Masculinity and the British Organization Man since 1945

by Michael Roper

Overview

The post-war period is often regarded as a time when Britain underwent its managerial revolution, the family firm and the "gentleman amateur" giving way to the large bureaucracy and the trained management expert. Yet the conception of modern management as an objective process could hardly be further from the truth. Drawing on detailed life-history interviews with the post-war generation of "organization men," this study argues that despite the rise of professional management, relations between managers continue to function in highly subjective ways. An "emotional economy" flourishes among men in management, but its workings have been hidden by the myth of the rational organization man.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198256939
Publisher:	Oxford University Press, USA
Publication date:	01/28/1994
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	5.69(w) x 8.81(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Essex University

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations
Introduction
PART ONE: Masculinity and the Rise of the Organization Man
1. The Psychic Realm of Business
2. The Eclipse of Family Capitalism
PART TWO: Among Men
3. 'Family Romances': Management Succession and the Older Man
4. The Cult of Toughness
5. 'Yesterday's Model': Product Fetishism and the Cult of the Producer
PART THREE: Women and Men
6. Images of Wives and Secretaries
7. Images of the 'Lady Manager'
Conclusion: The Fall of the Organization Man?
Appendices
I. The Social Backgrounds of Organization Men
II. Biographical Details
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

"An impressive piece of research. His interviewing skills elicited sensitive and illuminating data. He grounds his nuanced interpretation of life histories in British economic history. The book's emphasis on the cultural and psychological dimensions of gender inequality will influence future research on gender and organizations."—American Journal of Sociology

"A well structured, well-written and thoughtful book...not only a good read, but an attempt to get us to focus on "what ought to be."—Times Higher Education Supplement

"This study provides some persuasive and provocative insights into managerial lives and careers...Further, read carefully, this elegantly written study might provide readers with insights into their own institutions and their own daily working practices."—Work, Employment, and Society

From the Publisher