eHRM and (Post)Human Perfectibility
Lead Research Organisation:
Queen Mary University of London
Department Name: School of Business and Management
Abstract
A dominant discourse in the present era is the assertion and promotion of an individual's capacity for constant (and limitless) development and improvement. This is especially prominent within the managerial context, particularly in regard to Human Resource Management (HRM), a discipline founded upon a theorisation of the employee as a human resource - an asset - which needs to be made to grow, adapt, and supply a continual return on investment. Moreover, the increased application of information technology to the HRM field - giving rise to a new subfield of 'electronic' HRM (eHRM) - assures an expansion of HRM's capacities to collect, monitor, and measure employee 'human capital' metrics. An overarching research aim is thus a problematisation of this notion of human perfectibility, exploring its role in the production of power and subjectivity, at the site of HR e-Learning software. Adopting a critical posthuman perspective (e.g. Braidotti, 2013), alongside the philosophy and techniques of software studies (e.g. Fuller, 2003, 2008; Kitchin & Dodge, 2011; Manovich, 2013), the focus is aimed at the organisational software infrastructure, in which the 'human' subject is immersed, fragmented, and re/constructed within the datafied organisation.
People |
ORCID iD |
Gerard Hanlon (Primary Supervisor) | |
Sarah Ryer (Student) |
Studentship Projects
Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
ES/P000703/1 | 30/09/2017 | 29/09/2027 | |||
1917478 | Studentship | ES/P000703/1 | 30/09/2017 | 29/06/2023 | Sarah Ryer |
Description | Panel Presentation at Utrecht Summer School, Utrecht University, Netherlands |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Invited to take part and present research on a panel entitled "Algorithmic Culture: Governmentality and Literacy" at 'Posthuman Knowledge(s)' Utrecht Summer School 2019 to an audience of approximately 150 attendees (comprised of fellow participants - from a broad range of backgrounds - in the summer school). Lots of questions and discussions were initiated in response. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://utrechtsummerschool.nl/courses/culture/posthuman-convergences-theories-and-methodologies |
Description | Presentation at DIGSUM Critical Digital Social Media Research Conference, UmeƄ University, Sweden |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Presented doctoral research, 'eHRM and (Post)Human Perfectibility,' addressing methodological challenges and approaches to critically studying HR software at the DIGSUM Critical Digital Social Media Research Conference at Umeå University, Sweden to an audience of approximately 30-40 attendees, including members of the public. Questions and discussions with the audience followed afterwards. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://www.umu.se/en/centre-for-digital-social-research/cdsmr/ |