31st International Labour Process Conference 18-20 March 2013,
Rutgers University, NJ USA
Are Management Consultants doing ‘Dirty Work’?
Savita Kumra, Brunel University, Savita.Kumra@Brunel.ac.uk
Raffaella Valsecchi, Brunel University, Raffaella.Valsecchi@Brunel.ac.uk
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Abstract
The aim of this paper is to examine management consultancy through the
concept of ‘dirty’ work. Drawing on Ashforth & Kreiner’s (1999) classification of
‘dirty work’, the paper applies this concept to management consultants. In this
paper, we aim to question whether management consulting could be termed
‘dirty’ work, and whether an analysis of the occupation through this lens may
offer additional insights of the societal positioning of the occupation. We also
seek understanding of the way in which individual consultants aim to produce a
coherent self-identity against a backdrop of contradictory subject positions;
assessing whether strategies associated with overcoming stigma. A textual
analysis of management consultants’ blogs has been carried out to explore these
research objectives. The paper provides a series of contributions. First, it
enables us to offer theoretical contributions to the ‘dirty’ work literature and to the
management consultancy literature. Second, it also draws on an emerging
methodology- textual analysis of blogs, which enable us to offer a
methodological input.
1 Introduction
Management consultancy is a widespread occupation which involves various occupational
groups and has undergone a series of complex changes. At first sight, this profession
appears glamorous and exciting, however this image does not reflect its realities.
Management consultants might carry out their job in filthy environments with only little
control on the tasks they are doing.
Moreover, scholars have emphasised critiques
associated to this profession (Clark and Fincham, 2002, Sturdy, 2009). For instance
consultants have been often judged as manipulators, self-interested, money waster (Sturdy,
2009). Other authors pointed out that they cannot act professionally, because they
experience pressures from their clients (Pettigrew, 1985).
By reflecting on the current scenario, the aim of this paper is to examine management
consultancy through the concept of ‘dirty’ work. Hughes (1951) defines ‘dirty work’ as
physically, socially and/or morally tainted. Ashforth & Kreiner (1999) re-elaborate Hughes’
classification by offering additional constructs; low occupational prestige and high
occupational prestige. Drawing on this literature, the paper seeks to apply this concept to
white collar workers.
In our study we explore the following issues:
1. Is management consulting ‘dirty’ work?
2. In what ways is the occupation ‘tainted’?
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3. What strategies do management consultants utilise to construct a coherent and
positive self-identity?
Our data draw on blog analysis through which we explore how management consultants
perceive their occupational group and manage their identity within it.
The paper provides a series of contributions. First, it enables us to offer theoretical
contributions to the ‘dirty work’ literature. Current literature on dirty work has explored a
variety of occupations such as prison guards and butchers; conventionally perceived as
‘dirty’. Although all occupations at times entail forms of dirty work (Kreiner et al. 2006), little
work has been done on white collar occupations and none has been undertaken with
management consultants. Secondly, it contributes to the management consultancy literature.
Critical literature on management consultants has emphasised the immoral and deceptive
nature of the occupation (e.g. O’Mahoney, 2010). However, to date the concept of ‘dirty’
work has not been applied to the occupation and this may offer an additional lens through
which to assess these issues. Thirdly, it also draws on an emerging methodology; analysis
of blogs. The protocol developed for the textual analysis of the blogs will provide a useful
methodological contribution.
The paper is structured as it follows: section 2 reviews previous literature on management
consultancy. Section 3 highlights relevant theories related to ‘dirty’ work literature. Section 4
points out the methods utilised- textual analysis of blogs. In section 4, research findings are
discussed. Section 5 summarizes the conclusions and the implications of this research.
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The Context of Management Consultancy
The management advice industry has enjoyed phenomenal growth in the past few years.
Figures from the European Federation of Consulting Firms (FEACO) indicate the total
European market for management consulting services grew from 24.7 billion euros in 1998,
to 74 billion euros in 2006. Employment in the sector also grew from just over 201,000 to
450,000 over the same time period (FEACO, 2009). Given its success and influence, the
consulting industry has attracted much academic attention; of particular interest has been a
growing concern about the ambiguous nature of the occupation in the absence of
professional status and the influence consultants have on managers and organizations, the
commodification of consultancy products and services and whether this offers value for
money are also explored as are the ethics of practitioners (O’Mahoney, 2010). Sturdy
(2009:460) has summarised the ‘Popular Critiques of Consulting and Implied Concerns’.
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These are indicated below (figure 1) and a number of these issues is discussed in more
depth in the following sections:
FIGURE 1
Popular Critiques of Consulting and Implied Concerns (from Sturdy, 2009)
Criticism of Consultancy
Implied Concern
Rationalisers
Employee security and means and ends
Ideologues/neo-imperialism
Integrity of the local
Money wasters (legitimators)
Fairness in rewards
Ideas lack substance or novelty
Openness/professionalism
Lack accountability
Transparency of power and legitimacy of
responsibility
Self-interested, parasitic and arrogant or
insensitive
Ethics, ownership or due credit and civility
2.1 The Nature of Management Consulting Work & Claims to Professional Status
As times have become more uncertain, the demands for management consulting services
have risen. The opening up of huge new trading blocs such as China, India and Eastern
Europe have bought with them new challenges in relation to product offerings, competitive
positioning and structural organisation. The rise of delayering and downsizing activity; have
provided management consultants with an increasingly powerful voice and a special position
within organisations as influencers and opinion formers/leaders (Fincham, 1999). The role of
the consultant is seen as a somewhat insidious and ambiguous one; unaccountable and
frequently unseen, consultants are seen to hold sway over management opinion even in the
face of evidence of disastrous failures and the huge organisational costs associated with
some assignments (Micklethwait & Wooldridge, 1996; O’Shea & Madigan, 1997). From the
management consultants perspective, they would view their work as knowledge creation,
regardless of whether this is viewed as adding value by their clients; consultants would
argue that is their purpose (Fincham, 1999). Their key task is to convert ideas into practices
and techniques they develop into models and methodologies conveying to mangers that the
inherent complexity and uncertainty associated with changing situations can, through their
expertise, be rationalised and dealt with through formulaic responses (Fincham, 1999). The
process becomes self-perpetuating as change is continuous and each iteration throws up
new ‘problems’ to be solved. Clients consequently find themselves in a continuous search
for new techniques to address evolving issues and consultants meet this demand by
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couching their offerings in new, often faddish and fashionable terms and tweaking their
existing products and services.
