Managing subjectivity and the dialectic of self-consciousness: Hegel and organization theory

This article presents the work and ideas of the German philosopher G.W.F. H egel as a means of addressing recent debates concerning the management of e mployee subjectivity within contemporary work organizations. Drawing primar ily upon his writings on the phenomenological development of 'self-consciou sness' and the concept of 'ethical life' as a state of realized subjectivit y, the authors argue that they provide a meta-theoretical framework within which the processual ontology of organizational (inter)subjectivity can be both addressed and critically appraised. This is then illustrated by a disc ussion of the role corporate culturalism plays in the mediation of this pro cess, with particular attention being paid to its impact on the embodied di mension of the subject.