Gary Marshall is a Professor of Public Administration at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Dr. Marshall is also a licensed therapist and psychoanalyst in training. His work focuses on the centrality of human identity as it relates to work in public agencies. Phone: 402-554-2962 Address: 6001 Dodge Street
Omaha, NE 68182
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the concept of the public interest. The central... more Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the concept of the public interest. The central question is whether the public interest is a usable concept in a time of social and political change. A historical overview of the public interest is provided. Two researchers are highlighted: David John Farmer and O.C. McSwite. The paper concludes by proposing the refusal of subjective identification with the public interest. Design/methodology/approach – Discourse theory and Lacanian psychoanalysis are discussed in this paper. The emphasis in both approaches is to examine ethical challenges in politics and administration through new epistemological lenses. A further use of these research strategies is to identify existing institutional practices and situate administrative decision-making within those practices. Findings – The findings in this paper indicate that while institutional resistance is useful, it can also be co-opted or result in retribution. In both cases, power is asserted and maintained by those who hold institutional power. David John Farmer’s work on anti-administration and O.C. McSwite’s work on administrative refusal are effective strategies to address the abuse of institutional power. Originality/value – This paper introduces the concept of subjective identification to the literature of public administration. Subjective identification offers administrators a new approach to the ethical dilemmas they face in the workplace.
This paper critically examines the ways in which organizational performance and audit practices i... more This paper critically examines the ways in which organizational performance and audit practices intersect with the dynamics of contemporary capitalism, managerialism, and individualism in the workplace to shape the experience of the “postmodern” subject at work. Drawing from Lacanian psychoanalytic theory, the paper argues that the conditions for the contemporary subject are characterized by the declining efficacy of the Symbolic order, which induces the production of people whose identities are fragile and unstable. Paradoxically, this instability emerges at a historical moment at which individuals are commanded to “self-actualize” and to not be limited by authority or tradition. Neoliberalism makes “work” assume particular importance in this project. The paper argues that the decline of the Symbolic, in turn, places a heavy weight on interpersonal relationships in the Imaginary, or among alter-egos, to produce any semblance of a stable identity. Workplace performance measures and audit practices offer seductive points of identification and “quantifiable” stability for the subject in search of her “authentic” self at work in particular. Yet, at the same time, these measures painfully ensnare the subject in external identifications and managerial validation in new, debilitating ways.
Title page for ETD etd-11102005-141106. Type of Document, Dissertation. Author, Marshall, Gary St... more Title page for ETD etd-11102005-141106. Type of Document, Dissertation. Author, Marshall, Gary Steven. URN, etd-11102005-141106. Title, Public administration in a time of fractured meaning : beyond the legacy of Herbert Simon. Degree, Ph. D. Department, Public Administration ...
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the concept of the public interest. The central... more Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the concept of the public interest. The central question is whether the public interest is a usable concept in a time of social and political change. A historical overview of the public interest is provided. Two researchers are highlighted: David John Farmer and O.C. McSwite. The paper concludes by proposing the refusal of subjective identification with the public interest. Design/methodology/approach – Discourse theory and Lacanian psychoanalysis are discussed in this paper. The emphasis in both approaches is to examine ethical challenges in politics and administration through new epistemological lenses. A further use of these research strategies is to identify existing institutional practices and situate administrative decision-making within those practices. Findings – The findings in this paper indicate that while institutional resistance is useful, it can also be co-opted or result in retribution. In both cases, power is asserted and maintained by those who hold institutional power. David John Farmer’s work on anti-administration and O.C. McSwite’s work on administrative refusal are effective strategies to address the abuse of institutional power. Originality/value – This paper introduces the concept of subjective identification to the literature of public administration. Subjective identification offers administrators a new approach to the ethical dilemmas they face in the workplace.
This paper critically examines the ways in which organizational performance and audit practices i... more This paper critically examines the ways in which organizational performance and audit practices intersect with the dynamics of contemporary capitalism, managerialism, and individualism in the workplace to shape the experience of the “postmodern” subject at work. Drawing from Lacanian psychoanalytic theory, the paper argues that the conditions for the contemporary subject are characterized by the declining efficacy of the Symbolic order, which induces the production of people whose identities are fragile and unstable. Paradoxically, this instability emerges at a historical moment at which individuals are commanded to “self-actualize” and to not be limited by authority or tradition. Neoliberalism makes “work” assume particular importance in this project. The paper argues that the decline of the Symbolic, in turn, places a heavy weight on interpersonal relationships in the Imaginary, or among alter-egos, to produce any semblance of a stable identity. Workplace performance measures and audit practices offer seductive points of identification and “quantifiable” stability for the subject in search of her “authentic” self at work in particular. Yet, at the same time, these measures painfully ensnare the subject in external identifications and managerial validation in new, debilitating ways.
Title page for ETD etd-11102005-141106. Type of Document, Dissertation. Author, Marshall, Gary St... more Title page for ETD etd-11102005-141106. Type of Document, Dissertation. Author, Marshall, Gary Steven. URN, etd-11102005-141106. Title, Public administration in a time of fractured meaning : beyond the legacy of Herbert Simon. Degree, Ph. D. Department, Public Administration ...
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Papers by Gary S Marshall
Design/methodology/approach – Discourse theory and Lacanian psychoanalysis are discussed in this paper. The emphasis in both approaches is to examine ethical challenges in politics and administration through new epistemological lenses. A further use of these research strategies is to identify existing institutional practices and situate administrative decision-making within those practices.
Findings – The findings in this paper indicate that while institutional resistance is useful, it can also be co-opted or result in retribution. In both cases, power is asserted and maintained by those who hold institutional power. David John Farmer’s work on anti-administration and O.C. McSwite’s work on administrative refusal are effective strategies to address the abuse of institutional power.
Originality/value – This paper introduces the concept of subjective identification to the literature of public administration. Subjective identification offers administrators a new approach to the ethical dilemmas they face in the workplace.
Design/methodology/approach – Discourse theory and Lacanian psychoanalysis are discussed in this paper. The emphasis in both approaches is to examine ethical challenges in politics and administration through new epistemological lenses. A further use of these research strategies is to identify existing institutional practices and situate administrative decision-making within those practices.
Findings – The findings in this paper indicate that while institutional resistance is useful, it can also be co-opted or result in retribution. In both cases, power is asserted and maintained by those who hold institutional power. David John Farmer’s work on anti-administration and O.C. McSwite’s work on administrative refusal are effective strategies to address the abuse of institutional power.
Originality/value – This paper introduces the concept of subjective identification to the literature of public administration. Subjective identification offers administrators a new approach to the ethical dilemmas they face in the workplace.