Management and Morality: An Ethnographic Exploration of Management Consultancy Seminars (Anthropology at Work Book 1)

"Drawing on extended ethnographic studies of management consultancies in the Oslo region of Norway, this book seeks to find a richer understanding of their role in contemporary work life and the attraction their practices exert on people. The author shows that management consultancy is an arena of meaning that should be analysed as a 'cultural space'. With a detailed investigation into consultancy as a cultural phenomenon, Henningsen argues that its services can be viewed as a 'micro-utopian' vision which can lead to a happier working environment for individuals"-- Provided by publisher Contents 7 Acknowledgements 8 Introduction 9 Chapter 1. Management Consultants and the Primacy of Process 37 Chapter 2. In the Liminoid Space of Process Consultancy 65 Chapter 3. Rituals of Disclosure 95 Chapter 4. Enacting Utopia 128 Chapter 5. Process and the Flow of Energy 160 Conclusion 187 References 191 Index 198