the tyranny of the customer and the cost of consumerism: an analysis using systems and...

The Tyranny of the Customer and the Cost of

Consumerism: An Analysis Using Systems and

Psychoanalytic Approaches to Groups andSociety

Susan Long1,2

This paper argues that an organizational discourse on consumerism is replacing

a prior discourse of depende ncy. This discourse encourages, and is encouraged

by, economic rationales for behavior and is marked by the collapse of many

complex socie tal roles into the simpler cate gory of “custome r.” Moreover,

practices emergent from consumerism and economic rationalism often act as

organizational and social defences against anxieties about the uncertainties and

change s occurring in a world increasingly dominated by global marke ts where

the custome r is “sovere ign.” Six working hypotheses are proposed to explain the

operation of these new social defence s. Evidence in support of these hypotheses

come s from collaborative action research projects in which the author is

in vo lve d . T h e arg u m e n t m o ve s to war d a c o n sid e r a tio n o f th e n e w

“consume r provider pair” which, it is proposed, has become a major signifier

within the consumer discourse and which might be considered as a transitional

pair in dealing with widespread organizational change.

KEY WORDS: consume rism; customers; societal roles; global marke ts.

INTRODUCTION

My argument in this pape r is that an organizational discourse on con-

sumerism is replacing a prior organizational discourse of dependency. I will

focus on the discourse surrounding “consumerism” and “economic ration-

alism” as expressed wide ly in Western culture because such a discourse is

deeply embedded in the current state -of-mind appare nt in organizational

life . This consumer discourse encourage s, and is encourage d by, economic

Hum an Relations, Vol. 52, No. 6, 1999

723

0018-7267/99/0600-0723 $16.00/1 Ó 1999 The Tavistock Institute

1Swinburne Unive rsity of Technology, Melbourne, Australia.2Requests for reprints should be addressed to Susan Long, Swinburne Unive rsity of Technol-

ogy, Graduate School of Manage ment, P.O. Box 218, Hawthorne, 3122 Australia.

rationale s for behavior. Such rationale s defend the elites within organiza-

tions (namely, management, policymake rs, owners, and those with pote ntial

to be upwardly mobile ) against the anxie ty attendant upon the uncertaintie s

and changes occurring in a world that is increasingly dominate d by global

markets. Now aware of the need to drag themselves away from closed and

insular forms of organizationa l life , and projected headlong toward the

twenty-first century by sophisticate d technology, organizations have redis-

covered the “customer” and instituted a producer/customer pair.

Moreover, such a discourse defends all organization members from

anxie ties surrounding the loss of past institutional value s that grew more

within nation states and local communitie s. This is because, in ameliorating

grie f over such a loss, the consume r discourse poses a be lie f in the sove r-

eignty of individualism and a sense that even if one feels exploite d as a

worker by an institution that no longer cares, one can be free as a con-

sumer.

My conceptual focus will be predominantly from a psychoanalytic ap-

proach to organizations, because it is this approach that looks beyond the

rational to those unconscious forces that colle ctive ly drive people .

CONSUMERISM AND ECONOMICAL RATIONALIZATION AS

DEFENSES AGAINST UNCERTAINTY

The arguments here will draw on the tradition of unde rstanding social

systems as a defense against anxie ty (Menzies-Lyth, 1988, 1989; Hirschhorn,

1988) , while recognizing that an analysis of defensive formations may also

include an historical analysis because forms of defense shift in time, having

both adaptive and defensive functions. Basically, this tradition argues that

organizational tasks each raise anxie ties. We prote ct ourselve s from the ex-

perience of anxie ty through organizational structures and processes that

take away the anxie ty, often at the expense of examining the social realitie s

that give rise to the anxie ty in the first place . A social defense is a quick

fix solution, taken up quite unconsciously and unthinkingly. Krantz (1996)

argue s compellingly that the postmodern organization, more than ever re-

quire s examination in terms of systemic defenses against anxie ty. If, as

many now argue , the structural defenses against task anxie ties and the in-

sulated culture s provide d by the dependency hierarchie s of more traditional

organizations no longe r serve in the current environme nt, the que stion must

then be pose d—what new defenses do we have available ?

Although consume rism as a fully deve lope d organising principle for

social life has a history that goe s back at least to the industrial revolution

(McKendrick et al., 1983; Knights & Morgan, 1993; Lasch, 1995) a renewed

focus on the customer has become appare nt in work organizations. The

724 Long

postmodern era is heavily invested in service industrie s, and the thinking

within service industrie s has permeated othe r industry sectors with its cus-

tomer emphasis. Moreover, the new customer is not unsophisticate d. She

is like ly to represent a section within a large company with its own eco-

nomic power, or a client of a government service well aware of his or her

rights. Nor are enterprise relations with that customer simple . Best practice

involve s a relationship that is mutually cooperative , where producer and

customer work collaborative ly to discove r customer require ments in the

context of their broade r situation. The relatedness of each producer/cus-

tomer pair seems, at first sight, to center on rational economic exchange

and informed customer service (Knights & Morgan, 1993) .

This paradigm is take n up by Du Gay and Salaman (1992) who con-

sider the focus on the customer as ground to many managerial inte rventions

within organizations. They argue that the work enterprise impetus is for

increased innovation and a “marke t edge” in an environme nt where con-

sumer values and behavior have change d radically. Their analysis looks at

the development of what they term a new “discourse of the enterprise” (p.

617) where the customer becomes “sovereign” because of an enterprise

reframing in response to a marke t economy. Moreove r, organizations be-

come inte rnally restructure d to fit this discourse “so that departme nts now

behave as if they were actors in a market” (p. 619) . Drawing on a lite rature

which include s works from Foucault (1979) to Abercombie (1991) and from

the popularists Peters and Waterman (1982) to the academic and philo-

sophical sociology of Rose (1990) , they argue that the custome r producer

paradigm has restructured work, changed work practices, shifted authority

for production to the consume r and, most significantly re-shaped the notion

of self within organizations. Their analysis is large ly at the leve l of describ-

ing a shifting enterprise ideology, impose d through strategy, albe it with a

complex mixture of social determinism. It is as if the enterprise strategists,

recognizing the consumer state -of-mind have capitalize d on this, bringing

organizations into line with what is regarded as the marke t reality.

