Richard Sennett – The Corrosion of Caracters The Personal Consequences of Work in the New Capitalism

“… power is present in the superficial scenes of teamwork, but authority is absent. An authority figure is someone who takes responsibility for the power he or she wields. In an old-style work hierarchy, the boss might do that by overtly declaring, “I have the power, I know what’s best, obey me.” Modern management techniques seek to escape from the “authoritarian” aspect of such declarations, but in the process they manage to escape as well from being held responsible for their acts. …. If “change” is the responsible agent, if everybody is a “victim,” then authority vanishes, for no one can be held accountable—certainly not this manager letting people go. Instead, peer pressure is meant to do the manager’s work” (Sennet, 1998).