In terms of claims to professional status, Kitay & Wright (2007) argue the social status of
management consulting as an occupation is highly ambiguous. Despite aspirations to
professionalism, evidenced by the activities of bodies such as the Institute of Business
Consulting in the UK, management consulting continues to lack many of the characteristics
commonly found in traditional professions such as formal education, a codified knowledge
base and regulation by a professional association and/or the state. This combined with low
barriers to entry and the uncertain and variable nature of consulting expertise, mean
consultancies often gain their status on the basis of market reputation (Alvesson &
Johansson, 2002; Gluckler & Armbruster, 2003). A few large global consulting firms,
particularly in the area of strategic advice, are able to promote themselves as having strong
organizational cultures based on an elite identity (Alvesson & Robertson, 2006), but the vast
majority of consulting organizations trade more in mundane business services. Thus despite
self-characterisation as a ‘professional service’ (Kubr, 1996; Maister, 1993), the occupation
attracts critical comment; not just from academics, but also the business press and
management practitioners (e.g. Clark & Fincham, 2002; O’Shea & Madigan, 1997).
However, Glucker & Amrbruster (2003:277) note: in contrast to professions such as
medicine or accounting, consultants may actually benefit from the absence of a clearly
defined and codified body of knowledge and the consequent inability of clients to assess the
quality of their service’. Alvesson & Johansson (2002) also comment that though the
discourse of professionalism may provide a ‘powerful resource’ for consultants; enabling
them to achieve legitimacy and trust, the rigour of professionalism could in practice become
a constraint and potential liability. There is thus a view that consultants have rejected the
traditional ‘professionalization project’ in favour of alternative occupational strategies
(Fincham, 2006; Reed, 1996).
2.2 Influence of Consultants on Managers
Much work has focused on how an occupation which has ambiguous expertise and little
autonomy in respect of the managerial process; has fuelled a growing and seemingly
insatiable demand for their services (Fincham, 1999, Anand et al, 2002). To address this
issue, researchers have tended to focus on consultant discourses as a system of persuasive
practices which define client problems such that consultants are viewed as being uniquely
situated in respect of their knowledge and skill to solve them (Fincham, 1999). Within this
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perspective, work has focused on consultant claims to knowledge and the legitimacy of both
the knowledge itself and claims made in respect of its ability to ‘solve’ client problems (Clark
& Salaman, 1995; Starbuck, 1992; Whitley, 1989). Alvesson (1993) points to the ‘systems of
persuasion’ consultants utilise to support legitimizing impressions of their expertise and
claims to knowledge in the daily interactions they have with their clients. So for example in
the health service, Bloomfield & Danieli (1995) identify persuasive strategies employed by
consultants as ranging between the ‘indispensable’ and the ‘dependent’. They noted that
consultants sought to position themselves as ‘obligatory passage points’ clients have to
reference in order to access essential market knowledge. To gain legitimacy a number of
tactics were deployed with consultants distancing themselves from the view that they are
mere product sellers; positioning themselves instead as purveyors of disinterested business
advice. They also sought to associate themselves as experts with knowledge of high level
‘techno-organizational’ skills, rather than simply sellers of technical solutions.
Drawing on a number of images and metaphors of consultants work, Clark (1995) has also
suggested that a key legitimating strategy employed by consultants is to give prominence to
areas in which it is impossible for clients to judge the quality of advice. It is the very
intangibility of consultants’ knowledge which enables them ‘to construct a reality which
persuades clients that they have purchased a high quality service’ (1995:118). To determine
the ‘quality’ of the advice they are receiving and the expertise of their consultants; clients
have to rely on indicators such as consultants behaviour, quality of documentation and
impressive looking techniques; leading Clark (1995) to conclude that much of consulting
work is a performance which can be analysed in terms of a dramaturgical metaphor. Thus
consultant performances are seen as ‘exercises in persuasive communication’ (p. 118).
Consultants unsettle their managerial clients by playing on their insecurities and
uncertainties, thus making them receptive to offers of advice; they then offer attractive and
seemingly no fail solutions which they augment through impressive looking methods,
documentation and new and ‘fashionable’ discourses to cement their position as ‘insiders’
with proprietorial knowledge and the client as ‘outsiders’ needing consultant aid to solve their
problems (Clark, 1995; Clark & Salaman 1995a, 1995b, 1996).
However, this view is challenged by Sturdy (1997a, 1997b, 1996) who locates the
subjectivity of consultancy within the broader constraints of prevailing market and power
structures. Sturdy challenges the notion that managers are dependent on consultants as in
his view this ignores the interactive and iterative nature of the consultant-client relationship.