However, I be lieve there is a need to look at the basis of this seemingly

rational exchange and understand it from an historical psychodynamic per-

spective as well as from the more prevalent perspective of social exchange

or power. Although having ideas in common with Du Gay and Salaman

with re spect to the operation of the enterprise discourse , I believe that

alongside implicit ideological manipulation by organizational elites and a

tacit enactment of wider social process, the more deeply unconscious dy-

namics of social defenses against anxie ty are also operating. Furthe r, those

practice s emergent from consume rism and economic rationalism, where

dominant and excessive , have led to severe human costs which involve at

the individual level a decrease in psychological freedom, creative capacity,

Customers and Cost of Consum erism 725

and the capacity to learn from experience, i.e ., personal defensive behavior

is establishe d in personally destructive ways; and, at the social level, a loss

of freedom, creativity, and learning capacity occurs in our work organiza-

tions and other social institutions.

Importantly, however, we are also paying the cost of diminishme nts

of leadership. This is expre ssed as a narcissistic social defense where indi-

viduals withdraw from communal life and take an instrumental attitude to

the ir work organizations. In such a situation, leadership becomes disen-

gage d from the work, because leade rship require s an ongoing psychological

group, not a pseudogroup with which to work.

HOW DOES THE DEFENSIVE PROCESS OPERATE?

I will put forward and argue six working hypothe ses to e xplain the

ope ration of the new social defenses of consumerism and economic ration-

alism. Each hypothe sis will be stated and then the argument and evide nce

in support of the hypothe sis will be examined. Much of the evide nce pre-

sented will come from collaborative action research projects, where I am

involve d as researcher together with organizations inte rested in imple ment-

ing change .

The organizations considered here are both gove rnment departme nts

facing the Victorian Government’s imperative to corporatize and privatize

services. One is a rehabilitation organization whose main concern is find-

ing employme nt for disable d persons. The othe r is the government cor-

rections service which, in the face of government policy placing 48% of

prisone rs in private ly run prisons, has to prove itself as competitive both

financially and in terms of outcome and quality. As collabora tive re-

searcher, toge ther with my research team, my task has been to work with

these organizations to be tter unde rstand (i) the ir current dynamics, (ii)

the change age nda they are facing, and (iii) the transitional processes

through which they must move in order to survive and, perhaps flourish,

in new competitive environm ents. The process involve s organization mem-

bers researching the ir own organizations and deciding on the basis for

change . This is done through a steering committee responsible for overall

research dire ction. The unive rsity team first conducts an organization di-

agnosis, that is conside red by the steering committee as a basis for furthe r

action research or learning projects with ongoing evaluation. The steering

committee also works on its own inte rnal dynamics in recognition of the

proje ct in microcosm.

In these collaborative projects, both organizations have had to think

within the new discourse of consumerism despite staff be ing originally

trained in a context of professionalism and public service dependency. They

726 Long

have had to find a position from which they might explore organization

dynamics within a context of emerging constraints, rather than blindly fol-

lowing a political age nda.

Hypoth esis 1. Consume rism involve s the simplification of role s and

the ir associated tasks, and in so doing fundame ntally changes the relation

of the subject to the group and the institution.

Consume rism as a central or dominant value leads to many comple x

organizational and socie tal roles being collapse d unde r the more dominant

role of consumer. We see this when roles such as “patient” meaning “one

who suffers”; or “stude nt” meaning “one who studies and learns”; or “citi-

zen” meaning “member of a state ,” are all named as “customers.”

In the climate of consumerism, many role aspe cts are denied or mini-

mized (we could perhaps say submerged because they are sure to be pre-

sent in a covert way). For example , the patie nt’s suffering may be denied

when s/he is present in the medical system primarily to consume wonder

drugs or to be fitted into the cost-reduction schemes of case mix funded

programs. The student’s learning is minimize d when the focus is on pro-

grams that deliver a degree in the shortest time, and are customer focused

to the extent of providing a learning package , rathe r than an experience

where the stude nt must struggle with learning.

This doe s not mean that the “customer” aspect of the patie nt or the

student should be denied. Shoddy or poor services are not good busine ss

practice at any time, nor will they lead to high quality work, or a reputation

in line with this. However, what was previously a minimal customer aspect

has in many instances grown to swamp the role so that it becomes undif-

ferentiated from other role s and denude d of its meaning (Bion, 1962) .

This is not simply a matter of semantics. The resignification of role s

in a consume r society results in the potential and actual loss of learning

from the experience that is inherent in the richer role of patient, stude nt,

or citizen. The person who has not struggle d with the learning-to-le arn that

is part of the stude nt role, for example , may find that her package d training

is quickly outdate d, and that she does not have experience require d to

adapt to learning within a specialized work environme nt. It is not surprising

that in such a climate many industrie s are finding unive rsity education ir-

relevant and are devising their own educational as well as training pro-

gram s. The focus on a training me ntality, also results in appare ntly

nonvocational courses receiving less and less support. This is the case even

though discipline s such as philosophy and history have much to offer in-

dustry, particularly manage rs who are increasingly working in multicultural

environme nts.

Paradoxically, a loss of the learning from the experience of be ing a

real customer can also occur. The mode rn rhetoric of customer service


often renders the role in a minimalist way, seeing the customer as “part-

object” consume r rather than a whole person with comple x needs and val-

ues as well as desires. The part has come not just to stand for the whole ,

as in a metonym, but has come to replace the whole . The fuller role of

customer may be more recognized in a collaborative relation with the pro-

ducer, but such collaboration is sometimes more form than substance .

Such role changes also affect the doctors, teachers, and governments

who are the role counterparts to those organizational and socie tal role s

described. Do these latte r simply (in paralle l) become “provide rs” or “sup-

plie rs” and what might this mean? As a corollary to this, the social insti-

tutions linked to the submerged role aspe cts, are themselves minimize d or

submerged. For example , when a “citizen” or “taxpaye r” becomes primarily

a “customer” vis-à-vis public services, the institution of gove rnment be-

comes change d. If the citizen is simply customer, then it is assumed she is

only concerned with the end service, not with the process of gove rnment

nor its ultimate values. Practice matches this attitude and part of the idea

of responsible democracy is lost (Lasch, 1995) .

