000			02627nam a22002657a 4500
999			_c952 _d952
005			20211113120107.0
008			210222b ||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d
020			_a9780198708803
082			_a302.35 _bALV
100			_aAlvesson, Mats _92280
245			_aThe triumph of emptiness: consumption, higher education, and work organization
260			_bOxford University Press _aOxford _c2014
300			_ax, 243 p.
365			_aGBP _b23.99
504			_aTable of Contents 1:Introduction - Zero-Sum Games, Grandiosity, and Illusion Tricks 2:Consumption - the Shortcomings of Affluence 3:Explaining the Consumption Paradox: Why aren't People (More) Satisfied? 4:Higher Education - Triumph of the Knowledge Intensive Society or a Statistical Cosmetics Project? 5:Higher Education - an Image-Boosting Business? 6:Modern Working Life and Organizations - Change, Dynamism, and Post-Bureaucracy? 7:Organizational Structures on the Beauty Parade: Imitation and Shop-Window Dressing 8:A Place in the Sun - Occupational Groups' Professionalization Projects and Other Status and Influence Ambitions 9: Leadership - A Driving Force or Empty Talk 10:The Triumph of Imagology - A Paradise for Tricksters? 11:The Costs of Grandiosity
520			_aDescription In this book, Mats Alvesson aims to demystify some popular and upbeat claims about a range of phenomena, including the knowledge society, consumption, branding, higher education, organizational change, professionalization, and leadership. He contends that a culture of grandiosity is leading to numerous inflated claims. We no longer talk about plans but 'strategies'. Supervisors have been replaced by 'managers', managers are referred to as executives. Management is about 'leadership'. Giving advice is 'coaching'. Companies become 'knowledge-intensive firms'. The book views the contemporary economy as an economy of persuasion, where firms and other institutions increasingly assign talent, energy, and resources to rhetoric, image, branding, reputation, and visibility. Using a wide range of empirical examples to illuminate the realms of consumption, higher education, organization, and leadership, this provocative and engaging book challenges established assumptions and contributes to a critical understanding of society as a whole.
650			_aCivilization, Modern _92578
650			_aConsumption (Economics) _91401
650			_aMaterialism _92579
650			_aOrganizational behavior--Social aspects _92580
650			_aBranding (Marketing) _9408
650			_aCorporate culture _9341
650			_aEducation, Higher _92581
942			_2ddc _cBK