The End of Managerial Control?

Abstract

This article has the aim of considering whether managerial control, no matter its form, has outlived, its usefulness in postbureaucratic society, and if so, whether it can be replaced by a more emancipatory discourse among local practitioners as they confront the immanent requirements of social interaction within their own practices. The article initially reviews the limitations of bureaucratic control and considers postbureaucratic or “soft” alternatives as sources of empowerment. Seen as ideals, postbureaucratic options are not thought to overturn the imposition of control in organizing, but the relocation of the positioning of work to the practice setting offers management a new role as the facilitator of the critical discourse required to sustain and enhance local activity.