An example of such resignification can be found in a government re-

habilitation organization where I have been involve d in a collaborative ac-

tion research proje ct. This organization is in the process of becoming a

statutory authority in a competitive marke t, whereas previously it had a

near monopoly with social security clients. This is in line with gove rnment

policy to separate provide rs (whether private or state owned) from the ir

government funders. The hope is that this will stimulate greater efficiencies

through open competition, and will distinguish policy from service provision

in the area of support for disable d people . In this process, the primary task

of the organization has changed.

Although gradually increasing its work with insurance companie s and

other organizations in the preventative and rehabilitative scene, the man-

agers and professional service provide rs in the organization recognize they

must improve their outcome s with their major customers. However, over

the past few years, the nature of outcomes has shifte d. “Rehabilitation”

has come predominantly to mean getting jobs for clients, many of whom

are long-te rm unemployed with chronic physical or psychological disabili-

ties. The “vocational outcome” is now the focus of funding—the only real

measure of rehabilitation. Such a focus is demonstrative of the simplifie d

or conde nsed role of the provide r in this organization. The client becomes

a consume r of this service , and as such also has a simplifie d role , with

broade r rehabilitative needs being subsume d.

Apart from the changed value s inhe rent in this narrowing of role , it

has immediate effects on very pragmatic issues. For instance , it is measur-

ably important whether or not the client has a job that is sustainable . How

728 Long

is sustainability measure d? Or is the client simply a seemingly successful

statistic who will be in need of more he lp because the job did not last or

was not suitable ? A broade r rehabilitative role would include aiding the

client to gain general confidence and seek and find jobs independe ntly in

the future. Hopefully, such an outcome is still attainable , but the pressure

to get immediate vocational outcomes may mitigate against this.

Alongside the change from the broade r idea of “client” to the nar-

rower one of “customer” or “consume r of vocational place ments” comes

the change in the role of the provide r. The changes have developed fol-

lowing the growth of the idea and practice of “case manage ment.” In case

manage ment, profe ssionals manage a clients’ progress through a process

of attaining and utilizing resources which will aid them in getting a job.

Fewer resources are now aimed at the personal development of the client.

Moreove r, the case manage r role, although drawing on the professional’sdiscipline specific skills, is a generic role and identifies the worker more

with the manage ment of a process to obtain vocational outcomes, than to

a specific professional body, or set of specific profe ssional values.

An organizational outcome of this resignification is that some workers,

who continue to identify themselves more with the ir profe ssional back-

ground than with the case manager role, are considered as “resistors to

change ,” and hence find disfavor with the current management. A psy-

chodynamic systemic approach suggests they may be unconsciously repre-

se nting, on be half of othe rs who have consciously give n up the olde r

identification, those aspects of professional identity that are still useful to

the organizational task, despite such identifications be ing discourage d in

the change d environme nt. This hypothe sis was borne out in individual re-

search inte rviews. The organizational strategy to “cut out the dead wood,”as one manage r phrase d it, seems sure to lead to a loss of organizational

creativity, even while attempting its increase.

Hypothesis 2. Consume rism shows itself to be a social dynamic struc-

turally equivale nt to secondary narcissism.

Given this change in both the signification and the content of role s

the question arises: why this value of consumerism? It is here argued that

consumerism is a social dynamic relate d to the individual dynamic of sec-

ondary narcissism, classically conceptualize d (Freud, 1914) . Primary narcis-

sism is basically simple se lf-inte re st and se lf-fascination . Se condar y

narcissism is treating the self “as if” it is anothe r. It occurs after we have

learned that others exist and after we have love d and relate d to others.

Inevitably othe rs disappoint us at times, so we fall back on self-love—sec-

ondary narcissism. But loving the self as anothe r means this type of love

has been shape d by social concerns. Now, consume rism as a social dynamic,

and secondary narcissism both involve a focus on the ego or self (e.g., the


customer is paramount) . Both are concerned with the fulfillme nt of a desire

that has been shape d, if not initially created, within the social fie ld. More-

ove r, Freud’s conceptualization of secondary narcissism clearly argue s that

the withdrawal of libidinal interest from the “other” onto the “ego” (ob-

ject-libido transformed into ego-libido, p. 75) concerns a change in the re-

lation of the subje ct to reality. Actual comple xitie s are disavowe d in favor

of monolithic world views or delusions (Freud, 1924) . The same might be

said of the consumer’s relation to the institution. As argued above , the

collapse of complex role s into monodime nsional consumer role s constitute s

an alte red state of role relations; often sustaine d by an advertising industry

dealing in illusion.

Given this paralle l psychodynamic between consume rism and narcis-

sism, an examination of narcissistic defenses against uncertainty may throw

light on consume rism as a defense. During times of rapid change , alongside

the breakdown of many institutional value s comes an increase in uncer-

tainty and anxie ty, a que stioning of identity, disenchantment, and pain.

In our work organizations, such transformations have in recent years

led to a narcissistic defense against these feelings. This is evidenced psy-

chologically through isolation, withdrawal, instrumental attitude s to work

(Mille r, 1993) , and a sense of “beating the system” before it beats you. It

is evidenced socially through consumerism as a primary value , acceptance

of high leve ls of une mployme nt, increasing privatization, and increasing use

of litigation.

In the past, dependency on the organization or the state ameliorated

many anxie ties. People expected that they would be able to get a job that

lasted a life time, or at least expe cted that gove rnments would regard any

leve l of une mployme nt as a problem, and hence provide solutions. These

depende ncies are less readily available nowadays. To avoid the pain of what

Emery and Trist (1965) coine d “turbulent environme nts,” many have with-

drawn to a “me first” position (Lawrence , Bain, & Gould, 1996) . Greed

be comes a motivatin g force and many institutionalize d restraine rs of

greed—such as the checks and balance s built into government, or the ca-

reer paths built into organize d working live s—are not in place .

Importantly, a societal defense against the pain and anomie has grown.

It is a defense that seems on the surface to favor autonomy, however, on

closer examination this can be seen as “individualism ” with little account-

ability to the group. Such a narcissistic defense is one that comes with the

human cost of loss of real self-re liance (Bowlby, 1988) , creativity, and learn-

ing. It paradoxically destroys a more creative individual autonomy; one that

derive s from responsible group membership where personal authority can

grow. The cost to the group is that it becomes a pseudogroup rathe r than

730 Long

a real group. The cost to the individual is a loss of connection with a com-

plex reality.