It also ignores the extent to which the advice provided by consultants is actually
implemented within organizational contexts. In Sturdy’s view the interaction is far more
reflexive; consultants may well exploit managerial uncertainty, but this feeds into a cycle
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whereby inherent conflicts are reinforced making managerial and consultant actions
‘structurally self-defeating’ (1997a:396) such that they recreate the very problems they seek
to resolve. Sturdy brings the consultant organization into the picture; revealing pressures to
bring in new business and a focus on turning their initial ‘solutions’ into new problems
thereby generating future business and cementing their position a necessary on-going
organisational resource (Sturdy, 1997a, 1997b).
Analysing the nature and process of training interventions, Sturdy (1997; 2002) believes that
this type of consulting is in reality an ‘insecure business’. On the one hand the need to
maximise revenue and maintain profit margins requires consultants to seek to control
interactions with clients such that repeat business can be secured. Thus unlike Salaman
(2002) who represents consultants as in control of the relationship with clients; Sturdy (1997;
2002) observes consulting assignments are more likely to be characterised by ‘struggle’.
This arises as a consequence of the nature of the relationship; which in practice is not linear,
simple or didactic, but rather complex, shifting and fluid. Rather than passive consumers of
the products of the ‘guru industry’, clients are in fact ‘active’ users of consultancy products;
project objectives and outcomes rather than clear from the outset, are in practice contested
and unfold during the course of the assignment and who can claim to have ‘produced’
knowledge and new learning applied within the organisation is constantly challenged, as it is
co-created by consultant and client and specific to the organizational context (Fincham,
2002).
2.3 Ethics of Practitioners
Commentators have also observed that management consulting represents a highly diverse
occupation (Fincham, 2003). Indeed, popular interpretations of management consulting
within the business press have stressed a negative image of consulting, highlighting the
involvement of consultants in the spread of management fads, costly and harmful
organizational changes, and sometimes engaging in ethically dubious or corrupt activity
(O’Shea & Madigan, 1997; Pinault, 2000). Consultants are frequently associated with
rationalisation; cutting firms and jobs without consideration of the consequences for those
affected. Within these accounts lies a moral concern about the ends and means of
consultancy and its extensive use by management (Sturdy, 2009). Consultants are also
portrayed as neo-imperialists or ‘ideologues’ promoting a view of rationality based upon
white, masculine, North American values and ideals; to contexts in which these views are
neither shared nor necessarily appropriate. The concern is one of integrity; what is the utility
of these ‘solutions’ when exported beyond their original contexts.
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Another criticism in relation to the ethics of the occupation is the lack of accountability and
underlying sense of responsibility in consulting (McKenna, 2006). This is directed at both
consultants and their commissioning clients, as there seems to be a lack of clarity and
uncertainty over who takes responsibility for the organizational decisions emanating from
consultant interactions and who should be. For example, in the public sector there is concern
that elected and accountable groups such as politicians and civil servants are being bypassed in favour of consultant advisors (Saint-Martin, 2004: 20). Other criticisms include the
self-interested nature of consultant advice as they pursue new business, the lack of
appropriate recognition of client input and ideas and a tendency to claim these as their own
and an arrogance and superiority in client interactions (Sturdy, 2009).
2.4 Commodification of Consultant Services
Further criticism is levelled at the industry with reference to increasing levels of
commodification evident in the service provided by consultants. This has been viewed as
little more than a ‘…self-interested exercise…which distorts the practice of management and
the important and enduring practices of organization’ (Collins, 2004:555).
In these circumstances it is evident that at the individual consultant level, the construction of
a coherent self-identity is far from simple or straightforward. Consultants are clearly subject
to a number of competing and contradictory pressures (Whittle, 2006). They are
simultaneously required to make money for their consultancy, do a good job, work within a
code of ethics, keep in mind the interests of their consultancy and their client, and look out
for their own careers. They are both ‘insiders’ and ‘outsiders’ when they work on client
projects and are frequently required to present themselves as experts when in fact they have
only generalist knowledge.
Given these issues we seek in this paper to question whether management consulting could
be termed ‘dirty’ work, and whether analysis of the occupation through this lens may offer
additional insight. We also seek understanding of the way in which individual consultants aim
to produce a coherent self-identity against a backdrop of contradictory subject positions. It is
thus to a consideration of the nature and parameters of dirty work that we now turn.
3 Theoretical Framework
3.1 The concept of ‘dirty’ work
Traditional literature on ‘dirty’ work considers a variety of professions such as prison guards,
butchers, casino managers, exotic dancers and many other occupations which are
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stigmatised by society. In this paper, in agreement with Hughes (1951; 1970), Meara (1970)
and Kreiner et al (2006) we argue that all occupations at times entail forms of dirty work.
Specifically, we focus on management consultancy, where, as noted above an increasingly
critical literature has emphasised the immoral and deceptive nature of the occupation (e.g.
O’Mahoney, 2010). However, to date there has been no rigorous attempt to define
management consultants as ‘dirty’ workers and in this paper we aim to address this
conceptual gap.
The term ‘dirty’ work refers to tasks and occupations that are likely to be perceived
disgusting and degrading (Hughes, 1951, 1970; Ashforth & Kreiner, 1999; Kreiner et al.
2006; Ashforth et al. 2007). In agreement with these authors, we refer to the terms dirt, taint
and stigma as social constructions; jobs are not dirty because of the characteristics of
individuals and groups themselves, but they become dirty because they evoke a reaction of
repugnance. According to Douglas (1966) dirt holds a social significance. Societies
associate cleanliness with goodness and dirtiness with badness, so dirtiness and cleanliness
include moral virtues. For this reason, people who deal with pollution become stigmatised.
