Managerialism

Managerialism is the reliance on professional managers and organizational strategies to run an organisation. It may be justified in terms of efficiency, or characterized as an ideology. It is a belief system that requires little or no evidence to justify itself. Thomas Diefenbach associates managerialism with a belief in hierarchy. Other scholars have linked managerialism to control, accountability, measurement, strategic planning and a belief in the importance of tightly-managed organizations. Following Enteman's 1993 classic on Managerialism: The Emergence of a New Ideology, American management experts Robert R. Locke and J. C. Spender see managerialism as an expression of a special group – management – that entrenches itself ruthlessly and systemically in an organization. It deprives owners of decision-making power and workers of their ability to resist managerialism. In fact, the rise of managerialism may in itself be a response to people's resistance in society and more specifically to workers' opposition against managerial regimes. Enteman (1993), Locke and Spender (2011) and Klikauer (2013) explain Managerialism in three different ways: Building on Enteman (1993) and Locke/Spender (2011), Thomas Klikauer in “Managerialism – Critique of an Ideology” (2013) defined managerialism thus: "[....] Managerialism combines management knowledge and ideology to establish itself systemically in organisations and society while depriving owners, employees (organisational-economical) and civil society (social-political) of all decision-making powers. Managerialism justifies the application of managerial techniques to all areas of society on the grounds of superior ideology, expert training, and the exclusive possession of managerial knowledge necessary to efficiently run corporations and societies."As the simpler yet already highly organised management of Henri Fayol (1841-1925) and Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856-1915) mutated into managerialism, managerialism became a full-fledged ideology under the following formula:Management + Ideology + Expansion = Managerialism Two examples of the extension of management into the non-management domain – the not for profit sphere of human existence – are public schools and universities.