This article addresses the relationship between gender and management as intertwined discursive practices. Following a constructive controversial approach, we proposed to the students to complete a short story in which they have to give a feedback either to a fictitious female or to a male boss. The article has a dual aim since it offers a reflection on a teaching methodology suited to foster critical thinking in the classroom and analyzes the narratives so produced in search of what constitutes the students’ idea of “good management.” In positioning men/women CEO within a narrative, students enact a moral order that evaluates management in society. Their narratives reveal how the economic crisis has undermined the positive image of the male manager, while femaleness is emphasized for its anti-managerial imaginary. Moreover, the idea of what constitutes “good management” is constructed around an idea of care for both male and female CEOs.

Imagine being asked to evaluate your CEO …: Using the constructive controversy approach to teach gender and management in times of economic crisis / S. Gherardi, A. Murgia. - In: MANAGEMENT LEARNING. - ISSN 1350-5076. - 46:1(2015), pp. 6-23.

Imagine being asked to evaluate your CEO …: Using the constructive controversy approach to teach gender and management in times of economic crisis

A. Murgia
2015

Abstract

This article addresses the relationship between gender and management as intertwined discursive practices. Following a constructive controversial approach, we proposed to the students to complete a short story in which they have to give a feedback either to a fictitious female or to a male boss. The article has a dual aim since it offers a reflection on a teaching methodology suited to foster critical thinking in the classroom and analyzes the narratives so produced in search of what constitutes the students’ idea of “good management.” In positioning men/women CEO within a narrative, students enact a moral order that evaluates management in society. Their narratives reveal how the economic crisis has undermined the positive image of the male manager, while femaleness is emphasized for its anti-managerial imaginary. Moreover, the idea of what constitutes “good management” is constructed around an idea of care for both male and female CEOs.
Constructive controversial approach; gendering management; moral order; positioning theory
Settore SPS/07 - Sociologia Generale
2015
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2434/595085
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