Dirt represents a necessary evil in our society (Miller, 1997), so garbage must be collected,
dead bodies must be buried, prisoners must be guarded. Society needs ‘dirty’ work to be
done but stigmatizes the work and the workers who accomplish these tasks.
Hughes (1951) defines ‘dirty’ work as physically, socially and morally tainted. Ashforth &
Kreiner (1999) re-elaborate Hughes’ classification by offering two criteria for each of the
three forms of taint: low occupational prestige and high occupational prestige. (see figure 2)
FIGURE 2
Classifying Dirt Work Occupations (from Ashford and Kreiner, 1999)
Primary Taint
Physical
-Garbage, death, affluence,
etc.
-Noxious conditions
Social
-Regular contact with
stigmatised others
-Servile relationships
Moral
-Sinful or dubious virtue
-Deceptive, intrusive,
confrontational methods
Occupational Prestige
Relatively Low
Relatively High
Butcher
Miner
Funeral director
Dentist
Prison guard
Social Worker
Shoe shiner
Exotic dancer
Bill collector
Casino manager
Police interrogator
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Physical taint occurs when an occupational group is directly associated with death, garbage
or effluence (e.g. funeral directors, butchers etc.) or with activities under particularly noxious
conditions (e.g. fire fighters, dentists, etc.).
Social taint occurs where an occupation requires association with people who are
stigmatised (e.g. prison guards AIDS workers, psychiatric guards) or where workers appear
to have a servile relationship to the others (e.g. butlers, maids, shoe shiners).
Moral taint takes place where an occupation is considered as something sinful or of dubious
virtue (e.g. exotic dancers, casino managers) or where workers employ methods that are
considered deceptive or intrusive (e.g. reporters, private investigators).
As mentioned Ashforth & Kreiner (1999) expanded this classification of ‘dirty’ work, by
introducing the concept of occupational prestige (see figure 2) Prestige is highly relevant in
order to provide a ranking of different occupations. Because of the taint constructed by
society, the majority dirty work occupations tend to have relatively low prestige.
3.2 ‘Dirty’ work and management consultants
The classifications outlined above can be useful for a conceptualisation of management
consultants as ‘dirty’ workers. Management consultancy is a widespread occupation which
involves various occupational and management groups. The occupation has undergone a
series of complex changes. The profession of management consultants appears glamorous,
however on closer examination it becomes apparent that the work undertaken is frequently
boring and routinized, it sometimes takes place in filthy locations, and the tasks performed
do not always require specialised or professional knowledge.
Scholars have emphasised the immoral facets of the profession (see Clark and Fincham,
2002 p.233). Consultants depend on their clients for contextual knowledge and their success
is frequently judged on their ability to manipulate meaning through persuasive practices and
the reinforcement of managerial uncertainty and insecurity (Sturdy, 1997).
Moreover, consultants experience pressures from clients and prospective clients while
selling solutions (Pettigrew, 1985). Scholars indicate consultants’ difficulty in being perceived
as professional, with the consequence that they are constantly challenged by fear and
resistance from their clients (Sturdy, 1997; Jackall, 1988). This can lead consultants to resort
to dubious and unethical practices in order to allay clients fears and substantiate their own
position, e.g. claims to proprietorial knowledge. Examples of taint associated with
management consultants include physical taint which can occurs because management
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consultants might carry out their activities in filthy environments and do repetitive tasks. As
we will highlight in our paper, this taint is mainly reinforced by the consultants themselves to
diminish the image of a glamorous life-style associated to their profession. Social taint, as
management consultants may work for clients who hold dubious reputations or because they
use servile practices in order to satisfy their clients. Finally, moral taint refers mainly to the
widespread view of management consultants who are perceived as manipulators.
Management consultants have often been stigmatised for their overpayment and immoral
attitudes.
In order to overcome taint and produce coherent and positive self-identities; Ashforth &
Kreiner (1999) observe that those in stigmatized occupations frequently aim to produce
occupational ideologies to justify their subject positions. Occupational ideology has been
defined by Dressel & Peterson (1982:401) as ‘a coherent perspective that details the nature
of the relationship between the occupation and its members with other types of work as well
as with the larger society’. Occupational ideologies thus constitute systems of beliefs
enabling interpretation and understanding of what the occupation does and why it matters.
Ashforth & Kreiner (1999) observe that three occupational ideologies techniques are utilised
by those in stigmatized occupations to simultaneously negate or undermine negative
attributions and create or recognise positives ones. In so doing the techniques may serve to
make the occupation more palatable and potentially attractive to insiders and outsiders alike.
The three techniques are:
Reframing: this technique aims to transform the meaning attached to the stigmatized
occupation. The aim is to infuse the stigma with positive value, transforming it into a badge
of honour. The most common justification utilised is to describe the occupational mission, in
value-laden terms. So management consultants would emphasise the origins of their
occupation as ‘trusted’ counsel, independent advisor role it originally developed from; rather
than emphasising high fees or ambiguous contribution. Another type of reframing is
neutralizing, where the negative aspects of the stigma is negated. For instance, the media
always emphasises the glamorous and decadent life-style of consultants, these might
negate these realities highlighting the necessity of travelling in undesirable locations and
working long hours.
Recalibrating: involves adjusting the assumptions invoked to assess how much and how
worthwhile particular attributes of dirty work are. In management consulting, consideration
would be given to cost burden avoided by clients as they are able to hire subject experts on
an ad hoc project basis; rather than on the high fees paid for services.
