"Re-Framing Foucault the Case of Performance Appraisal"
by Findlay, Patricia; Newton, Tim (1998)
Abstract
In this chapter we aim both to explore the insights that derive from a Foucauldian perspective and to consider some of the limitations of this perspective. The chapter will start narrow and work broad. In order to focus our analysis, we will commence by examining a particular area of management, namely that of performance appraisal. Focusing in on one area allows us a particular scope in examining the benefits and constraints of a Foucauldian analysis. Further, performance appraisal is an area to which Foucault clearly speaks, and one which has already received some attention from writers on organizations applying Foucault (for example, Grey, 1994; Townley, 1994). Having used appraisal practice as a vehicle to close in on the constraints of Foucauldian work, we will then broaden our analysis to consider some issues raised by the wider developments in human resource management over the past decade. The final section of the chapter will address the theoretical limitations of Foucauldian analysis that our preceding work indicates. We shall proceed by first presenting a brief introduction to appraisal, and then considering the broader relevance of Foucault to understanding appraisal. We will then consider difficulties that arise with a Foucauldian analysis of appraisal, through a critical evaluation of those applying Foucault (to appraisal), particularly Barbara Townley and Chris Grey. We will argue that a Foucauldian framework runs the danger of detracting from critical analysis, and we shall explore these issues more broadly by considering trends in the recent development of human resource management. We shall assert that, contrary to Foucault, monarchic power is not clearly on the wane (Newton, 1994; Newton et al., 1995), and that there are reasonable reasons why our ‘representation of power has remained under the spell of monarchy’ (Foucault, 1979: 88). We shall further suggest that the problem with detracting from the relevance of monarchic power is that it runs the risk of softening rather than sharpening critical analysis. Finally, we will argue that Foucauldian work has proved limited in its ability to address one of the central questions for sociology and organizational sociology, namely how we deal with the subject and human agency.
Keywords
Foucault, Performance Evaluation, Performance Review, Human Resources, Sociology, French Social Theory, Organisational TheoryThemes
On Foucault, Foucault, Critical Management StudiesLinks to Reference
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