From bodies as 'meat' to bodies as 'flesh' : the expression of performance management as 'sacrificial acts' within professional rugby

In this article, we argue that to extend the research on performance management we need to examine further how organisational members interweave the technology of such management into their work. Using Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s philosophy, we question the notion that technology acts on bodies in a linear manner as ‘meat’ to be manipulated. His reversible ontology suggests that these materials can be woven into the flesh of organising in a multitude of ways. Specifically, we refer to professional rugby, and the manner in which its players utilise the technology of performance management, to forge a localised expression of sacrifice. We suggest that this expression provides a means for players to define and evaluate themselves against ‘good rugby’. As forms of evaluation may vary in organisations, we recommend that researchers do not solely associate performance management with metrics but also look to other, more localised, expressions to inform their work

Exploring leadership as it is expressed within professional rugby, the application of Merleau-Ponty's sensual ontology of flesh to organisational practice

This thesis centres on the practice turn, specifically leadership-as-practice (LAP). It draws on a phenomenological lineage in order to expand LAP's ambition to grasp leadership empirically. The thesis argues that to ward off regurgitating realist assumptions as we conduct our methodology, it may be useful to direct our philosophical endeavours at how the body is understood during empirical inquiries. The body, however, is a problematic concept within the social sciences, often depicted as a distinct, bounded, entity with the result a 'disembodied' gaze onto leadership. The research questions therefore whether an alternative philosophy of the body may better inform how researchers get a feel for leadership in practice.To embrace this alternative, the thesis turns to Maurice Merleau-Ponty's reversible ontology of flesh. This philosophy illustrates how body and world continually co-create each other. Furthermore, such corporeality paves the way for an epistemology of sensual expression which identifies knowledge as emerging from this reversible creation. In order to elaborate on this 'fleshy'frame, the research draws on sociological and anthropological literature to sensually 'reawaken' the scholar's body within the 'thick' of practice. The thesis utilises this framework to re-envisage ethnography from a realist,bounded, perspective to a sensory, emplaced, affair. The ethnography culminates by providing six sensual depictions of leadership within Hibernia, a professional rugby team. Through these depictions we can empirically understand LAP as a 'sensuous intoxication',displayed through three corporeal lenses that explore leadership: the situated body; the emotional body; and the physical body. These lenses respectively inform the expression of leadership as: coproduced through lines of site/sight; a deeply felt (e)motional engagement; and as a manner of communal orientation. The thesis closes by detailing the key empirical features of such sensuous intoxication and how it contributes towards a practice approach.This thesis centres on the practice turn, specifically leadership-as-practice (LAP). It draws on a phenomenological lineage in order to expand LAP's ambition to grasp leadership empirically. The thesis argues that to ward off regurgitating realist assumptions as we conduct our methodology, it may be useful to direct our philosophical endeavours at how the body is understood during empirical inquiries. The body, however, is a problematic concept within the social sciences, often depicted as a distinct, bounded, entity with the result a 'disembodied' gaze onto leadership. The research questions therefore whether an alternative philosophy of the body may better inform how researchers get a feel for leadership in practice.To embrace this alternative, the thesis turns to Maurice Merleau-Ponty's reversible ontology of flesh. This philosophy illustrates how body and world continually co-create each other. Furthermore, such corporeality paves the way for an epistemology of sensual expression which identifies knowledge as emerging from this reversible creation. In order to elaborate on this 'fleshy'frame, the research draws on sociological and anthropological literature to sensually 'reawaken' the scholar's body within the 'thick' of practice. The thesis utilises this framework to re-envisage ethnography from a realist,bounded, perspective to a sensory, emplaced, affair. The ethnography culminates by providing six sensual depictions of leadership within Hibernia, a professional rugby team. Through these depictions we can empirically understand LAP as a 'sensuous intoxication',displayed through three corporeal lenses that explore leadership: the situated body; the emotional body; and the physical body. These lenses respectively inform the expression of leadership as: coproduced through lines of site/sight; a deeply felt (e)motional engagement; and as a manner of communal orientation. The thesis closes by detailing the key empirical features of such sensuous intoxication and how it contributes towards a practice approach