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Refocusing: seeks to actively overlook the stigmatized properties of the occupation. As
Ashford and Kreiner pointed out (1999) this ideology often involves a refocus on features
that are extrinsic to the work itself. For instance garbage collectors might draw attention to
their pay and flexible hours. This ideology can be problematically applied to extrinsic aspects
of management consultant’s job (e.g. high wages), since these aspects are often
stigmatised.
Apart from the occupational ideologies, Ashford and Kreiner (1999) identified a series of
practices -social weighting- that ‘dirty’ workers deployed to moderate the social perception of
dirtiness. The practice condemning the condemners enables ‘dirty’ workers to dismiss the
condemners’s perceptions. For these reasons management consultants might condemn
clients’ judgements, because these seem unable to understand the valuable nature of their
contributions. The practice supporting the supporters, highlights that ‘dirty workers’ tend to
support people who provide a positive view of their works. Selective social comparison is
another social practice deployed by ‘dirty workers’ which involves making comparisons
among professions which entail ‘dirty’ work. There can be between group comparisons or
within group comparisons. For instance consultants working for established consultancy
companies can claim to have better professional standards than consultants working for
unknown consultancy companies.
Both occupational identities and social weighting have been considered in our blog analysis
as strategies utilised by management consultants to construct a coherent and positive selfidentity. Moreover, additional strategies and tactics deployed by management consultants
have emerged from our data.
5 Methodology
Our research entails textual analysis of management consultants’ blogs. Weblog or ‘blog’ is
commonly known as a website which comprises a series of frequently updated, reverse
chronologically ordered posts on a common page (Bar-Ilan, 2005; Herring et.al, 2005;
Serfarty, 2004). Blogs offer many benefits to social researchers (Hookway, 2008). Firstly,
they provide a publicly available and low cost wealth of data.
Secondly, blogs hold a theoretical relevance for our research as it is through this medium
that views at the occupational level from a variety of perspectives can be collected.
Moreover, blogs also have the added advantage that ‘bloggers’ tend to be rather candid and
because at times their identities are obscured, more open about their true views than might
be the case in other data collection methods. Because of the anonymity of the online
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context, they provide unsolicited and naturalistic narratives. Wakeford & Cohen (2008) point
out that blogs provide one way of enacting and representing a sense of process, since these
entries generally represent unprocessed thoughts. Halavais (2007: 118) considers blogs ‘a
relatively transparent and unedited view of thinking-in-progress’. Lastly, the archived data of
blogs makes them suitable to researching social processes across time and spaces.
Blogs also entail some constraints and tensions. Hookway (2008) drawing on the work of
Goffman (1972) points out that a blog ‘might be a disembodied form of ‘face-work’
concerned with the art of self-representation, impression management and potential selfpromotion’. So, bloggers can select and write life episodes which reflect some desired
qualities. From this perspective, blogging is just another ‘stage’, which using Goffman’s
words, is ‘the very obligation and profitability of appearing always in a steady moral light’
(Goffman, 1959: 244).
However, this argument can be counterbalanced by online anonymity. The online ‘mask’
enables bloggers to write more honestly and openly. As Hookway (2008) points out blogging
entails a paradox: bloggers are writing for an audience and thus they can be potentially
engaged in a form of ‘face-work’, but at the same they are anonymous. This tension between
visibility and invisibility can be translated in confession on the part of the bloggers.
The first step of our blog analysis has been to construct a sample of posts that match the
aims and objectives of the research. The majority of the weblogs are hosted by blog content
management systems (BCMS). So first we looked for search engines and analysis systems
for blogs such as BlogPulse, Technocrati, BlogScope, Google Blog Search, Blogster. We
also tried to identify specific websites which hold blogs of management consultants by typing
the phrase ‘management consultants blogs’ and ‘management consultancy blogs’ on Google
search. Once we have found the blogs related to management consultancy we have
selected the posts suitable for our research questions. Up to know we have read 215 posts
and from them 26 have been selected and analysed.
The analysis of the selected blogs followed a traditional thematic analysis (Broun and
Clarke, 2006) considering these key steps: 1) familiarity with the data; 2) generating initial
codes; 3) searching for themes; 4) reviewing themes; 5) naming themes; 6) producing
reports.
The main themes reflect our theoretical framework and identify the three different types of
taint: ‘physical taint’, ‘social taint’ and ‘moral taint’. We have then identified if through blogs,
consultants manage to create a positive self-identity by reflecting on the occupational
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ideologies and the social weighting techniques and by developing additional strategies which
have emerged from our data. (Ashforth & Kreiner, 1999; Ashford et al. 2007)
Ethical considerations have be taken into account. The use of blogs for social science
research involves new and challenging ethical dilemmas (Bowker and Tuffin, 2004; King,
1996; Sixsmith and Murray, 2001; Walther, 2002; Waskul and Douglas, 1996). There is a
stream of researchers who claim that the material stored on the internet is publicly available
and so it is not necessary to gain participant consent (Sudweeks and Rafaeli, 1995; Walther,
2002). Other social scientists argue that, although online posting are publicly accessible,
these are written with some expectations of privacy (Elgesem, 2002; King, 1996; Sharf,
1999).
In our research we consider these two ethical views. Because blogs are located in a public
domain, we do not consider the participant consent necessary, however we take into
account the privacy concerns by changing the online pseudonysms (blog usernames)
ensuring individuals cannot be immediately identified from blog quotations.