An example of such a pseudogroup can be found in the notorious

BOOT process of privatizing community infrastructure , say roads. In such

instance s, private companies build and own the roads, through having their

proje cts underwritten by gove rnment. If the project is profitable , the com-

pany gains. If the scheme fails or creates debit, the taxpaye r ends up paying.

What is created here is a pseudogroup of taxpaye rs, present for the purpose

of bolstering the private company, rathe r than present as citizens in an active ,

creative sense. Both individual taxpayers and the community are exploite d.

Hypothesis 3. Alongside the narcissistic defense, socially evidenced in

consumerism, is the economic rationalist argument. This is itse lf defensive ;

constructed as a conscious rationale for sustaining an individualist position

for the subje ct.

The central value of economic rationalism, reflected in the primacy of

economic concerns, seems often to be a conscious rationale for the expe-

rienced culture of individualism described previously. It has been consis-

tently linked with more conservative , less communal political and economic

persuasions (Pusey, 1991) . In the face of the uncertainty experienced with

the loss of many previously stable institutions, it may well ope rate as a

group or socie tal defense against the anxie ty of economic loss. Economic

rationalism has become the major driver for the corporatization of many

gove rnment service industrie s and for the ir placement in a deregulate d

market, seemingly to guard against the anxie ty of real or imagine d national

deficits and public loss. Like many social defenses, however, it produces

secondary effects that themselve s he ighte n anxie ty. A raising of the “eco-

nomic” as a central institution is itse lf an uncertain process. “Bottom line ”sounds hard-edged but financial marke ts are notoriously shifty when they

come unhinge d from real assets (Syke s, 1994) , or, one might argue in the

service industrie s, from necessary social tasks.

For example , the research with the gove rnment rehabilitation service

mentione d earlie r has thus far found that the measure of vocational out-

comes drive n by a bottom line focus, whilst stimulating staff to increase

productivity in this area, also detracts from othe r necessary change s at a

broade r more strategic leve l. For example , give n the geographic distribution

of centres, a “patch mentality” has evolve d. Case managers who need to

be periodically released from coalface work in order to develop new skills,

or to work at organizational deve lopme nts are begrudge d the time away

because this will affect the vocational outcome statistics at the unit leve l.

This may lead to a regional manage r preventing case managers doing work

that might benefit from a more coordinate d effort across regions. Although

this proble m is being tackled through a restructuring of regions and roles,


the proble ms are deeper. However efficiencie s are manage d internally,

competition in the open marke t will necessarily mean the organization lose s

a lot of its work to othe r provide rs. The creativity of the direct service

provide rs is essential, especially as all indications are that this organization

will end up with the most difficult cases, that is, the unemploye d disable d

least like ly to gain employment. This will be proble matic for an organiza-

tion that has to compete primarily at an economic level. As one member

said “how can you make money out of the mentally ill? ”

If the organization is to survive , they will have to look beyond imme-

diate balance sheets. More importantly, if our society is to provide a service

to the unemploye d severely disable d, we cannot depend solely on an eco-

nomically driven system. Central to the argume nt of this pape r is that if

the task be comes primarily an e conomic one , then the ethical, creative ,

and skillful capacitie s of the organization members (which are also re-

source s directed toward the primary agre ed task) become subordinate d.

This may well occur if this organization becomes locked into conservative

ways of thinking which simply attempt to grind out the statistics. This is

the dange r for this new provide r (the statutory body) /consume r (gove rn-

ment) pair. If the winners are only the growing private companie s, the los-

ers will surely be those most seriously disable d people and the ir familie s

who will thus have even fewer resources.

Hypothesis 4. Economic rationalism confuses the method—of achie ving

good economic practice—with the aims and values of the community or

the organization. It confuses method with purpose . A major vehicle for

such method is managerialism.

Economic rationalism is a philosophy, like consumerism, that is instru-

mental. In its climate , a new manage rialism has grown with the imperative

to save/make money. This has led, in many situations, to submerging the

intrinsic value of the work done , often on behalf of socie ty, within our or-

ganizations. The division between the intrinsic value —as develope d within

the primary task of an organization —and the economic imperative is en-

acted in modern management philosophy and training. Manage rs are seen

to be generic. That is, a good manager can manage any organizational task,

whether they have any background experience in the performance of that

task or not. This argument cannot be raised in a cut and dried way. There

are advantage s to having someone in a manage ment position who is fresh

to the endeavour and who can bring in new perspective s. However, it would

seem important that that person was able and willing to really learn about

the specific tasks of the organization and to understand their value . None-

the less, the idea of the generic manage r has been establishe d in the rise

of the MBA degree, itse lf a highly sought after manage ment consumable .

732 Long

The idea of the transportable generic manage r links in with the culture

of the inde pende nt individual more than with the culture of the team

player; and this is despite the idea that team playing is nowadays seen as

an important manage rial competency. There is a dange r that in many cases,

the manage r with his or her eye on promotion, learns the political role of

appe aring the team playe r while maintaining a strong and defensive inde-

pendence . It is individuals rather than teams who are rewarded, anyway.

The same might be said of the corporate entrepreneur. This again re-

flects the value of perceived advantage . In this case the advantage to the

individual is self-promotion. Whether this becomes a symbiotic relatedness

(between individual and organization) as argued by those who look toward

creative career development within and between workplace s (Waterman et

al., 1994), or a parasitic relate dne ss where individuals use companie s for

the ir own ends in destructive ways, as was often the case in the 1980s when

companie s were used as pawns in a game of finance without collate ral

(Syke s, 1994)—depends on many factors, not the least be ing a close regard

for a real primary task othe r than simple profit.

Moreover, managerialism is concerned with administration, procedure,

and efficiency at the expense of vision, leade rship, and craft (Krantz &

Gilmore, 1990) . The underlying assumption of managerialism is that man-

agement has a primary control function and in this regard is distinctly sepa-

rate from the activity, function, or capacity that is be ing manage d. A focus

of this nature will often divorce the organization from its primary task, and

eventually rende r it less creative and less like ly to survive . If one loses sight

of the primary task (e.g., treating patients, educating children or graduate s,

providing services for citizens, etc.), the organization will fail (even in the

part of the task that is to serve consume rs).

