Power, politics, and intervention theory: Lessons from organization studies

Abstract

Accounts of “double stimulation” and “ascent from the abstract to the concrete” as discussed in classroom and workshop studies tend to overlook the dynamics of power and politics. Such dynamics are more obvious in less controlled settings. Two reports of collective learning in work settings illustrate the point. In one, the “germ cell” of a new approach was heavily contested as people manoeuvred to establish the legitimacy of their contrasting positions. In the other, the “ascent” from the germ cell to new practice was contested, with entrenched attitudes and relationships blocking new developments. The relevance of such issues for activity theory is considered through a review of ways in which power and politics have been theorized in organization studies. Power can be conceptualized as both the medium for, and the product of, collective actions. Its study raises important questions about how learning interventions themselves should be understood and managed.