6 Data Analysis
Before focusing on the blog analysis it is important to highlight the ‘therapeutic’ function of
writing a post. Writing posts enable management consultants to release pressures and
anxieties derived to the stigmatised aspects of their job. Moreover the cyber space is open
so that this practice enable them to find social support by sharing their work ‘anxieties’ and
laughing at them. As a consequence, we might say that the act of writing a post is in itself a
conscious or unconscious act which helps management consultants to cope with their
attributed stigma.
We now proceed with the textual analysis of blogs, which enables us to identify a series of
strategies and tactics which management consultants utilise to construct a coherent and
positive self-identity. These are can be summarised as it follows: reframing, recalibrating,
justifying, condemning the condemners, social comparisons, crude realism, humour and
cynicism (see figure 3).
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FIGURE 3
Strategies utilised to construct a coherent and positive self-identity
(adapted from Kreiner et al. 2006)
Strategies
Reframing
Description
Infusing work with positive value and/or
neutralizing stigmatised values.
Recalibrating
Adjusting implicit standards used to
assess the work.
Justifying
Focusing the extrinsic benefits of a
profession, as a result of personal
commitments and sacrifices.
Condemn the
condemners
Criticizing those who criticize them,
thereby impugning their legitimacy as
critics.
Comparing oneself to others perceived
as worse off (or to one’s past) and
highlighting hidden aspects of their
jobs.
Selective Social
Comparison
Crude realism
Similarly to reframing, it debunks the
myth of management consultants.
Humour/cynicism
Laughing at themselves; it highlights
unknown aspects of management
consultancy.
Sample Posts
I fitted between locations such as Nottingham,
Cardiff...”[you may hear] rumours of people
working on projects in the Bahamas but I never
actually met any of the.
Some of my friends say I con people and insult
them… we sell out souls to make up some
numbers to get to the next contract.
Prestige,
free
office
supplies,
Mom’s
approval….. excessive workloads, tedious
work,
gruelling
commutes,
sense
of
worthlessness and mean or idiotic bosses
Clients just don’t see the bad stuff – either
because they are the cause of it, or because
they are out the door long before we finish.
ARE YOU A CONSULTANT OR A HOOKER?
1. You work very odd hours.
2. You are paid a lot of money to keep your
client happy.
3. You are paid well but your pimp gets most of
the money….
…at
the sink three more cockroaches
appeared on the floor. They tried to look
innocent, but these guys were clearly taking
steroids or something... my hands were now
clean but I felt exceedingly dirty, surrounded by
all these unnaturally large anthropods.
The ceiling fell on her head, what makes this
more entertaining is the fact that here were
several GALLONS of water right above the
destroyed ceiling tile... You have to love
government consulting.
6.1 Reframing the taint of management consultants
As Ashford & Kreiner (1999) pointed out, reframing is a type of occupational ideologies
which entails transforming the meaning attached to a stigmatised occupation.
The strategy of reframing have been identified in several blogs and mainly aims to neutralise
the moral taint attached to the profession of management consultants by revealing the
‘realities’ and drawbacks of this profession.
Many posts reject the view that consultants’ life is full of perks and glamour, but instead
more ordinary and ‘boring’.
“I fitted between locations such as Nottingham, Cardiff and – this really was the pinnacle of
my career- an office block above the Arndale Centre in Luton...”[you may hear] rumours of
people working on projects in the Bahamas but I never actually met any of them” (post 2 )
15
Moreover, as the next post highlights, in many cases, this defensive strategy is associated to
that one of ‘condemning the clients’:
Then it happens – the inevitable “your job sounds so good” “your job sounds so glamourous”
“I wish I could travel around all the time”. If only they knew……I am not saying I don’t like my
job – I do. However, it is a job with downsides like any other – Clients just don’t see the bad
stuff – either because they are the cause of it, or because they are out the door long before
we finish… These clients are in the film industry. Film for crying out loud. I would love to
work in film – but they think consulting is sexy. To quote a colleague - “I have never felt so
money as when I am getting into a smelly taxi at 3 in the morning after a long night of work
and crappy takeout food”. Much better than walking the red carpet – not. (post, 22)
Through blogs consultants implicitly aim to highlight their dedication to their profession and
the professional principles of their job. Their profession is wrongly depicted by their clients as
a ‘paid holiday’.
6.2 Recalibrating: management consultancy might be ‘dirty’ work, but it is also ‘hard’
work.
Another occupational ideology highlighted by Ashford & Kreiner (1999) is that of
recalibrating. The process of recalibrating involves adjusting implicit standards used to
assess the work. In this case management consultants do not negate that at times this
profession entails dirty work, but they want to highlight the personal efforts they put in it. This
element is showed in the posts below:
Some of my friends say I con people and insult them… we sell out souls to make up some
numbers to get to the next contract….the realities are long hours, and not knowing for sure
but having to take a stand anyways. (post 9)
Similarly to reframing, the strategy of recalibrating aims to debunk and neutralise the myth
associated to management consultancy by showing the drawbacks of this profession. The
post 8, for instance highlights the poor social conditions of management consulting. The
image that is used to decorate this post is a picture of a meat mincer, with the comment
“consulting chews people up”. The author cites the negative aspects of management
consulting such as: “the travel, uncertainty about work, the lack of career control and
sacrifice of personal life...all of it wrecks people’s lives”. This post voices frustrations, and
the uncomfortable nature of consulting. The blogger implicitly aims to communicate that it
might be true that management consultants at times act immorally, however their behaviour
might be the results of multiple work pressures. For instance, management consultants
16
might ask high wages, however this is mainly because their job is unsecure and they have to
work under pressure to solve quickly a problem.
