Abstract:

In the current literature on business society and inequalities, the sensorial perspective as a powerful mechanism in reproducing caste by organizations and investigations on how a panopticon structure of close observation and surveillance affects the agency of caste boundaries is understudied. We study an organization's grassroot level initiatives tackling such rigid structures, in eliminating child labor and promoting responsible supply chain practices within communities belonging to schedule caste and tribes. This paper makes two key contributions: first it establishes that the panopticon ‘gaze’ is not only cultural but also structural, establishing a sensorial perspective to studying inequalities in organizations and secondly, we identify novel mechanisms on the social reproduction of caste-based hierarchies in organizations. We argue that caste as a social panopticon is structurally produced within and around the spatial boundaries of communities living and working in hazardous conditions, through the interaction of disadvantaged caste-based occupations. The findings reveal that symbolic, social and spatial boundaries, overlap in the context of caste segregation, offering a novel perspective on studying segregation sensorially.

Please choose your submission type: Full Paper

Primary Track: Sustainable and Responsible Business

Keywords: responsible business;CSR

Menu

Dr. Shilpi Banerjee