Management Is [ Fill in the Blank ]: Making Sense of an Ideological Praxis through Textual Analysis

Abstract

Existentially, few would willfully commit themselves to persistent subjugation. Professionally, many are willing to do so daily as a routine part of their work. Management, as an ideological praxis, is accepted more than it is either understood or resisted. The understanding of management held by the fragmented-social collective does not extend far beyond its common definition as the process of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling an organization’s resources to effectively achieve specific goals and objectives efficiently. Within that common definition of management, there are aspects open to critique. However, acceptance of the position and function of management persists as the dominant paradigm within society. A deeper examination into the praxis of management holds the potential to reveal compelling points of solidarity, action, and resistance. In this study, the comprehensive sentences containing the phrase management is found in the top 100 most-relevant, peer-reviewed, full-text, PDF articles, written in English, contained in EBSCOhost Academic Search Complete (n = 189) were analyzed in terms of content, sentiment, and theme. The results suggest that, at a minimum, management is multifaceted. Additionally, management was found to be frequently referenced but defined only sporadically (n = 61). Through the analysis, six management domains were identified: a) management, b) human resource management, c) knowledge management, d) organizational management, e) project management, and f) other. The sentiments of all six of these domains of management were universally positive, which could betray a wide-spread acceptance of management as an ideology within society. In terms of themes, management , and organization were frequently identified across the domains with the emancipatory theme of diversity appearing only within the domain of human resource management. To foster genuine solidarity and inspire transformative action, it is crucial to engage critically with the entrenched ideology of management, to transcend and embrace a more inclusive and dynamic approach that values diversity and empowers workers.