The bloggers seem to moderate the ‘taint’ attributed to management consultancy, by
pointing out that this element is mainly voiced by ‘outsiders’ who are not aware of the
realities of this profession, such as long hours and job uncertainty. These two last posts
seem to condemn the view of the ‘outsiders’ who often tell biased stories.
6.3 Justifying: ‘we deserve what we have’
As mentioned, refocusing is another type of occupational ideology which involves shift of
attention from stigmatised to non-stigmatised features of a particular occupation (Ashford &
Kreiner, 1999; Ashford et al. 2007). As these authors pointed out, ‘dirty’ workers who
deployed this ideology often refocus on extrinsic aspect of their job, such as wages, work
flexibility. Because some extrinsic aspects of the profession of management consultants are
stigmatised (e.g. they earn a lot because they ‘steal’ from their clients), management
consultants tend to make justifications on how these extrinsic rewards are deserved. For this
reason in our analysis justifying is an additional occupational ideology which has emerged
from our data and involves a confirmation of the extrinsic benefits of a profession, as a result
of personal commitments and sacrifices.
Management consultants aim to communicate that it is true that their job leads to many
perks, however these benefits are a results of personal sacrifices which are often ignored by
clients, family and friends. This aspect is clear in the two following posts.
Your kids will go to that nice private school but won’t have a clear idea of what the person
who pays for it looks like. (post 16)
Prestige, free office supplies, Mom’s approval….. excessive workloads, tedious work,
gruelling commutes, sense of worthlessness and mean or idiotic bosses (post 18)
While within the strategy of reframing the taint is negated or neutralised, here the external
reward, is not negated but justified. High wages and private school are described as the
result of personal sacrifices, such as long working hours, long commuting times and high
expectations from their superiors.
17
6.4 Condemning the condemners
Because taint is socially constructed, the ‘outsiders’ (clients, family and friends) might
represent a threat for ‘dirty workers’ (Ashford & Kreiner, 1999; Ashford et al. 2007). For this
reasons, management consultants adopt new strategies to moderate the social perception of
these ‘outsiders’. The main practice which emerged by our analysis, is that of ‘condemning
the condemners’. Previous posts (e.g post 22, post 2) highlight consultants attacking the
‘outsiders’ from disseminating wrong stories about their own working conditions. In other
posts management consultants attacktheir clients in a more subtle way:
I am sitting at my desk in cube I share with another consultant. Two computers are in front of
me - my laptop and my client desktop. Why? Because I'm "not allowed to access the firm's
network on the client desktop, but I AM allowed to access it on a laptop if I bring the laptop
from home." That's faulty logic piece #1. The 20-year-old A/C window box unit is running - so
loudly that anyone I talk to on the phone thinks I'm in a wind tunnel. Not the mention the fact
that the A/C is surely spraying deadly 20-year-old bacteria in my face. Makes me think that
will one day I'll die of a mysterious disease that will be cause for a comeback of the X-Files.
(post 24)
This abstract of a post highlights the uneasiness of working at the clients’ premises. It
highlights that consultants are not considered as part of the office team. In addition the
consultant describes in a detailed way and with humour the ‘surreal’ and unconfortable work
environment. Again, in an indirect this consultant seems to neutralise the glamorous working
conditions often associated to his/her profession.
In the second part of the quote, this consultant addresses a direct criticism to the laziness of
the client who has encouraged him/her to leave early on Friday afternoon instead of carry on
working:
…One Hour Later... I wandered down to the client's office to see what he was up to - if there
was anything else I could do to help him out, etc.
He was gone. Lights were out.
I went down the hall, and the rest of the client office was dark and LOCKED UP.
After all ... Monday IS Columbus Day.
I left at 3:46.
I swear I'm living in the Bizarro world….(post 24)
As the literature highlights, consultants are often depicted as displaying immoral behaviours
and as manipulators, in the post below this consultant seems to take revenge of the
criticisms attributed to her profession:
18
I am restructuring a company and had to interview all staff members of the HR dept. They
knew that many would be terminated. One woman arrived in sweatpants and what appeared
to be her husbands oversized undershirt. She was holding a tootsie-pop.
During the interview, she unwrapped the lolly and started to ...fellate it.
Seriously….And I am a woman...(post 25)
Similarly to other posts, humour plays an important role and reinforces consultants’
defensive strategies against the attributed taint.
6.5 Selective Social Comparison
Previous literature (Ashford & Kreiner, 1999; Ashford et al, 2007) pointed out that ‘dirty’
workers tend to use the technique of selective social comparison to show their superiority
towards other tainted profession (e.g. call girls feel superior to streetwalkers). In the post
analysed below, management consultants compare themselves to hookers. Although the
post does not explicitly highlight management consultants’ superiority towards this
profession, this element is implicit. Moreover, in our case the technique of social comparison
has been used to exaggerate some elements of the attributed taint and thus to neutralise it
and to highlight hidden aspects of their profession. By comparing themselves to hookers,
management consultants laugh at themselves and make the reader reflect on other unseen
aspects of their job.
ARE YOU A CONSULTANT OR A HOOKER?
