be
easily applied to issues in organizational and management studies. The dynamic and
complex interplay between power, discourse, and communicative skills in organizational life
has fascinated academics and practitioners alike. Consequently, the administration and
execution of managerial power has been studied from several linguistic and communicative
perspectives: a discourse perspective in which focus has been on choice of metaphors
(Mumby,1988), a rhetorical perspective which underlines the influence of rhetorical choices
and stylistics (Cheney 1991), and from a social and organisational perspective in which the
interplay between language, power and relational aspects has been the focus of attention
(Fairclough,1999)(Lambarena,2009).
One example of discourse management is human resource management. HRM is an
organizational mechanism through which goal achievement and survival may be promoted.
Its aim is to make the organization more orderly and integrated. In HRM, connotations of
goal-directed activity, inputs and outputs, stability, adaptability, and systems maintenance
predominate (Townley, 1993: p518). HRM helps to bridge the gap between promise and
performance, between labour power and labour, and it organizes labour into a productive
force (Townley, 1993: p526).HRM itself is a discourse because over the years it itself has
5

changed from personnel management to human resource management. In a Foucauldian

sense, discourses comprise of images, beliefs. Concepts, language and action (Foucault,
1978). As such, discourses on HRM are mobilised and (re)produced by its proponents to
present HRM as a coherent new strategy that paves the way to achieving competitive
advantage (Legge, 2005: p351) (Kelemen & Rumens, 2008: p57).Hrm practices such as
performance appraisal, selection etc. are technologies of power used by employers to
discipline workers. Performance appraisal is a method of evaluating the job performance of
an employee. In doing so, labour can be differentiated hierarchically along the lines of work
outputs, and valued or discarded accordingly. Somewhat similarly, recruitment and selection
procedures can be seen as practices that split, quantify, sift and rank applicants. Thus, from a
postmodern point of view, HRM practices seek to discipline, order and control workers,
although these forms of government are imperfect. It is possible that workers can engage in
acts of resistance that can disrupt and even overturn the designs of management (Kelemen &
Rumens, 2008: p58). The employers think of employees as a commodity and not as humans.
Human resources in itself says humans are being treated as resources which can be used,
exploited, dumped away whenever needed. The organisations are looking for ideal workers
who can work for them like machines. The organisations see the training and managing
people as an expense and not as an investment. In present scenario, many organisations have
realized this and now work with a different mental framework. In some firms, Employees
are no longer considered replaceable rather seen as potential resources that would contribute
to organizational productivity. In managerial discourse, sports metaphors typically replace the
former mechanical metaphors of classical management theory. The popular sports metaphors
subtly establish an organizational and cognitive framework in which the role of managers
includes interpersonal and communicative skills and a concern for the organization as a team.
In a human resource perspective, managerial discourse reflects the importance of teams and
team work in the realization of organizational goals. The manager takes on the role of a super
coach or team leader that must demonstrate professional and interpersonal skills in relation to
team management, team spirit, team building, team values etc.(Lambarena, 2009).
Managements choice of words, metaphors and communication style has multiple functions
in organizational communication. According to Morgan (1993:p4) the use of metaphor
implies a way of thinking and a way of seeing that pervade how we understand our world
generally. In a conclusion, discourse is about the way language, culture and power come
together to frame our world. Saying, doing, thinking, behaving, believing, valuing, interacting
combinations show who we are. Whatever we do in every second of our life represents
discourse. Lastly, discourse is about power and resistance. Discourse has been used to show
that how power operates through language and makes a remarkable difference at your
workplace. Hence, management is a form of discourse in itself.

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