The governing of the self/the self-governing self: Multi-rater/ source feedback and practices 1940–2011

This article argues for a more critical contextualisation of multi-rater/source feedback mechanisms applying Foucault’s conceptual template of technologies of objectification and subjectivity/self, as they relate to a mode of “self” government that is intricately entwined with psychological knowledge and expertise. An in-depth genealogical analysis is presented that traces the genesis of two prominent forms of multi-rater/source feedback mechanisms between 1940 and 2011: the educational innovation of the T-Group and the contemporary human resource practice of 360-degree feedback. We conclude that such practices have functioned to enfold individuals within relations of power and signification that impact upon individual self-governance, subjectivity, and identity. As such, the application of 360-degree feedback within contemporary organisational models is emblematic of a programme of government that relies for its effectiveness on the selfregulatory and self-developing capacities of the individual at work.