Rumbling on performativity_Frits Simon

actual situation. A discussion which still had to start. Sometime later Paul informed me
that all members of the board acknowledged the importance of the topic.
I prepared a memo which was to be discussed in a board meeting. I gave some
examples how fear, uncertainty, compliance and political cleverness were to be seen in
the UAS. In the memo I still toyed with the idea of appointing me as a corporate jester,
but had developed second thoughts about it. I realized the danger of riding my hobbies.
Moreover, some first spontaneous reactions of different people to the idea of me
being a corporate jester indicated that a jestership presumably would divert criticism
to one person instead of being a shared responsibility. We agreed that I would work
out some ideas regarding paying more attention to dissenting opinions.
The desk research which I undertook for an orientation in the subject showed that
there are quite some organizations in which things went wrong amongst others due
to the fact that dissenting opinions were spirited away. Narcissism, power games,
financial and personal greed, lack of a strategy, permanent reorganizations, creation of
administrative and communicative facades, underestimation of the power of identitydifferences
and an uncritical staff had had devastating consequences for some renowned
international banks, an international holding of supermarkets, a software company
and a worldwide famous concern for electronics (Battes and Elshout, 2008;
Groot and Gessel, 2009; Houben and Wester, 2001; Lotringen, 2012; Metze, 1991, 2009,
2011; Poel, 2006; Smit, 2004, 2008). According to the then present discussions in public
media similarities with some educational institutions were apparent (Berkeljon, 2012;
Bommeljé, 2013; Cort, 2012; Giesen, 2010; Goossen, 2012; Heuvel, 2012; Pous, 2012;
Willigenburg, 2011a, b, c). My intentions with the desk research were to explore what
went wrong in these companies and to develop ideas with regard to dissent to prevent
derailments. If for instance narcissism, the creation of administrative and communicative
facades or the burden of permanent reorganizations would be at stake at the UAS,
could I develop some ideas to forestall derailments?
For the moment I designated the topic of dissenting opinions as a matter of organizational
reflexivity; a preparedness to reflect on what and how things evolve in the UAS.
In trying to materialize this preparedness I several times suggested Paul Broersen to
organize an evaluation about the way the institutional policy had evolved during the
last one and a half year. To my feeling this process – including for instance the drawing
up of the performance agreements, the way the implementation of these will be
arranged - had some surreal dimensions and could be exemplary to give dissenting
opinions some space. However, Paul did not respond to my repeated suggestion.
Apparently the topic of dissenting opinions still needed some intensification.
April: a game changer?
We had a new discussion about dissenting opinions because of the letter of our Minister
and State Secretary of Education in which they amongst others write about the
need to organize constructive dissenting voices in institutions for education (Minister
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