Managing the employee's soul: Foucault applied to modern management technologies

Abstract

This paper presents an alternative approach to analyse power in modern organisations. It does so by applyingFoucauldian concepts to new types of management technologies, which are directed at the employee's personality. Most often, studies of power and management focus on organisational structures, power games between groups and issues of how to manage processes within and between organisations. We rarely talk about whatcould be termed 'the management of personality'. This paper argues, however, that this kind of Human Resource Management is becoming increasingly important and should be a key focus in critical organisational analysis. It also discusses the consequences and possibilities for employees facing a proliferation of management-ofpersonality technologies.

Keywords

• HRM
• power
• personnel-management
• Foucault
• technology
• critical organisational studies