Base and Superstructure

Thoughts on production, alienation, and ideology

Category: Corporate World (Page 12 of 13)

These are posts on the corporate world from the blog Base and Superstructure. The corporate world is complex. It’s confusing to anyone not involved. Corporate life has its own characteristic forms, language, jargon, and mannerisms. Neoliberalism structures our politics and thought, and so this is also a major focus of these posts. The non-profit corporate sector is its own distinct mini-world. And, in particular, spending significant time involved in corporate life engenders a special form of ennui. All of these subtopics feed off of one another. Each is critical to thinking about corporate life and its role in the United States.

Holdo Dameron Star Wars The Last Jedi

Holdo and Dameron: Neoliberal and Chauvinist

December 16, 2019 /

In case any readers are hermits, let me start with a reminder that The Rise of Skywalker hits theaters this week. The end of the Star Wars story, and so on. But I’m interested here in one of the plot lines of The Last Jedi. Vice Admiral Holdo and Poe Dameron went at it several times, from a minor skirmish to a mutiny. I think the conflict reveals deeper ones about gender and politics. It also shares a feature with the Killmonger character from the Black Panther film, namely it’s a Rorschach test! Whichever issues Holdo and Dameron reveal to you probably says as much about your views on gender and politics as the film itself says.

So here are some thoughts about it. Maybe it reveals my own views in some Rorschach-like manner. Or maybe not. We’ll see.

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How Does Our Work Shape Us?

September 26, 2019 /

I read an in-depth and at times terrifying account of how moderating Facebook posts impacts staff. The Verge published it some time ago, and in fact I read it some time ago. Apparently Facebook moderation is an endless wall of hate speech, graphic porn, threats of violence, depictions of violence, etc. And people spend hours at a time wading through the stuff. It’s enough to give anyone panic attacks and nightmares.

I don’t have any stories like that, though I’ve had the kind of chronic career stress grad school in the humanities often produces. And we’re at a unique historical juncture when it comes to issues of jobs and career.

How about you? How does your work shape you?

middle managers

Why Do Companies Have Middle Managers?

September 23, 2019 /

The business literature says middle managers form an essential part of the company. But, really, why do companies have middle managers? Do they perform some essential task or service? Do they serve some rhetorical or ideological function? I’ll lay out some thoughts on middle managers, what they do, who they serve, and why the role exists.

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learning outcomes

Student Learning Outcomes: What’s the Deal?

August 26, 2019 /

Learning outcomes are all the rage in the education industry. They’ve been so for some time on the accreditation and assessment side of things. But now they’re everywhere even among colleges and universities, especially among less prestigious institutions.

I’ve worked on both of these sides of the education industry. Sometimes even at the same time. What’s this ‘student learning outcomes’ stuff all about?

Here’s what I’ll do. I’ll start with a New York Times editorial. Molly Worthen paints a vivid picture of what learning outcomes look like from a faculty perspective. I’ll fill in some thoughts from the non-profit educational management and assessment side of things. That’s where I’m working these days, anyway.

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the pleasures and sorrows of work

The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work

August 5, 2019 /

About ten years ago, Alain de Botton wrote a book called The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work. It’s a perfectly fine book, not a great book. From the great tradition of writing about working, I far prefer the live interviews of Studs Terkel. And so, I’d greatly recommend his book Working.

But there’s something I do find admirable about de Botton’s The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work. Especially insofar as it says something about working in a corporate office.

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