March Meets Marx: The Politics of Exploitation and Exploration in the Management of Life and Labour

Abstract

In contrast to the largely functionalist and apolitical literature which dominates organisational scholarship on exploitation and exploration after March, this paper seeks to complement this view of exploitation and exploration with a Marxist reading which is unwittingly implied by these terms. More specifically, we combine neo-Marxist and paleo-Marxist arguments to more fully understand the conflictual relations that underpin exploitation and exploration in the management of firms. This enables us to address both the objective and subjective dimensions of exploitation and exploration which firms and workers are involved in through the contemporary capitalist labour process. We illustrate this by drawing on a case study of a large Swedish manufacturing firm which sought to improve lean production by systematically helping employees to explore their own lifestyles and possibilities for a healthier and happier life.

Citation

Maravelias, C., Thanem, T. and Holmqvist, M. (2012), "March Meets Marx: The Politics of Exploitation and Exploration in the Management of Life and Labour", Holmqvist, M. and Spicer, A. (Ed.) Managing ‘Human Resources’ by Exploiting and Exploring People’s Potentials (Research in the Sociology of Organizations, Vol. 37), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 129-159. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0733-558X(2013)0000037009