ABSTRACT

In this article, I propose that the work of middle managers can meaningfully be conceptualized as a form of liminal work herby drawing attention to the interstitial (spatial) and temporary (temporal) elements of organizing and work. Building on a case study of emerging middle management positions within schools in Denmark, I show that working ‘in’ the middle is demarcated by entanglements of spatio-temporalities and other discourse-materialities producing a liminal friction that reconfigures this work as permanently liminal. Inspired by new materialism and the work of Karen Barad, I utilize the concept of spacetimemattering to analytically unpack these work practices that materialize in and through multiple times and spaces and matter and thereby elucidate the constitutive processes and performative effects of the ambiguous work of middle managers. To this end, the article offers an analytical understanding that expands a focus on hierarchical forms of organizing as a core issue of ambiguity.

摘要

在这篇文章中，我建议可以将中层管理人员的工作有意义地概念化为一种阈限工作形式，从而引起人们对组织和工作的间隙（空间）和临时（时间）元素的关注。基于对丹麦学校内新兴中层管理职位的案例研究，我展示了“在”中间工作是由时空和其他话语物质的纠缠所界定的，产生了一种阈限摩擦，将这项工作重新配置为永久阈限。受新唯物主义和 Karen Barad 工作的启发，我利用时空物质的概念来分析分解这些在多个时间、空间和物质中具体化的工作实践，从而阐明中层管理人员模棱两可的工作的构成过程和表现效果.