1. You work very odd hours.
2. You are paid a lot of money to keep your client happy.
3. You are paid well but your pimp gets most of the money.
4. You spend a majority of your time in a hotel room.
5. You charge by the hour but your time can be extended for the right price.
6. You are not proud of what you do.
7. Creating fantasies for your clients is rewarded.
8. It's difficult to have a family.
9. You have no job satisfaction.
10. If a client beats you up, the pimp just sends you to another client …..(post 23)
The image of a ‘hooker’ seems to incorporate the common stereotype of management
consultants who are greedy and depend on their clients. On the top of this, the creator of this
blog, by using self-irony, highlights some hidden elements of his/her profession, such as
long and anti-social working hours, bad work-life balance and not so high wages.
19
6.6 Crude realism/humour
Realistic and detailed descriptions of the clients’ offices represent other ways through which
management consultants neutralise the images of glamor attributed to their profession.
Through realistic descriptions of the clients’ site, management consultants are keen to
communicate us that their work environments are not as fashionable as they appear. They
can be filthy and even dangerous. The posts below clearly picture these aspects:
I was working next to an individual who nearly had their foot drilled into whilst sitting at her
desk...they were doing construction on the floor below and the drill broke through the floor
above- directly under her foot! Fortunately the woman had good reflexes. (post 5)
And again:
The ceiling fell on her head, what makes this more entertaining is the fact that here were
several GALLONS of water right above the destroyed ceiling tile... You have to love
government consulting (post 6)
These two posts use humour to address the issue of health and safety at the client site.
Similarly, the post below highlights the filthy conditions at the client’s office:
The office generally smells of cockroach and old carpet mixed with burnt coffee and client's
daily bag of excessively buttered microwave popcorn. All other consultants are out of the
office today. (post 24)
And again:
I left the stall at approximately 10:57am, at the sink three more cockroaches appeared on
the floor. They tried to look innocent, but these guys were clearly taking steroids or
something... my hands were now clean but I felt exceedingly dirty, surrounded by all these
unnaturally large anthropods.”(post 7)
It seems that the cockroaches symbolise the clients and the dirtiness felt by consultants is
caused by them.
7 Conclusion & recommendations
Our research questions 1) & 2) are interlinked to each other and enabled us to understand
whether management consultancy could be defined as ‘dirty’ work and whether different
types of taint could be applied to it. In agreement with Hughes (1951; 1970), Meare (1970)
and Kreiner et al. (2006) we argue that all types of occupations at times involve forms of
‘dirty’ work. Critical literature on management consultancy (Sturdy, 2009; Fincham, 1999,
2003; Kitay and Wight, 2007; Clark and Fincham, 2002) and our blog analysis confirm this
point. This paper highlights that moral taint is the main taint associated to the management
consultancy profession. Management consultants have been often stigmatised for their
20
overpayment, immoral and unethical behaviours, their lack of accountability and their
ambiguous occupational status (Sturdy, 2009; Fincham, 1999; Kiyay and Wight, 2007;
Fincham 2003). Moreover, social taint can be applied to them, because management
consultants constantly experience pressure from their clients, while selling their solutions
(Pettigrew, 1985; Sturdy, 1997).
The aspect of moral taint prevails in our blogs analysis, as consequence management
consultants elaborate a series of strategies to maintain a positive identity. Social taint
emerges from our data as well, and the servile relationship consultants/clients is compared
to that of hookers with their pimps. Management consultants reveal through blogs their poor
working conditions. Physical taint is not something attached to them by the society, it is
mainly self-attributed, with the function of neutralises moral and social taint.
Our third research question refers to the strategies which management consultants deploy in
order to construct and maintain a positive self-identity. Similarly to Ashford and Kreiner
(1999) our analysis highlights that management consultant use occupational ideologies and
social weighting in order to create a positive self-identity. Moreover other strategies have
emerged from our data.
In our research we found out that management consultants through their posts tend to
negate or neutralise the false myths and stigma associated to their profession (reframing
strategy). In some posts, the ‘taint’ associated to management consultancy is not negated
but moderated, by assessing this profession through different standards (long working hours,
uncertainly of the job).
problematically
As discussed the, occupational ideology of refocusing can be
applied,
because
the
extrinsic
aspects
of
management
consultants’profession are often stigmatised. An additional occupational ideology come to
light: justifying. In this way management consultants clarified that the benefits of their
profession are well deserved and involve personal sacrifices.
Regarding the practice of social weighting, the main strategy adopted is that of condemning
the condemners, by criticising the ones who condemn them they make their position more
powerful and thus the stigma associated to them becomes irrelevant. As our analysis
reveals, most of management consultants’ critiques are mainly addressed to the clients. The
technique of social comparison has been wittily utilised as well when management
consultants compared themselves to hookers. Humour and cynicisms represent another
strategy through which consultants cope with their stigma and is present is most of the
blogs. Finally, management consultants provide detailed descriptions of their poor and filthy
working conditions, this is an additional strategy through which they negate the false myth of
a decadent life-style attributed to their profession.
21
This research enabled us to explore management consultants through the lenses of ‘dirty’
work literature and this is the main contribution of the paper, because this theoretical
framework has been not yet applied to this profession. The use of blogs analysis provides an
additional contribution and brings to light additional strategies utilised by management
consultants (humour, cynicism) which might have not been discovered through other
research methods. We are also aware of the limitations of this study. First, it is worth to point
out that this is a work in progress, we are still searching for additional posts, therefore new
categories might emerge. Other limitations are related to our research method. Because of
the anonymity of blogs it has been impossible to build up a sample by taking into account
gender, age, professional experience of management consultants. Therefore, further
research is encouraged. For instance the research method of semi-structure interviewing
could be helpful to facilitate within group comparisons. We expect for instance that
management consultants working for established consultancy organisations might claim a
higher occupational status than junior independent consultants.
22
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