Managing Identity

Managing Identity Alison Pullen Managing Identity This page intentionally left blank Managing Identity By Alison Pullen © Alison Pullen 2006 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4LP. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2006 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y. 10010 Companies and representatives throughout the world PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin’s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN-13: 978–1–4039–4770–3 hardback ISBN-10: 1–4039–4770–8 hardback This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Pullen, Alison, 1971– Managing identity / by Alison Pullen. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1–4039–4770–8 (cloth) 1. Management. 2. Identity (Psychology)–Social aspects. 3. Organizational change. I. Title. HD31.L477 2005 658.4′06–dc22 10 15 9 14 8 13 7 12 2005047534 6 11 5 10 4 09 3 08 2 07 1 06 Printed and bound in Great Britain by Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham and Eastbourne For Mam 1909–1998 and Cissie 1911–1989 This page intentionally left blank Contents List of Tables viii List of Figures ix Acknowledgements Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 x Introduction: Managing Identity Restructuring Middle Management Management in Three Movements: Theorizing Middle Managers’ Subjectivities Rewriting Power and Gender Into the Management of Meaning and the Meaning of Management “Breaking Up Is Hard To Do”: Hierarchy and Networking in Carlux Seduction in Nylons “Why Not Take All of Me?”: Achievement & Commitment in Larts Disrupted Identities in a Still-Organized World 1 14 31 53 68 112 147 164 Appendix 1: Research Methodology 190 Appendix 2: Research Methods 199 Author Index 218 Subject Index 220 vii List of Tables Table 3.1 Table 8.1 Management in Three Movements: from the Modern to the Postmodern? Modes of Subjective Identity Formation viii 44 183 List of Figures Figure 3.1 Figure 8.1 Figure 8.2 The M