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Examines the relationship between masculinity, management activities, & intimacy, the latter defined here as "emotional connection with another" or the "play" form of human interaction. A distinction is made between "emotional" & "instrumental" intimacy, with the latter being preferred in organizational settings. Ways that organizational discourse & practices are designed to control all situations of social intercourse in which any but instrumental forms of intimacy might possible be expressed are described. Masculinity in such contexts demands that the other is subordinated to the self, thus preventing "play" in social relations, ie, any shift in social positions. 36 References. K. Hyatt Stewart

This article is a study of professional identity work, using in-depth interview material from research conducted into the work lives of 10 gay men employed in a UK National Health Service Trust. Using the men's portraits of professional life, we examine the different ways they understand what it means to be a `professional'. The article suggests that while gay men appear to be empowered by forms of agency to self-identify as professionals in `gay-friendly' work contexts, they are by no means unaffected by dominant professional norms and discourses of heteronormativity that treat sexuality and professionalism as polar opposites. Thus how straightforward it might be for the interviewees to self-identify as `professional' and openly gay within an organization that is perceived to be `gay-friendly' is scrutinized in terms of the professional identity dilemmas experienced by the study participants. We conclude that, even within `gayfriendly' organizational settings, fashioning a professional identity is a process marked by negotiation and struggle.

This paper seeks to theorize managerial discourses and practices in terms of their effects upon sexuality, intimacy and power in organizations. While accepting the real and immediate gendered material and social inequalities that are reinforced by the recent resurgence of unadulterated `free market' capitalism, the authors focus here on certain limited aspects of femininity and masculinity that are important for an understanding of gender identity and sexuality. Acknowledging the multiplicity of masculinities and femininities, they speak of a predominant form of masculinity that is elevated and privileged in everyday life, not least in organizational settings. This form of masculinity offers many men a secure and `comfortable' identity in generating and sustaining feminine dependence and a sexuality of men that displaces intimacy. By contrast, as a socially privileged yardstick by which women are judged, and judge themselves and one another, the model of what womanhood has come to be is bound up in an image of passivity. Feminine passivity then, may be understood as an often `reluctant collaborator' in what can be seen as a silencing of women's authority and fuller participation in organizations.The authors argue that the idealized conception of passive femininity and this silencing of women's authority has the effect of privileging men over women both materially and socially.

Argues for a departure from the dualistic thinking of many radical & Marxist feminists to a conception of power & its operation as seen through a critical reading of Michel Foucault. It is suggested that such an analysis may lead to a better understanding of the perpetuation of sex inequality & male domination. It is contended that an examination of the problems of gender differentiation & sex inequality are limited by theorizing from a position of fixed meanings. A discussion of French feminist literature illustrates the potential of poststructuralist reports in addressing the problems of gender inequality & sexual difference without regard to dualist or essentialist arguments. 50 References. M. Greenberg

This article provides a broad classification and critique of the theoretical and empirical approaches toward quality initiatives. These are the "technical" managerialist, social managerialist, and critical nonmanagerialist approaches. The technical managerialist approach is based upon the flawed assumption that practice follows policy almost like night follows day. By contrast, focusing on intraorganizational politics and the tensions of hierarchy, social managerialists recognize that outcomes are always a negotiated compromise. A majority of these authors are concerned with rendering quality initiatives more effective for management. In contrast, critical nonmanagerialists refuse to take on uncritically the assumptions and attitudes of management, and are concerned with understanding the forms and content of quality initiatives. The article provides a conceptual framework for guiding and advancing research on quality initiatives, and it offers themes and issues which warrant exploring.