Today’s organisations are increasingly complex with many rules and procedures and little space to think outside the box and take personal responsibility.
In this Transforming Business episode, Martin Parker speaks with Mats Alvesson and Dennis Nørmark, co-authors of ‘Return to Judgement’, about how we can tackle this and give workers more space to use their judgement.
They discuss the rise of managerialism, the problem with having an excess of an administrative ‘knowing better class’ and what can be done to give employees their agency back.
Mats Alvesson is Professor at the University of Bath, Lund University and City University of London. Dennis Nørmark is an anthropologist, author and speaker.
Find out more about the book at: https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/professional-business/return-to-judgement
The transcript is available here: https://www.transformingsociety.co.uk/2026/06/26/podcast-why-work-needs-less-management-and-more-judgement/
Timestamps:
00:38 - What was your motivation for writing this book?
04:05 - Do you think the infantilisation we're seeing now is different in kind or quality from what we've seen in the 20th century?
06:28 - How does this fit with other complaints about modern organising?
10:52 - What are some examples of infantilisation in the workplace?
15:59 - Are there examples from private sector organisations too?
19:13 - Is this primarily a complaint by professionals, or is it wider than that?
21:05 - Are IT systems a way infantilised management gets embedded?
25:49 - What are the solutions?
33:17 - Who do you hope will read this book?
Intro music:
Cold by yoitrax | @yoitrax
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