The Culture of Managerialism

Abstract

Having discussed the system integrative imperatives of Managerialism, an achievement only rendered possible by its own growing ideological forces and a relentless expanding colonisation of human beings and nature, this section turns to Managerialism’s corresponding powers of integration inside an authoritarian mass culture. Managerialism has colonised what was originally termed ‘how things are done around here’ — which is also called ‘corporate culture’ under management studies. Managerialism uses this term even though it is neither related to fine art nor is there a shared set of commonly established values and meanings inside managerial regimes. What management studies call ‘corporate culture’ is a rather one-dimensional affair. It is the domination of culture based on the hegemony of management inside managerial regimes. In these regimes, those who invent corporate culture and foster its existence exist next to those who are forced to accept it in a ‘take-it-or-leave’ or ‘my way or the highway’ option. But there is also a non-managerial societal form of culture that is increasingly exposed to Managerialism’s ideological forces. Managerialism has taken over societal culture while simultaneously corporate management has created a one-dimensional culture inside corporations. On this Lyford P. Edwards noted in 1927 ‘no class will permanently be allowed to exercise power over society without being responsible to society for the way power is exercised’.³³⁰