The Cultural Work of Corporations

The Cultural Work of Corporations argues that corporate culture - the values, customs, and conventions of a business organization - has altered how workers conduct themselves both inside and outside the workplace. Brown demonstrates that corporate culture, an idea celebrated by business magazines and books, human resources departments, executives, and management theorists, is really a means of extending and strengthening work's presence in all aspects of workers' lives, even aspects generally categorized as private. Innovative in its execution, this book draws together a range of literature and information, including popular advice books, organizational theory, fiction, corporate mission statements, business histories, and economic histories.

"This voume provides a provacative perspective on corporate culture, especially on its impact on employees' private lives" - Choice

"In this astute and engaging study, Brown offers a theoretically sophisticated and historically informed examination of the discourses and practices of corporate culture and their functions for modern business organizations. With clarity and deftness, she shows how this culture has come increasingly to shape the lives of employees and the larger society in ways that ultimately serve the interests of the corporation. Brown¹s critical treatment of this important topic is not only comprehensive and broad in scope but unusually thorough. Together with the author s scholarly skills and lively writing, all of this makes for an extremely worthy and readable book." - Robert G. Dunn, California State University, East Bay and author of Identifying Consumption.

"Despite its pervasiveness and power, few nonspecialists take corporate culture as seriously as it should be taken. Brown is an excellent exception. Her important book reminds us that corporate social norms shape how people behave and the dizzying bubble and bust cycles of postmodern capitalism. And she also shows that behind the crunchiest New Age talk about flexibility and diversity lies the old Social Darwinism in snazzy disguise, a crucial bit of truth-telling that the flacks don't want you to hear." - Doug Henwood, editor of Left Business Observer and author of After the New Economy

MEGAN BROWN is Assistant Professor of English at Drake University, USA.