Christopher Land
Chris Land lectures and researches in management at the University of Essex. His main teaching areas are:
- Management and organization theory
- New technology and innovation
His research crosses a number of disciplinary boundaries, borrowing from anywhere that helps him to understand how and why we organize as we do. He is particularly interested in:
- Alternative forms of organization, including workers' cooperatives, anarchist organizations, social movement organizations and communes.
- Community as an organizational discourse
- Cultural representations of work and organization, especially in film and in novels.
He has published on the work of Deleuze and Guatarri in organization studies, the relevance of William S. Burroughs' novels for understanding socio-technical change, the social organization of piracy in the early 18th century, the socialization of graduate recruits in management consultancy firms, the implications of lifestyle branding strategies for the work-life balance, and governmental discourses of value in the arts.
His current research is focussed on the relationship between politics and aesthetics in the work of professional artists. He is also writing a textbook on management, innovation, and new technology with Dr Martin Harris of Essex Business School.
- Management and organization theory
- New technology and innovation
His research crosses a number of disciplinary boundaries, borrowing from anywhere that helps him to understand how and why we organize as we do. He is particularly interested in:
- Alternative forms of organization, including workers' cooperatives, anarchist organizations, social movement organizations and communes.
- Community as an organizational discourse
- Cultural representations of work and organization, especially in film and in novels.
He has published on the work of Deleuze and Guatarri in organization studies, the relevance of William S. Burroughs' novels for understanding socio-technical change, the social organization of piracy in the early 18th century, the socialization of graduate recruits in management consultancy firms, the implications of lifestyle branding strategies for the work-life balance, and governmental discourses of value in the arts.
His current research is focussed on the relationship between politics and aesthetics in the work of professional artists. He is also writing a textbook on management, innovation, and new technology with Dr Martin Harris of Essex Business School.
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Books by Christopher Land
Papers by Christopher Land
Design/methodology/approach – Through the reflexive account and with reference to published accounts of practice in other research projects, the authors explore the reasons why researchers offer organizational anonymity, and note the unintended consequences of this practice. The authors locate the discussion in relation to increased expectations on social researchers to contribute to public debate about managing and organizing.
Findings – The author suggests that the negotiation of access without promising anonymity may generate more situated accounts of organization, and greater participation in political or ethical debates surrounding work, organization, and management. By facilitating a clearer line of impact stemming from qualitative research, this would also aid researchers in demonstrating the value of their work in informing public debate.
Social implications – The authors conclude by reiterating the potential for organizational researchers to achieve greater social and ethical impact, especially if the authors frame access negotiation as a continuous process rather simply as than a moment at the start of a project. Originality/value – The authors argue that the paper raises a key, but neglected, issue in conducting empirical organizational research, that has political and ethical implications as well as a methodological significance. Through the analysis, the authors encourage themselves and the research community to be clearer about the potential value of scholarship in debates happening outside the academy, and to see access negotiation as more complex than simply a transaction in which organizational anonymity is promised in return for data.
Keywords Case study, Organizations, Access, Impact, Anonymity, Confidentiality Paper type Viewpoint
process and organizational culture. Theoretically the paper draws upon the idea of ‘preparing
for work’ to position this early socialization as a crucial moment in the production of
subjectivities suited (and booted) for the labour process of management consulting. Empirically the paper reports on a two-day induction session for new graduate recruits joining a global management consultancy and their responses to this training. Particular attention is given to the use of role-play and a dramaturgical workshop used in part of the training process. The paper argues that the utilization of dramaturgy in training is consistent with the overall approach to control developed in the firm in response to the fact that the labour process of consulting is often conducted on client sites, away from any direct supervisory gaze. As such, the consultants were subjected to a form of cultural control that was designed to function independently of direct supervision. This control did not operate directly upon the new employees professed values, however, but at one step removed so that a ‘cynical distance’ from the content of the organization’s culture was accepted so long as a professional ‘ethic of behaviour’ was established. By focusing on an ‘ethic of behaviour’ these young professionals were encouraged to internalize a self-control akin to that of an actor, rather than internalizing the corporate values entirely.
Design/methodology/approach – Through the reflexive account and with reference to published accounts of practice in other research projects, the authors explore the reasons why researchers offer organizational anonymity, and note the unintended consequences of this practice. The authors locate the discussion in relation to increased expectations on social researchers to contribute to public debate about managing and organizing.
Findings – The author suggests that the negotiation of access without promising anonymity may generate more situated accounts of organization, and greater participation in political or ethical debates surrounding work, organization, and management. By facilitating a clearer line of impact stemming from qualitative research, this would also aid researchers in demonstrating the value of their work in informing public debate.
Social implications – The authors conclude by reiterating the potential for organizational researchers to achieve greater social and ethical impact, especially if the authors frame access negotiation as a continuous process rather simply as than a moment at the start of a project. Originality/value – The authors argue that the paper raises a key, but neglected, issue in conducting empirical organizational research, that has political and ethical implications as well as a methodological significance. Through the analysis, the authors encourage themselves and the research community to be clearer about the potential value of scholarship in debates happening outside the academy, and to see access negotiation as more complex than simply a transaction in which organizational anonymity is promised in return for data.
Keywords Case study, Organizations, Access, Impact, Anonymity, Confidentiality Paper type Viewpoint
process and organizational culture. Theoretically the paper draws upon the idea of ‘preparing
for work’ to position this early socialization as a crucial moment in the production of
subjectivities suited (and booted) for the labour process of management consulting. Empirically the paper reports on a two-day induction session for new graduate recruits joining a global management consultancy and their responses to this training. Particular attention is given to the use of role-play and a dramaturgical workshop used in part of the training process. The paper argues that the utilization of dramaturgy in training is consistent with the overall approach to control developed in the firm in response to the fact that the labour process of consulting is often conducted on client sites, away from any direct supervisory gaze. As such, the consultants were subjected to a form of cultural control that was designed to function independently of direct supervision. This control did not operate directly upon the new employees professed values, however, but at one step removed so that a ‘cynical distance’ from the content of the organization’s culture was accepted so long as a professional ‘ethic of behaviour’ was established. By focusing on an ‘ethic of behaviour’ these young professionals were encouraged to internalize a self-control akin to that of an actor, rather than internalizing the corporate values entirely.