Creese (1998) has done a study of arts organizations where she dem-

onstrate s that the more successful organizations are able , in their manage -

ment, to balance an intimate knowle dge and conce rn for the art with

aspects of manage ment that are more generic. Long (1993) and Bain, Long,

and Ross (1992) indicate the need to balance an intimate knowledge of

the primary task of a school or hospital, with more generic management

skills. Economic rationalism enacts a more one -sided position, as do the

career paths of many modern CEOs who can readily move from organiza-

tion to organization, industry to industry, because the focus is on those

aspects of organizations that can be rendered equivale nt—their manage -

ment within the economic fie ld.

Hypothesis 5. Work organizations, while previously base d on a relation

of depende ncy, now ope rate on a relation of instrumental individualism.

If we take an historical perspective ove r the past century, it might go

as follows. Establishe d as models for work organizations were (i) the bu-


reaucracy (Weber, 1946) , (ii) the authority hie rarchy, (found in gove rnment

and private sectors, Jaques, 1989), and (iii) the association [found in pro-

fessional groupings (e.g, the unive rsitie s, professional practice firms and the

church or in community groupings and friendly societies)] .

Each of these forms tended to establish themselves as depende ncy ob-

jects for their members. The organization, once joined, tende d to provide

protection for members, through a sense of job security and the possibility

of an internal career path. This enge ndered in members a sense of loyalty.

Economic depressions of course took the ir toll, but on the whole , people

expected to be able to stay with the same organization throughout most

of the ir career or working life . Such dependency had its own costs. Practices

that indicate d that the workers were less trustworthy, less able to use dis-

cretion, less responsible than those higher up the hierarchy (Chattopad-

hyay, 1995) reinforced the depende ncy in a cyclical manner. Furthe r, the

more this attitude prevailed, the more like ly was industrial unre st. The un-

ion/manage ment division exemplifie d the split set up within the dependency

mode l. Jaque s’ (1955) classic case study of the split between management

and workers in the Glacie r Metal Company is illustrative of this. Whereas

hierarchy may be appropriate in terms of authority for task, hierarchy is

often instituted for purpose s of status alone , or to enable other internal

psychological dramas to be playe d out on the work stage.

As these organizational forms developed, and as they created a culture

of depende ncy among organization members, so did the broade r environ-

ment deve lop, putting pressure on the organizations for change . Emery and

Trist (1965) spoke of the changing environme nt as no longe r simple , stable ,

and predictable , but as turbule nt. They mappe d the environme ntal change s

as requiring first a response of increasing competition, and later, as com-

petitive organizations themselves shape d the environme nt, a response of

increasing cooperation. Post-World War II culture increased the rhetoric,

discourse , and practice of consumerism. Free-marke t philosophie s and poli-

cies, adve rtising, deve loping overseas markets, and new technologie s all

emerged with a strength not seen before. The value of consumerism came

to fill the vacuum of values le ft by the decline of religion in a population

still basically depende nt on large institutions. In light of all this, dependency

culture s seemed more and more inappropriate with respect to the need for

flexible and responsive organizations. Now increasingly, the decline of the

state through privatization, shows a furthe r loss of large institutions and

the ir attendant value s (Spicer et al., 1996) .

If a discourse of consume rism is replacing a discourse of dependency

there is a need to examine and unde rstand the emergent values linked to

consumerism, and to examine some of the fallacie s behind the reasoning

of those who champion such value s.

734 Long

Consider the following from Ohmae (1990) .

More than anything e lse, the burgeoning flow of information directly to consumers

is e roding the ability of governme nts to pretend that their national economic

interests are synonymous with those of their people. The better informed people

are, the more they will want to make their own choices and the less those choices

will square with the boundary lines drawn years ago on maps . . . . This is just

another way of describing the borderless world. But it has an important—and often

overlooked—corollary: This flow of information is not cre ating anything new. It

is not segmenting consumer taste or choice . Instead it is making it possible, at

last, for the many variations in taste around the world to find concrete expression.

(p. 185)

The better informed people are , the more they know what is going on elsewhere

in the world, the more they will want for themselves all those things that make

life pleasant and enjoyable. And the more they will want to make their own choices

among them. (p. 193)

He goes on to argue that gove rnments should be in the busine ss of policy

and not in the busine ss of providing services.

Implicit in these statements are the assumptions that:

· Consumers are discriminating if give n information;

· Marketing is about giving information;

· Consumerism is valued above community or citizen ownership of es-

sential resources and service s.

Beyond these are more invisible assumptions (italicize d below). Their call-

ing into question, goe s thus:

· I am free to choose what I want. However, “want” or desire is created

and captures us, rather than being at our will. To find one ’s desire

is a task, not a given in life . This is a strong lesson from psycho-

analysis (Lacan, 1977; Bion, 1961) . There is also complexity around

the question of who creates desire and the part that modern enter-

prise s play there (Knights & Morgan, 1993; Deleuze & Guattari,

1983) .

· Competition leads to better quality and lower prices. Behind this are

the inequalitie s of global competition where labor and humans are

differentially valued. The myth is that competition currently exists

in a free and neutral political as well as economic environme nt.

· Capitalism enables us all to own industry, and enables the money to

be invested in productive creative activities. But, money follows the

economic imperative to produce more of itself, rather than following

the intrinsic value of the invested activity. Investors have a primary

and pecuniary inte rest in the returns of the company rathe r than in

the ir product or service . This is increasingly like ly when majority


share holders are othe r companie s rather than private individuals, be-

cause the buye rs are thinking of the ir own shareholde rs.

· The more produced and consum ed the better. What of the problems

with the natural environme nt and with the containme nt or constraint

of greed? (Lasch, 1979) .

The value s of consume rism, it seems, are linked to a view of the inde -

pendent individual rathe r than the community. Argued here, however, is,

that on the evidence of psychoanalysis, or general social psychology, that

this individual is a myth (Stack-Sullivan, 1950; Lacan, 1977) . More like ly,

the subject he or she appe ars to be is eithe r a person separate d from the

community in a withdrawn and counterdepende nt manne r, or one who does

not recognize the essential relate dne ss that embeds them. That is, one who

is linked through the role of “provide r” or “consumer” in a re lation of

mutual perceived advantage , rathe r than through a plethora of relations

grounde d in additional moral base s, such as provide d through value s of

loyalty, devotion, care , etc. Community relations under such an ideology

become economic and instrumental rathe r than deve lope d through shared

work where trust is establishe d by means of mutual experience.

