Running head: CORPORATE MANAGERIALISM 1

Combating Corporate Managerialism Through Tempered Radicalism

Northern Illinois University
Paige McConkey
CORPORATE MANAGERIALISM 2

Corporate Managerialism

Centralizing power, minimizing labor costs, and increasing accountability are the

three principles that Magolda (2016) says are the foundations of corporate

managerialism. Centralizing power within higher education looks like one department or

person making the decisions and regulating staff throughout the college. Magolda

(2016) explained in his book that when Compton University merged their custodial

company with their university, the universitys human resource department had a lot

more control over the janitorial staff, compared to how the staff used to run in a more

mom and pop-type business structure. Within the latter model, the staff had more say

about who was hired and what their business protocol should look like. Once the

university took over the company, the janitorial staffs freedom started to disappear.

They had to follow regulations that were more akin to a corporate structure, for

example, they had more inspections, but they also had more consistent policies and

benefits under the university (Magolda, 2016).

The second principle of corporate managerialism is minimizing labor costs. This

is when people within universities try to cut back on spending by eliminating or

minimizing the amount of funding going towards certain departments (Magolda, 2016).

In Magoldas (2016) book, the department that is usually the most affected by this is the

janitorial department, as the janitorial staff have to do more work for less money. This

also causes higher turnover rates because people either cannot afford to continue to

work for the company, and/or because people within the university see janitorial staff as

expendable. At Hampton University, the university staff encouraged the janitorial staff

to see their positions as more of a job, not a career. The university staff wanted there to
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be high turnover rates, because then they could hire cheap labor instead of having to

increase the pay of veteran staff and cover their medical bills as they grew older.

The final principle of corporate managerialism, increasing accountability, is when

supervisors increase the amount of time they spend checking on the tasks they have

delegated to their staff. Corporate managerialism uses this principle to increase

productivity and efficacy to help keep staff in place. However, when this happens it

creates a work environment that is full of fear, mistrust, and low morale (Magolda,

2016). Magolda (2016) explained that custodial staff like to interact with administrators

and students; it helps them perform their work responsibilities and it is part of the job

that they love. But when accountability is increased, the custodial staff can no longer do

a part of the job they love. They become unable to interact with students for fear of

being criticized for not getting their work done. The Big Brother (Magolda, 2016,

p.106) approach makes it more difficult for the custodial staff to get their jobs done,

which is the opposite of what this principle is supposed to do. Magoldas (2016) book

shed light on how universities are becoming more structured like businesses rather than

a democratic system, which is problematic because higher education is supposed to be

a place of discovery and sharing opinions.

Democracy Versus Managerialism

If higher education were not run as a corporation, what would it look like? Giroux

(2002) says that it should be a place of questioning and analyzing authority; a place

where students can discover the true meaning of the world, and learn more than just

how to get a job. Higher education would also look like a place where faculty can freely

express opinions and question society to get the truth in their research. Lastly, higher
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education would be a place where all opinions were considered, not just the opinions of

people in positions of power, but all people including janitorial staff, office support, and

graduate assistants. With higher education becoming more and more businesslike in its

structure, it cannot be a place where everyone matters. However, through tempered

radicalism, higher education may be able to become more democratic again (Giroux,

2002).

Tempered Radicalism

Tempered radicals are everyday leaders who seek congruence between their

personal beliefs and identities and their organizational environments (Carducci, 2011,

p.467). In order for congruence to occur, people who label themselves as tempered

radicals have to be able to maintain peace within their work or learning environment

while also challenging the system. A tempered radical can go about this in a few

different ways, including what Meyerson (1995) calls small wins, using language styles,

and maintaining affiliations. Small wins are when a tempered radical is able to pose a

question or start a simple dialogue that will not cause disruption but will start the

conversation for change. Using language styles is a more difficult approach, but can be

effective if the tempered radical can adopt the language of insiders to gain legitimacy

(Meyerson, 1995, p. 596). By using the language of people in power, a tempered

radical will gain more respect, allowing him to effect change. The last way is through

affiliations. When tempered radicals can maintain positive relationships with people and

organizations outside of their work or learning environment, they can use those

relationships as sources of information and support. What ways can student affairs
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professionals use small wins, language styles, and affiliations to help them combat

corporate managerialism within higher education?

Becoming a Tempered Radical

Being a tempered radical is not an easy job. It can cause emotional fatigue,

burnout, and sometimes tension in the work environment (Meyerson, 1995). The main

reason tempered radicals sacrifice is to help make higher education better. Different

ways that one can use tempered radicalism to push back against corporate

managerialism is through what Meyerson (1995) and Carducci (2011) wrote about:

small wins, language styles and affiliations.

Small Wins

One aspect of corporate managerialism that a tempered radical in student affairs

can push back against is the hierarchical system. This could be done by putting

someone without power into a position of power; for example, if someone with power

asked an office support specialist to be on a committee. Office support specialists have

many transferable skills, but they are not always considered important positions within

the corporate world. By asking if an office support specialist can assist with a

committee or assist with students, then tempered radical can show that the office

supports staff strengths that might not have been known or taken seriously before.

Small wins can be as simple as suggesting that someone who does not have much

power or influence be given some power to make decisions because they are more

capable of it than the organization may realize (Meyerson, 1995).

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Language Styles

Language styles can be used to help student affair professionals maintain

collaboration across departments. Higher education, especially at NIU, can become

very siloed between departments making collaboration very difficult. Corporate

managerialism within higher education is causing more departments to focus on just the

needs of that department and not the needs of others. Student affair professionals can

use the language of other departments to foster relationships and understanding,

making it easier to collaborate on programming for students. Using language would also

help departments become more connected across campus which makes navigating

campus much easier on students.

Affiliations

Tempered radicals within student affairs can fight for minority populations by

maintaining affiliations people from other institutions. Having outside affiliations can

support the tempered radical in their environment by having someone else to lean on.

They can also use each other for programming and reaching out to students and staff to

help spread the word on what other institutions might be doing to push back against

corporate managerialism influence on how minorities are treated. Being able to use

resources is one way a tempered radical can keep up the strength, and motivation to

continue to fight against corporate managerialism and continue to turn higher education

back into a democratic area for learning.

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References

Carducci, R. (2011). Tempered radicals: Managing risks in negotiating differences. In P.

M. Magolda & M. B. Baxter Magolda (Eds.), Contested issues in student affairs:

Diverse perspectives and respectful dialogue (pp. 466-471). Sterling, VA: Stylus

Giroux, H. (2002). Neoliberalism, corporate culture, and the promise of higher

education: The university as a democratic public sphere. Harvard educational

review, 72(4), 425-464.

Magolda, P. (2016). The lives of campus custodians: Insights into corporatization and

civic disengagement in the academy. Sterling, VA: Stylus.

Meyerson, D. E., & Scully, M. A. (1995). Crossroads tempered radicalism and the

politics of ambivalence and change. Organization Science, 6(5), 585-600.