Resistance and Power in Organizations: Agency, Subjectivity and the Labour Process by John Jermier
This collection develops the theme of resistance from below in everyday organizational life. Building on a body of theory dealing with power, control and domination in the labour process, international contributors expand the analysis by focusing on material circumstances and subjective states that lead to subtle forms of subversion and sabotage, as well as to more overt forms of defiance and protest. Discussion is supported throughout by case studies, interviews, surveys and ethnographic data drawn from around the world, to reveal resistance practices which range from those hidden in the "crawl spaces" of organizations to those that are more public and demonstrative. Recent developments in critical social theory are used to provoke thinking about resistance, both as a response to power and a form of power. The contributions show that oppressive practices at work can be met with powerful counterforces.