Mille r (1995) writes “because employme nt is perceived as being in-

creasingly unre liable , and the ‘organisation ’ is no longe r a safe containe r

and provide r of institutional defenses against anxie ty, we are seeing a wide-

spread phe nomenon of psychological withdrawal. Instead of dependency,

the individual has adopte d a much more instrumental relationship.”Growing globalization and uncertainty about the future leaves people

in a vulne rable state in the ir work organizations. Rathe r than working

through their very real depende ncie s, many have drawn back to a pseudo-

independence aided by the ideologie s of the predominant enterprise /con-

sumer discourse . Yet we are at a time in history when interdepende nce is

critical. John Bowlby’s (1988) theory of attachment is relevant here. When

a child is attache d to an important othe r (say the mother) lengthy separa-

tion results in three stage s—protest, withdrawal, and finally pseudo-adap-

tation where the child develops a mistrusting and detached attitude which

is hidde n by a supe rficial mode of be ing in relationships. The final adap-

tation is fundame ntally instrumental.

Is this a picture that fits our society? Have modern citizens been trau-

matically separated from those institutions that once were dependable leav-

ing an identification vacuum? We perhaps need time for transition from

depende ncy on lost institutions to a new democracy (Lasch, 1995) . It is

suggested here that the state-of-being of a consume r socie ty is one of in-

strumentality and supe rficial relationship hiding a deeper fear of uncer-

tainty about unresolve d depende nce . The ideas that we are all inde pende nt

consumers, that the marke t is wise , that government should simply legislate

736 Long

rathe r than be a direct public service , through the ir dominant enactment,

may lite rally be uncontainable in traditional institutions with the ir eroded

traditional values. How then can such ideas be containe d in order that they

might eventually be transforme d rathe r than establishe d in a rigid manne r?

What is the new containe r for these thoughts and this state-of-mind?

Hypothesis 6. The consume r/provide r pair has become establishe d as

a major signifie r within the consume r discourse .

This pape r has thus far argued that consumerism is a social dynamic

equivale nt to the psychodynamic of narcissism. As such, it is an expression

of the narcissistic social defense against the anxie ties and uncertaintie s of

postmodern organizations. The discourse of customer service and consum-

erism has been consciously take n up within this social dynamic. This section

will take the argument a little further by looking at a major signifie r within

the consumer discourse : that is, the consume r/provide r pair. Such a pair is

located in the dynamic of the pairing group where emotional work, as well

as thinking and action, can be done by the pair on behalf of the group.

Unconsciously, the pair stands for a sexual or creative pair who will produce

something for the group. Often the group will unconsciously give up hard

work in favor of placing all the hope for deve lopme nt in the pair.

How has this pair been establishe d?

It is propose d here that the consume r/provide r pair is acting at least

as a transitional containe r and denotes the new value s and a social defen-

sive relation that is: (i) base d on the primarily economic and instrumental

position of mutual perceived advantage which may stand in opposition to

value s such as loyalty, mature representation, and interdepende nce (them-

selve s base d on relations with an institution beyond instrumental inte rper-

sonal re lations); ( ii) consistent with narcissistic individu al and social

defenses against anxie ty—especially in the face of declining institutional

value s.

A challe nge for the future will be to place the consume r/provide r pair

in a context of issues and value s beyond that pair. That is, how can the

consumer/provide r pair be linke d to social values other than narcissistic

consumption? Take the consume r/provide r pair demonstrated by the gov-

ernment (consumer) and correctional service s (provide rs). The question be-

comes: how can the holding, punishme nt, and rehabilitation of offende rs

by the provide r produce real beneficial social outcome s for the community,

rathe r than a simple cost-e ffective imprisonme nt that acts simply to lock

people away in a culture that reinforce s their criminal tende ncie s?

The public correctional service s, where the author is doing research,

has come increasingly to focus on the needs and require ments of the of-

fende rs. The approach is an attempt to do more than simply contain the

prisoner in a humane way, but also to provide an improve d institutional


environme nt and aid progress through programs, industry service, and man-

agement of personal needs. At least, that is the aim of the policymake rs

who have in mind their customers—the gove rnment funder and ultimate ly

society. This approach has initially resulted primarily in improve d institu-

tional manage ment and has reduced substantially the numbe r of viole nt

incide nts in gove rnment run prisons.

Most staff are aware of this and pleased with the result. As more than

one has said, “it means less ulcers” and, for those who deal with the imme-

diacy of prison life , a less violent institution has such direct rewards. Given

the current gove rnment age nda for privatizing prisons and having a leane r

public system, however, changes have increased the uncertainty of staff con-

ditions. Increasing numbe rs of contract staff are employe d, ove rtime and

penalty payme nts have been reduced. Much of the change , in contrast to the

case of the rehabilitation service discusse d earlie r, has been through the re-

placement of old with new staff members. This has led to many staff taking

redundancy “package s,” with varying degrees of satisfaction.

A major issue that the organization has to face is deve loping a process

of equipping the new style staff, along with those who have ridde n through

the change s, with those skills and capacitie s require d in the new corrections

environme nt. If staff can no longer depend on the institution to provide

them with a secure job with relative ly good pay, the ir working relations

and conditions will have to reflect new satisfactions. This will be a mam-

moth task in the wake of the changes and reforms that have begun to occur.

For example , if prison office rs are to be more personally interactive with

prisoners, as required by new case manage ment methods, they need to de-

velop those capacitie s which aid them in the manage ment of their internal

personal response s to this new task. Old ways of responding won’t do. Even

with new staff, the ir capacity to make judgme nts around tasks, rather than

simply to follow orders, is increasingly called upon. The focus has been

more on response s to the offende rs than to the changing needs of staff.

This is the case even though the payback for staff in this process has been

an improve d workplace in the first instance .

This improve ment may seem enough for now. However, at best, it is

an indication of improved internal institutional conditions and seems to

have little inte ractive effect on wider socie tal issues such as “law and or-

der,” reduction of recidivism, or the place prisons play in fostering a crimi-

nal culture through inmate peer socialization in crime.

At the wider organizational level, for the government purchaser/public

provider pair to work beyond the ir immediate instrume ntal relationship,

other emergent needs of staff will have to be met. Whose responsibility

will it be to give staff the educative process required? The private or the

public sector? The new style prisons may well have a strong effect on in-

738 Long

stitutionally relate d behaviors, but there is little evide nce that offense re-

late d behaviors have been greatly affected. This may be because these be-

haviors have as much, if not more , to do with general social conditions

outside our jails, than the treatment programs available within them.

