"The computer says no” : the demise of the traditional bank manager and the depersonalisation of British banking, 1960-2010

Vik, PM

Abstract

This article examines the role of the British bank branch manager in the context of the transformation of banking since the 1980s and discusses its implications for British banking. The analysis was based on interviews with retired bank managers and suggests that they viewed their role as being was based on skill, authority and autonomy. The centralisation of authority and increasing targets deskilled and disempowered their profession. Drawing on Weber’s theory of bureaucratisation, this article argues that the loss of agency of managers depersonalised service provision as they no longer could base their decisions on personal considerations.

Citation

Vik, P. (2016). "The computer says no” : the demise of the traditional bank manager and the depersonalisation of British banking, 1960-2010. Business History, 59(2), 231-249. https://doi.org/10.1080/00076791.2016.1177024

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 4, 2016
• Online Publication Date: May 19, 2016
• Publication Date: May 19, 2016
• Deposit Date: Apr 12, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 19, 2017
• Journal: Business History
• Print ISSN: 0007-6791
• Electronic ISSN: 1743-7938
• Publisher: Routledge
• Volume: 59
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 231-249
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00076791.2016.1177024
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00076791.2016.1177024
• Related Public URLs: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/fbsh20/current#.VwyvJa32bcs