Managing intensity and play at work

This book treats seriously one of the fundamental trends characterizing contemporary institutions--namely, the inability to establish a ground from which purpose and direction can be defined. It questions the core trope of "permanent change" and exposes its emptiness in a thorough and considered manner which enriches the way we question organizational orders. Bogdan Costea, Lancaster University, UK What does it mean to organize when the only established premise is that everything is transient? How is it possible for an organization to manage expectations based on the expectation of the unexpected? In this thought-provoking book Niels Åkerstrøm Andersen uses a unique combination of deconstruction, systems theory and discourse theory to critically discuss topics such as the management of feelings, partnerships as second order promises, and worklife-balance as an immune defense against over-socialized employees. He assesses the parallels between layoffs in intimate organizations and modern professional divorce discourses, and explores the dichotomy of double-bounded management commanding both do as I say and be autonomous. In so doing, Professor Andersen encourages the reader to look at relationships in the workplace in new ways. This unique book will prove invaluable for academics and students of human resource management, organizational behavior and critical management studies.