But if the containme nt of the proble m is locate d mainly in the

provide r/customer pair, how can this pair link close ly with broad gove rn-

ment policymake rs to make a diffe rence? How can this pair deve lop values

beyond the immediate issues raised by economic competition? For example ,

how might they deve lop value s that represent a working through of the

conflicts inherent in the tasks of security (which enge nders mistrust) and

rehabilitation (requiring trust). How might they deve lop values that repre-

sent a working through of the conflicts inherent in the dual tasks of pun-

ishment and therapy. How might they work toward a reduction of the risks

both of internal institutional violence (because as one officer put it “locking

someone up is an inhe rently aggressive act”) and of reoffence once pris-

one rs are back in the community?

CONCLUSION

From the arguments presented, it seems that the modern discourse of

consume rism, with its underlying primary relatedne ss of instrume ntality,

linked with economic rationalism, has dealt with issue s of declining de-

pendency in large institutions. This is done not by a collaborative working

through to mutual interdependence , but by an unconscious escape into nar-

cissism for the individual, the establishme nt of the consume r/provide r pair

for the culture at large , and the establishme nt of the enterprise discourse

within work organizations. Such primary relatedness obstructs deeper forms

of community so necessary for human love and creativity. Modern socie ty

has the possibility of deve loping autonomous creative individuals, which

doe s occur in many of our endeavours. However, the placing of an eco-

nomic imperative above all else in all forms of work organizations can only

devalue the development of real collaborative work. This is because real

colabor entails economics as subordinate to othe r social value s; a means

to an end rathe r than an end in itself.

At the end of this pape r, there remains the question of what it is lead-

ers and organizational consultants or action researchers need to do. The

dile mma for consciously planne d change is evide nt. We are caught within

the confine s of an establishe d system, from which it is difficult to extract

ourselve s, even if we want to.

Knights and Morgan (1993) argue that organizational analysis, too long

bound to studying production and the internal dance of workers and man-

agers, need also conside r the nature of consumption. They provide some


interesting historical perspectives on the relations between the organization

of consumption and its links with production through the gradual com-

modification of areas of social life . The case of social security, for example

is traced from the “quasi-commodif ied characte r of friendly society provi-

sion to the emergence of collecting societies and industrial life insurance

companie s” (p. 220) . Such an analysis allows for a clearer unde rstanding

of how our social life has come to be organize d in a predominantly instru-

mental and commodifie d way. They allow an examination of the details of

how the change occurs.

Bion’s view of history (Grotste in, 1981) isn’t too unlike diale ctics and

provide s some guidance . The dependent group (establishe d knowle dge or

thesis) is supe rseded by the fight flight group because of envious opposition

to the establishme nt (antithe sis) which then becomes a pairing group ready

to produce the messiah who will become the new dependable leade r/es-

tablishme nt (new thesis). Where is our culture in such a cycle? If the post-

war 1950s began the fight that shifted the establishme nt of bureaucracy

(take n further during the 1960s and 1970s), the 1980s and 1990s seem to

look to the provide r/customer pair to herald in the new age of supercon-

sumerism in super world marke ts. The defense of narcissism, basic-assump-

tion “me ,” privat ization, and individ ualism, some what painful and

alienating in themselves, are currently ameliorate d by the hope that the

provide r/custome r pair will save us. Yet we need to be aware that the

provide r/customer pair cannot magically bring about a new dependable or-

der. If the progeny is superconsumption, the group will be deple ted, either

before or with the environme nt. This pair may do its work on our behalf,

but there needs to be many furthe r deve lopments that enrich the con-

sumer/provide r pair beyond the ir narrow instrume ntal role relations.

The hypothe ses presented in this pape r outline a theory of consum-

erism as a defense against the anxie ties of working and living in a world

where past value s no longer seem to count. The consumer/provide r pair is

seen as a transitional pair with the unconscious task of containing defensive

narcissistic ideas that lie outside traditional organizational forms. These hy-

pothe ses inform my research by allowing me to be vigilant about the par-

ticular consume r/provide r relations occurring. I ask questions such as “who

is conside red to be the customer?” For example , in correctional service s,

is it the gove rnment? the public? the courts? or even, as some contend,

the offende r? What is the relatedness of this customer to the provide r?

How does this construction of the customer deflect or avoid the difficultie s

inherent in a more complex unde rstanding of the role s present in correc-

tional institutions?

If my hypothe ses are correct, then one can understand that prisons

leave the coalface staff with the experience of what is institutionally re-

740 Long

jected or repressed in the role beyond the customer/provide r focus. How

do they then deal with the offender who is not just a consumer of prison“services,” but is someone whose crimes evoke contempt, anger, and venge-

ance , or maybe whose life circumstance s evoke pity or compassion? More-

ove r, how do they deal with those responses in themselve s that are outside

the simple role of “provide r” but provoke internal disquie t?

Similarly, how do staff in the rehabilitation service deal with the se-

verely psychologically disturbed persons who will never achie ve gainful em-

ployment and never be able to adapt themselve s to a world of personal

responsibility? There are some depende ncies that must be recognize d be-

cause they patently won’t be removed. They are of the essence of some

social relations. To see these people primarily as consumers denie s the ir

right to societal compassion.

The psychoanalytic conceptions of defense , along with the systemic ideas

of the part representing something for the whole , allow the organizational

researcher to look for what is repressed in the resignification of role s, as well

as what is overtly desired. The data so discovered aids the organization to

find those transitional or permanent ways of working that can contain what

othe rwise might become explosive or denigrating experiences.

REFERENCES

ABERCROMBIE, N. The privelege of the producer. In R. Keat and N. Abercrombie (Eds.),Enterprise culture. London: Routledge, 1991, pp. 171 185.

ARMSTRO NG, D. The analytic object in organizational work. Paper delivered to the Sym-posium of the International Society for the Psychoanalytic Study of Organizations, London,

July 1995.

BAIN, A., LONG, S., & ROSS, S. Paper houses: The authority vacuum in a governm ent school.Melbourne: Collins Dove.

BAIN, A. Organizational life today: Five hypotheses. Paper presented at The Australian In-stitute of Social Analysis Sem inar Day, Melbourne, July 2, 1994.

BION, W. R. Experiences in grou ps. London: Tavistock Publications, 1961.

