Logics of Organizational Control in the 21st. Century: In Search of the Self-Disciplining Worker

Abstract

How control is exercised in organizations remains a central issue for the
study of workers’ behaviour. The Foucauldian concept of disciplinary power
could prove useful, even though Foucault made virtually no distinction
between different modalities of disciplinary control. Our purpose here is to
investigate different forms of organizational control through the discourses
of different kind of workers (35 in-depth interviews and 11 focus groups).
Although classic forms of control remain important, new logics and
modalities seem to be emerging, which are characterized by the attribution
of responsibility and initiative to workers. However, this apparent self-disciplining
conceals a greater estrangement between workers and the source
of power, which renders organizational control invisible and hinders
resistance to these new logics.