TY - BOOK AU - Alvesson, Mats TI - The triumph of emptiness SN - 9780199660940 U1 - 302.35 PY - 2013/// CY - Croydon PB - Oxford University Press KW - Consumption (Economics) KW - Organizational behavior-Social aspects KW - Corporate culture KW - Materialism N1 - Includes bibliographical references and index N2 - In this book, Mats Alvesson aims to demystify some popular and upbeat claims about a range of phenomena, including the knowledge society, consumption, branding, higher education, organizational change, professionalization, and leadership. He contends that a culture of grandiosity is leading to numerous inflated claims. We no longer talk about plans but 'strategies'. Supervisors have been replaced by 'managers', managers are referred to as executives. Management is about 'leadership'. Giving advice is 'coaching'. Companies become 'knowledge-intensive firms'. The book views the contemporary economy as an economy of persuasion, where firms and other institutions increasingly assign talent, energy, and resources to rhetoric, image, branding, reputation, and visibility. Using a wide range of empirical examples to illuminate the realms of consumption, higher education, organization, and leadership, this provocative and engaging book challenges established assumptions and contributes to a critical understanding of society as a whole ER -