Words as masks: About the importance of denial in management

This article draws on a socio-anthropological research, which questions the effects of managerial discourse on the individual by considering experiences of workplace bullying. It studies the observation that despite the gap between what management says and what management does, words of managerial...

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Autor principal: Agnès Vandevelde-Rougale
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FR
SR
Publicado: University of Belgrade 2017
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Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/3ef08c7b781643f592caeb31b584b8e2
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spelling oai:doaj.org-article:3ef08c7b781643f592caeb31b584b8e22021-12-02T00:47:45ZWords as masks: About the importance of denial in management10.21301/eap.v12i1.30353-15892334-8801https://doaj.org/article/3ef08c7b781643f592caeb31b584b8e22017-03-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.eap-iea.org/novi-ojs/index.php/eap/article/view/731https://doaj.org/toc/0353-1589https://doaj.org/toc/2334-8801 This article draws on a socio-anthropological research, which questions the effects of managerial discourse on the individual by considering experiences of workplace bullying. It studies the observation that despite the gap between what management says and what management does, words of managerial discourse are still widely used, by managers and employees alike. French philosopher, ethnologist and psychoanalyst Octave Mannoni (1899-1989), reworking Freud’s concept of fetishism, showed in an article entitled “I know very well, but nonetheless…” that a belief can survive the denial (disavowal) of reality. Recognizing fantasy as a fantasy is not sufficient to reduce its power over the individual. Based on a case study, the present article demonstrates that the paradoxical logic phrased by Octave Mannoni can help us understand how managerial discourse can exercise its influence on individuals, despite discrepancies between what is said and what is implemented in the organisations. It presents the hypothesis that words can work as “masks” do in some traditional tribes, thus being the means supporting a belief that sustains management authority. Agnès Vandevelde-RougaleUniversity of Belgradearticleauthorityclinical sociologydenialmanagerial discourseworkplace bullyingAnthropologyGN1-890ENFRSREtnoantropološki Problemi, Vol 12, Iss 1 (2017)
institution DOAJ
collection DOAJ
language EN
FR
SR
topic authority
clinical sociology
denial
managerial discourse
workplace bullying
Anthropology
GN1-890
spellingShingle authority
clinical sociology
denial
managerial discourse
workplace bullying
Anthropology
GN1-890
Agnès Vandevelde-Rougale
Words as masks: About the importance of denial in management
description This article draws on a socio-anthropological research, which questions the effects of managerial discourse on the individual by considering experiences of workplace bullying. It studies the observation that despite the gap between what management says and what management does, words of managerial discourse are still widely used, by managers and employees alike. French philosopher, ethnologist and psychoanalyst Octave Mannoni (1899-1989), reworking Freud’s concept of fetishism, showed in an article entitled “I know very well, but nonetheless…” that a belief can survive the denial (disavowal) of reality. Recognizing fantasy as a fantasy is not sufficient to reduce its power over the individual. Based on a case study, the present article demonstrates that the paradoxical logic phrased by Octave Mannoni can help us understand how managerial discourse can exercise its influence on individuals, despite discrepancies between what is said and what is implemented in the organisations. It presents the hypothesis that words can work as “masks” do in some traditional tribes, thus being the means supporting a belief that sustains management authority.
format article
author Agnès Vandevelde-Rougale
author_facet Agnès Vandevelde-Rougale
author_sort Agnès Vandevelde-Rougale
title Words as masks: About the importance of denial in management
title_short Words as masks: About the importance of denial in management
title_full Words as masks: About the importance of denial in management
title_fullStr Words as masks: About the importance of denial in management
title_full_unstemmed Words as masks: About the importance of denial in management
title_sort words as masks: about the importance of denial in management
publisher University of Belgrade
publishDate 2017
url https://doaj.org/article/3ef08c7b781643f592caeb31b584b8e2
work_keys_str_mv AT agnesvandevelderougale wordsasmasksabouttheimportanceofdenialinmanagement
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