Rumbling on performativity_Frits Simon

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ons. As a subject as such performativity was not put on the agenda, but it was there in different remarks, worries and evaluations. It is interesting to notice that performativity is debated, criticized and accommodated to daily practices and far from being idealized as the preferable managerial way to act. From our local discussions For me it has become obvious that the assumed learnification of education (Biesta, 2012) can be recognized in the way the UAS, ‘should’ be managed, but that in practice this way of management is accommodated, criticized and if needed evaded. The way of working suggests a bit of hypocritical (Brunsson, 1989) muddling through (Lindblom, 1959). From the narratives and the discussions among the many involved it may be clear that NPM in its different manifestations is not a clear cut topic, it is neither embraced nor implemented in a straight way. The different topics - like institutional identity, performance agreements – belong to the discourse of NPM and thus have to be planned and prescribed. At the same time they are adapted, altered, re-interpreted and kept away. The discussions in the last narrative even explored the boundaries of what we are doing. Should not we take more time to reflect upon what we are doing? Should we not interrupt our daily business to reflect about why and how we are doing the things we do? In these discussions discomfort with NPM shines through. It is not that the members of the board and the managers are the unmoved and uncritical apostles of NPM. We are struggling to seek ways to take care of the interests of many stakeholders. I think the narratives indicate that taking part and taking a position in the debate about NPM is quite difficult and that talking about this difficulty as such is even more difficult, although it is emphasized that talking about the last topic would be meaningful. Equally important is to notice that the narratives exemplify that management is not a monolithic entity in an organization, but a group of people who have different and contradictory interests. The often depreciatory framing of managers (Alvesson and Willmott, 2012; Metze, 2011; Verkroost, 2012; Wild, 2013; Wit, 2013) can be put in perspective. In daily reality among managers there are ongoing negotiations and interpretations, contagiously seeking ways out of trouble and taking care of many interests. And every time it is unpredictable what these discussions may bring. Maybe the discussions about dissent even provoke a “… hesitatingly space for little stories, the cautious unmasking, the light irony with which things and people are described, which in due course form counterpoints which turn over the system, and are the raw material for a different story in which people prosper in a better way.” (Brinkgreve, 2014: 146). Change and reform of educational practices happen all day long, emerging in local conversations. In these conversations people construe and re-construe their reality 188
together. Educational work is relational (Wit, 2013). It would be unwise and it even proofed to be an illusion - amongst others by the incessant dissatisfaction - that there is some way of programming social reality by means of plans, procedures, programmes or whatever tools and techniques are used. Plans, programmes and whatever tools and techniques which are used, are part of our conversations, however being part of a conversation is really something else as programming the conversations or an output. It is tempting for me as an adviser to draw rather far reaching conclusions about the impact of performativity, the struggles with the consequences of performativity and the need of provisions to tackle these. To prevent drawing easily far reaching conclusions it is wise to take performativity, corporate jestership and time for interruption together to shed some light on what advisory work could be in 2014. 7.4 Advisory work in times of rumbling on performativity Weren’t we all there? Aren’t we all there? By pointing towards the conversational character of our social reality I am also indicating that everybody is involved, has some sort of responsibility and is in some sort of way powerful. If not, everyday educational reality would look much like the blueprints as designed on the desks of educational science, civil servants and politicians and obediently be implemented and managed by members of the board and all sorts of managers. Not to speak of the docile way members of staff would carry out their duties. What a brave new world that would be! However, as can be seen, in everyday reality we are struggling - muddling through (Lindblom, 1959) - with what is demanded by the cult value of performativity. The cult value is an idealized norm to which particular situations relate (Mead, 1934). Performativity is a cult value originated by management consultants already some time ago (McKenna, 2006) and we struggle with it in relation with what we already are, with what we find important and with we have learned to find decent. It is in this context that I again reflect upon my role as adviser. A reflection which will qualify again what I did and a reflection on what I or some other members of staff might do. Advisory work: the 2nd demise of a jestership In reflecting upon the narratives about identity management (chapter 4) and the drawing up of the performance agreements (chapter 5) the idea of a corporate jester emerged as a possible indication for the way I do my advisory work. Already in the narrative about the performance agreements the ironic or mocking interpretation of jestership was complemented with ideas about mediating, connecting and stabilizing efforts. This broader perspective on jestership emerged on the basis of an analysis and reflections upon my actions as described. In the narrative about dissent (chapter 6) I was highly involved by breaking open some new perspectives on how to deal with dissent. 7. <strong>Rumbling</strong> on performativity: a reflexive perspective on advisory work | 189
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Rumbling on perfor
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ISBN 978 909028 855 / NUR code 801
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Promotores Prof. dr. T.H. Homan, Op
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Preface When you are working on a P
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4 Sense making in and of the intern
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As the reader will notice it has no
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agreements are connected to conditi
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that in my job now, I have to manag
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Insider research can be seen as phe
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In a formal way a narrative is to d
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within the UAS. This search was fue
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This chapter is a methodological ch
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interactions and their constructive
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process of the constitution of nati
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varying from social constructionism
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To contribute to emancipatory trans
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organizational life is trying to un
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Ontologically reflexive research is
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Auto-ethnography Auto-ethnography i
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In its diversity auto-ethnography a
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has to respond to questions regardi
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pens with the results of the resear
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From a radically reflexive stance i
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alternate set of criteria could tur
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dimensions should be ordinary eleme
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one's own job security. Here again
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2 Consult your institutional review
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facts (for instance what did someon
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The criteria will apply to the narr
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This chapter is a prelude on four c
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The narrative which is presented in
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As a logical consequence of my para
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3.3 Defaults-genesis part II: a you
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y connecting concepts of the cognit
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This sandwich position became tangi
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connected with an engineering profe
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However, I realize that the broad s
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the realization of the UAS as a lea
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just to proceed the way they always
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Pursuing my research? On a conceptu
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This narrative is about what happen
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evaluation reports, that they can u
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publish these findings in this way,
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focussing at the outcome and specul
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4.3 Emerging themes of reflection T
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Varying ways of pushing through a d
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Thus one of the results of our deli
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Reflecting upon what the work Elias
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interpretation contagion underlines
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From a political perspective framin
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whether a conclusion would be reali
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Self-knowing At the end “all know
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mental with generic implications an
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Looking back on my rather cognitivi
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In 2012 as any UAS the UAS had to d
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with our management information sys
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control, someone deludes you to thi
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discussions as the deadline came ne
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start for me in the midst of Februa
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usyness and glamour of the ambition
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Theories of change have built up ma
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5.4 Reflections from a complex resp
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ences are more important than other
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should be the motto for spontaneous
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Page 208 and 209: Ankersmit, F. (2008). De plaag van
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Page 216 and 217: Mingers, J. (1992). Technical, prac
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Page 220 and 221: Tedlock, B. (2013). Section three i
Page 222 and 223: Wit, B. d. (2013). Spiegelpaleis on
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king became visible, a way of decis
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