The cult/ure~ of the customer

Article Abstract:

Much organizational restructuring, at least in the UK and USA, seeks to replace organizational regulation by that of the market. These developments centre around an emphasis on relations with customers - the 'sovereign consumer' - as a paradigm for effective forms of organizational relations; they are apparent in, and underpin, a wide variety of organizational developments: just-in-time, total quality management, culture change programmes. Understanding these developments requires consideration of the discourse of enterprise of which the culture of the (internal) customer constitutes a key element. Defining internal organizational relations 'as if' they were customer/supplier relations means replacing bureaucratic regulation and stability with the constant uncertainties of the market, and thus requiring enterprise from employees. This discourse has fundamental implications for management attempts to define working practices and relations, and ultimately, has impact on the conduct and identities of employees. Understanding these developments is not possible if analysis remains at the level of the organization. It requires that organizational restructurings, and the discourse which supports them, be located within the social and political rationality of enterprise. The certainties of management, the conviction that environmental challenge and competitive threat must be met by the cult(ure) of the customer, are due to managements' largely unquestioned acceptance of the normality and perceived good sense of the discourse of enterprise. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Evaluation, Corporate culture, Organizational change, Customer relations

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Warrior, peasant and brahmin

Article Abstract:

The Vedic scriptures give an account of the rules that governed the ancient Indian civilization and the relation between the warrior-king and the brahmin priests. Their tie has been perceived as a product of the ritualistic sacrifices that the king was expected to conduct at the behest of the priests. The ambivalence surrounding the outcome of the sacrifices ultimately led to the breakup of their association and marks the gap between the world of sacrality and transcendence.

India, Rites, ceremonies and celebrations, Heads of state, Brahmans, Vedas

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The republic of letters

Article Abstract:

The early days of the US republic were guided by the ideological stand and political efforts of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Madison and Jefferson exchanged ideas on policies through constant correspondence, which also contained notes of diplomatic and political turns in Europe.

Presidents, Presidents (Government), Records and correspondence, Jefferson, Thomas, Madison, James

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