000			01627nam a2200193Ia 4500
999			_c174829 _d174829
005			20211227203556.0
008			200208s9999 xx 000 0 und d
020			_a9780199660940
082			_a302.35 ALV
100			_a"Alvesson, Mats"
245		0	_a"Triumph of emptiness:consumption, higher education and work organisation"
260			_aOxford
260			_bOUP
260			_c2013
300			_a243 p.
520			_aIn this book, Mats Alvesson aims to demystify some popular and upbeat claims about a range of phenomena, including the knowledge society, consumption, branding, higher education, organizational change, professionalization, and leadership. He contends that a culture of grandiosity is leading to numerous inflated claims. We no longer talk about plans but strategies. Supervisors have been replaced by managers. Goods have become brands. Wealthy countries try to show that they are knowledge societies through mass higher education but with limited effect on real qualifications or qualified job opportunities for graduates. The book views the contemporary economy as an economy of persuasion, where firms and other institutions increasingly assign talent, energy, and resources to rhetoric, image, branding, reputation, and visibility. Using a wide range of empirical examples to illuminate the realms of consumption, higher education, organization, and leadership, this provocative and engaging book challenges established assumptions and contributes to a critical understanding of society as a whole.
650			_a"Materialism, Modern civilization, Organizational behavio"
942			_cB _2ddc