BION, W. R. Learning from experience. London: Heinemann, 1962.BION, W. R. Attention and interpretation. London: Tavistock Publications, 1970.

BOWLBY, J. A secu re base: Clinical applications of attachm ent theory. London: Routledge,1988.

CHATTO PADHYAY, G. He irarchy and modern organization. In S. Long (Ed.), International

perspectives on organizations in times of turbulence. Melbourne: Swinburne Unive rsity,1995.

CREESE, E. The balance of arts and manage ment cultures in performing arts organizations.Paper delivered to the Monash, Deakin and Swinburne University of Technology Joint

Seminar, Royal Park Hospital, 1995

DELE UZE , G., & GUATTARI, F. Anti-Oedipus: Capitalism and schizophrenia . St. Paul: Uni-

versity of Minnesota., 1983

DU GAY, P., & SALAMAN, G. The cult[ure] of the customer. Journal of Managem ent Studies1992, 29(5), 615 633.

EMERY, F. E., & TRIST, E. L. The causal texture of organization environments. Hum anRelations 1965, 18, 21 32.

FOUCAULT, M. On Gove rnmentality. Ideology and Consciousn ess 1979, 6, 5 21.


FREUD, S. On narcissism : An introduction (SE Vol. XIV ). London: Hogarth Press, 1914/1957,

73 102.

FREUD, S. Loss of reality in neurosis and psychosis (SE Vol. XIX). London: Hogarth Press,

1924/1957, pp. 183 190.

GROTSTEIN, J. S. Wilfred Bion: The man, the psychoanalyst, the mystic: A perspective on

his life and work. In J. S. Grotstein (Ed.), Do I dare disturb the universe: A memorial to

W. R. Bion. London: Caesura Press, 1981.

HIRSCHHO RN, L. The workplace within: Psychodynam ics of organizational life. Cambridge,

MA: MIT Press, 1988.

HOGGETT, P. Review of the “unconscious at work.” In Obholtzer and Roberts (Eds.), Free

Associations. Forthcoming.

JAQUES, E. Requisite organization: The CEO’s guide to creative structure and leadership. USA:

Cason Hall & Co., 1989.

JAQUES, E. Social systems as a defense against persecutory and depressive anxie ty. In M.

Klein, P. He imann, and R. Money-Kyrle (Eds.) New directions in psychoanalysis. London:

Tavistock Publications, 1955.

KNIGHTS, D., & MORGAN, G. Organization theory and consumption in a post-modern

era. Organization Studies, 1993, 14(2) , 211 234.

KRANTZ, J. Anxiety and the New Order. Paper presented at the Annual Symposium of ISPSO,

Marriott Financial Centre, New York (June), 1996.

KRANTZ, J., & GILMO RE, T. The splitting of leadership and managemen t as a social de-

fense . Hum an Relations, 1990, 43(2) , 183 204.

LACAN, J. Ecrits. London: Tavistock Publications, 1977.

LASCH, C. The culture of narcissism : American life in an age of diminishing expectations. Ne w

York: Norton.

LASCH, C. The revolt of the elites and the betrayal of dem ocracy. New York: W. W. Norton

and Company, 1995.

LAWRENCE, G. W., BAIN, A., & GOULD, L. The fifth basic assumption. Free Associations,

1996, 6, Part 3 (No. 37) , 28 55.

LONG, S. D. A structural analysis of small grou ps. London: Routledge, 1992.

LONG, S. D. The nature of symptom formation in the individual and it’s relevance to other

human systems. Australian Journal of Psychotherapy, 1993, 12(1&2), 166 184.

LONG, S. D., & NEWTO N, J. Educating the gut: Socio-emotional aspects of the learning

organization. Journal of Managem en t Developm ent, 1997, 16(4), 284 301.

McKENDRICK, N., BREWER, J., & PLUMB, J. The birth of a consum er society. London:

Hutchinson, 1983.

MENZ IES-LYTH, I. Containing anxiety in institutions. London: Free Association Books, 1988.

MENZ IES-LYTH, I. The dynam ics of the social. London: Free Association Books, 1989.

MILLER, E. J. The Vicissitudes of Identity. Opening Address to the 3rd International Group

Relations and Scientific Conference , Lorne, Victoria, Australia, 1993.

MILLER, E. The healthy organization for the 1990s. In S. Long (Ed.), International perspec-

tives on organizations in times of turbu lence. Melbourne: Swinburne Unive rsity, 1995.

OHMAE , K. The borderless world: Power and strategy in the interlinked econom y. USA: Mc

Kinsey and Co., 1990

PUSEY, M. Econ omic rationalism in Canberra: A nation building state changes its m ind. Cam-

bridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991.

PETERS, T., & WATE RMAN, R. H. In search of excellence. Ne w York: Harper and Row,

1982.

ROSE, N. G overning the soul. London: Routledge , 1990.

SPICER, B., EMANUEL, D., & POWELL, M. Transform ing G overnm en t Enterprises. CIS

Policy Monographs 35, The Centre for Independent Studies, Queensland, Australia, 1996.

SULLIVAN, H. S. The illusion of personal individuality. Psychiatry, 1950, 13, 317 332.

SYKES, T. The bold riders. St. Leonards, NSW: Allen and Unwin, 1994.

WATERMAN, R. H., WATERMAN, J. A., & COLLARD, B. Toward a care er resilient work-

force. HBR July August, 1994.

742 Long

WEBER, M. Essays in sociology. In H. H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills (Eds.), U.K.: Oxford

University Press, 1946.WINNICO TT, D. W. Collected papers: Through paediatrics to psychoanalysis. London: Tavistock

Publications, 1958.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES

SUSAN LONG is Professor of Organization Dynamics at Swinburne University in Melbourne,

Australia where she conducts a Professional Doctorate in Organization Dynamics. Originallytrained as a clinical psychologist, she has worked as a group and organization consultant and

researche r for the past 20 years. Professor Long also has extensive experience within the fieldof group re lations and has directed seve ral conferences through the Australian Institute of

Socio-Analysis. She was recently on staff of the Le icester Conference in the U.K., is a boardme mber of the Internatioal Society for the Psycho-analytic Study of Organizations, is on the

editorial board of three internatioal journals, and is a co-editor of an new journal Socio-An aly-sis. Her rese arch interests involve participatory action research projects in health, education,

and correctional service s.


the tyranny of the customer and the cost of consumerism: an analysis using systems and...

Documents