Numericalizing the other:a critical analysis of a strategy discourse in a UK bank

McCabe, Darren (2016) Numericalizing the other:a critical analysis of a strategy discourse in a UK bank. Organization, 23 (4). pp. 525-549. ISSN 1350-5084

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Abstract

This article explores how a strategy discourse in a UK bank reproduced a managerial preoccupation with costs, control and numbers that was grounded in the extant culture. Through engaging with this discourse, strategists displayed numerical ways of thinking, which suggested that they did not ‘see’ those on the receiving end of the strategy as human beings. The article contributes to the strategy literature first by exploring how ‘strategists’ are constituted and how they forge themselves as particular types of subject through participating in strategy discourses. Second, it examines the consequences of numericalization for those on the receiving end of strategic discourses. It is argued that the accountability that numbers seek to generate can undermine accountability, and so numbers are not entirely the servant of strategists or frontline staff but instead reflect and contribute to ongoing workplace struggles. Finally, it is argued that both strategists and academics need to reflect on the discourses that they (we) employ because otherwise we risk further numericalizing the other.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Organization
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1400/1405
Subjects:
?? CRITICALDISCOURSENUMBERSPOWERQUALITATIVESTRATEGYSUBJECTIVITYBUSINESS, MANAGEMENT AND ACCOUNTING(ALL)STRATEGY AND MANAGEMENTMANAGEMENT OF TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION ??
ID Code:
74832
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
31 Jul 2015 10:32
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
19 Sep 2023 01:24