 ManagerialismLeo McCann Chapter 21 in Theories and Concepts in Work and Employment Relations, 2025, pp 184-191 from Edward Elgar Publishing Abstract: Managerialism is a powerful interdisciplinary concept. It refers to an almost taken-for-granted ideology which claims that professional managers ought to be the supervisors and controllers of practically all aspects of modern life. This chapter explores a range of perspectives on managerialism, from the mainstream view that managerialism is not ideological but purely logical and sensible, through to critical perspectives that view managerialism with extreme suspicion. It discusses the organisational systems that characterise and reinforce managerial control over organisations, such as metrics of performance evaluation or the deliberate cultivation and enforcement of approved systems of organisational language and culture. It traces the academic development of the term from the early 1990s and the real-world application of managerialist ideas and systems in business and government ever since. How the concept of managerialism has featured in literature on employment relations is also explored and unpacked, and major academic critiques of managerialism are surveyed. The chapter ends with a discussion of where future research might continue to explore this important and pervasive feature of our times. Keywords: Autonomy; Managerialism; Metrics; Key Performance Indicators; Organisational culture; Professions (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:elg:eechap:22522_22 Ordering information: This item can be ordered from Access Statistics for this chapter More chapters in Chapters from Edward Elgar Publishing |
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