The Show Must Go On: Ex-Consultants Perpetuating Discourses of Elitism into the Post-Exit Arena
Type
conference paper
Date Issued
2013-08-12
Author(s)
Abstract
Many graduates from leading universities and business schools fiercely compete for a position in the so-called gold-collar industry, where prestigious companies such as investment banks, law firms and management consultancies advertise to be an ideal springboard for a promising future career. By taking a critical stance on the control mechanisms prevalent in these industries, and particularly in the context of management consultancies, this paper will draw attention to the discursive regulation of employee identities that is achieved through constructing an image of elite. Given that management consultants on average spend only a couple of years in the consulting business though, it could be argued that a critical concern with control issues in this context is somewhat overrated. Yet, as I will illustrate in this paper, these forms of discursive identity control may be more powerful and enduring than currently acknowledged. By zooming in on the identity constructions of former management consultants who have left the consultancy and started a career in a different work environment, the paper will show that dominant and identity shaping consulting discourses are often perpetuated into the new working context, thereby allowing the effects of discursive identity regulations to stretch far into the post-exit arena.
Language
English
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
HSG Profile Area
SHSS - Kulturen, Institutionen, Maerkte (KIM)
Refereed
Yes
Book title
Capitalism in Question
Publisher
Academy of Management
Publisher place
New York
Event Title
73rd Academy of Management Annual Meeting (AOM) 2013 "Capitalism in Question"
Event Location
Orlando, FL
Event Date
09.-13.08.2013
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
227202