Articles and Chapters by Susan Meriläinen
From the journal: "This article joins recent critical diversity studies that point to an urgent n... more From the journal: "This article joins recent critical diversity studies that point to an urgent need to revitalize the field, but goes further by showing the inherent contextual issues and power relations that frame existing contributions. Based on a theoretical reading inspired by Michel Foucault, diversity is presented as discourse that is not independent of the particular research exercise of which it is part but, rather, remains contingent on the prevailing forms of knowledge and choices made by researchers. By attending to more refined understandings of power and context within diversity discourse, this article makes visible and calls into question the categorization and normalization of diversity and its management. It contributes to existing research by suggesting that the knowledge produced by mainstream and critical diversity scholars alike is biopolitical and governmental. To do diversity research differently or ‘otherwise’ requires finding ways to develop theorizations and practices that turn this modality of power against itself."
Papers by Susan Meriläinen
Gender, Work and Organization, 2002
This article explores the random strategies women adopt in resisting patriarchal articulations of... more This article explores the random strategies women adopt in resisting patriarchal articulations of their professional identity and the kind of organizational discourses women's resistance brings about. The focus is on describing the context, dynamics of contradictory tensions and ambivalence inherent in situations of resisting. The article draws upon the authors' own experiences in academia. In addition to participatory observation, the authors are using themselves as research instruments that enable them to highlight the emotions and ambivalent dynamics in the construction of gendered identities and power relations in organizations. The study indicates that there are several sets of rules in motion in one and the same social situation, such as the rules of organizational behaviour, rules of friendship and the rules of gender relations in public places. By describing two overtly sexualized discourses that women's resistance brought about, the article highlights that organizational sexuality does not necessarily differ in kind or in degree from`street sexuality' or sexuality in semi-public places. The study's findings argue that it is important to extend research to both informal and semi-formal organizational gatherings. These liminal spaces are important sites of communicative struggles over organizational meanings and identities.
Diversity Management versus Gender Equality: the Finnish Case
Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences-revue Canadienne Des Sciences De L Administration, 2009
The notion of diversity management (DM) has in recent years spread out from its Anglo-American or... more The notion of diversity management (DM) has in recent years spread out from its Anglo-American origins. However, few studies have theorized how alternate discourses established in particular societal contexts can challenge penetration of the organizational agenda by DM discourse. Based on a study of corporate websites, we offer a description of DM discourse in Finnish companies. We show how gender equality as an institutionalized societal discourse shapes the meanings attached to DM, and discuss the power effects of this intertwining. For the burgeoning research on diversity management, the Finnish case illuminates how a gender egalitarian context affects the inclusion of certain manifestations of diversity (and its management), while excluding others. Copyright © 2009 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Au cours des dernières années, le concept de gestion de la diversité (désormais DM) s'est répandu au-delà du monde anglo-saxon dans lequel il est né. Cependant, peu d'études ont théorisé la manière dont d'autres discours, nés dans des contextes sociaux différents, remettent en question l'influence de la DM sur les objectifs des entreprises. Dans le présent article, nous proposons une description des discours sur la DM dans les compagnies finlandaises, en nous appuyant sur une étude des sites web d'entreprises. Nous montrons comment la parité homme/femme en tant que discours social institutionnalisé façonne les interprétations de la DM et examinons les effets de cette interdépendance. Dans le champ prometteur des recherches sur la gestion de la diversité, le cas finlandais montre comment un contexte marqué par l'égalité des sexes entraîne l'inclusion de certaines manifestations de la diversité (et de sa gestion) tout en en excluant d'autres. Copyright © 2009 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, 2010
Purpose We address gender and management in contemporary globalization by focusing on the ways in... more Purpose We address gender and management in contemporary globalization by focusing on the ways in which male top managers in a multinational corporation (MNC) construct their identities in interviews with researchers.
Self-reflexivity as the practice of empathy
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, 2013
Diversity Management Versus Gender Equality: the Finnish Case
Canadian Journal of …, Jan 1, 2009
The authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers, the guest editors of this special issue,... more The authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers, the guest editors of this special issue, and the journal editor for their constructive and helpful comments on the previous versions of this article. Comments by Charlotte Holgersson, Pia Höök, and other members of the ...
Introduction: Making Inclusion Work in Academia
Making Inclusion Work, 2010
Gender und Diversity: Albtraum oder …, Jan 1, 2009
Abstract
Organization 1–20 © The Author(s) 2015 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsP... more Abstract
Organization 1–20 © The Author(s) 2015 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1350508415575629 org.sagepub.com
While research on strategy-making has begun to focus attention on identity construction, we nevertheless lack a critical understanding of the ways in which socio-historical understandings of strategy are (re)constructed at the level of identity. In this article, we draw on Judith Butler’s theorizing on performative subject formation—first to explore identity constructions grounded in the simultaneity of submitting to and mastering the socio-historical discourses of strategy and second to consider the subversion of discourses and identities enabled by this simultaneity. We distinguish between three performative identity constructions and demonstrate that by submitting to specific understandings of strategy discourses such as the illusion of control (the analytical strategist), omnipotence (the strategic leader), and personal glory (the state-of-the-art strategist), managers face the unattainability of these projects, which drives them to increase their mastery of the dominant discourses in order to win acceptance from others. Highlighting the dynamics of identity construction in strategy-making, we argue that subversion of the dominant discourses and identities is at best subtle. This enables us to better comprehend the persistence of dominant conceptions and related problems in strategy-making such as the overemphasis on technical rationality, anxiety in the face of uncertainty, heightened expectations of heroism, and the inability to engage in genuine dialogue with others and to consider broader social and societal issues as part of strategy-making.
Keywords
Identity, Judith Butler, mastery, performativity, strategy, submission, subversion
Organization 1–20 © The Author(s) 2015 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1350508415575629 org.sagepub.com
While research on strategy-making has begun to focus attention on identity construction, we nevertheless lack a critical understanding of the ways in which socio-historical understandings of strategy are (re)constructed at the level of identity. In this article, we draw on Judith Butler’s theorizing on performative subject formation—first to explore identity constructions grounded in the simultaneity of submitting to and mastering the socio-historical discourses of strategy and second to consider the subversion of discourses and identities enabled by this simultaneity. We distinguish between three performative identity constructions and demonstrate that by submitting to specific understandings of strategy discourses such as the illusion of control (the analytical strategist), omnipotence (the strategic leader), and personal glory (the state-of-the-art strategist), managers face the unattainability of these projects, which drives them to increase their mastery of the dominant discourses in order to win acceptance from others. Highlighting the dynamics of identity construction in strategy-making, we argue that subversion of the dominant discourses and identities is at best subtle. This enables us to better comprehend the persistence of dominant conceptions and related problems in strategy-making such as the overemphasis on technical rationality, anxiety in the face of uncertainty, heightened expectations of heroism, and the inability to engage in genuine dialogue with others and to consider broader social and societal issues as part of strategy-making.
Keywords
Identity, Judith Butler, mastery, performativity, strategy, submission, subversion