Drawing on the paradox literature, this article considers its relevance for those working in a UK University. First, through focusing on a strategic change programme that constituted the University, staff and students as ‘little boxes’, it empirically examines the paradox of centralized empowerment. Second, we argue that centralized empowerment is a manifestation of the wider neoliberal project confronting universities and its paradox of controlled freedom. Finally, we extend a critical understanding of paradox by exploring how power operates in simultaneously repressive and productive ways.
Ciuk, Sylwia McCabe, Darren
Oxford Brookes Business School
Year of publication: [in press]Date of RADAR deposit: 2024-10-28
“Reuse is restricted to non-commercial and no derivative uses. Users may also download and save a local copy of an article accessed in an institutional repository for the user's personal reference.”