The employee as 'Dish of the Day’:human resource management and the ethics of consumption

Dale, Karen (2012) The employee as 'Dish of the Day’:human resource management and the ethics of consumption. Journal of Business Ethics, 111 (1). pp. 13-24. ISSN 0167-4544

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Abstract

This article examines the ethical implications of the growing integration of consumption into the heart of the employment relationship. Human resource management (HRM) practices increasingly draw upon the values and practices of consumption, constructing employees as the ‘consumers’ of ‘cafeteria-style’ benefits and development opportunities. However, at the same time employees are expected to market themselves as items to be consumed on a corporate menu. In relation to this simultaneous position of consumer/consumed, the employee is expected to actively engage in the commodification of themselves, performing an appropriate organizational identity as a necessary part of being a successful employee. This article argues that the relationship between HRM and the simultaneously consuming/consumed employee affects the conditions of possibility for ethical relations within organizational life. It is argued that the underlying ‘ethos’ for the integration of consumption values into HRM practices encourages a self-reflecting, self-absorbed subject, drawing upon a narrow view of individualised autonomy and choice. Referring to Levinas’ perspective that the primary ethical relation is that of responsibility and openness to the Other, it is concluded that these HRM practices affect the possibility for ethical being.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Journal of Business Ethics
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/3300/3308
Subjects:
?? ORGANISATION, WORK AND TECHNOLOGYBUSINESS, MANAGEMENT AND ACCOUNTING(ALL)ECONOMICS AND ECONOMETRICSBUSINESS AND INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENTLAW ??
ID Code:
51984
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
12 Dec 2011 09:01
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
26 Sep 2023 00:03