The Gender of Organizations

sense, 'out there', but only insofar as they are instantiated in specific practices. Giddens's critique of structural approaches within sociology is of special importance here. Giddens (1984) argued that structures do not exist except insofar as they are drawn upon by human agents in their social activities. Taken in this sense, structures could best be seen as the 'rules and resources recursively involved in institutions' (Giddens, 1984:24). By taking this step Giddens directly linked structures to specific institutional and organizational practices: in order to examine structures it was necessary to look at institutions, how these drew upon structural resources, and how in turn the institution shaped structures. Giddens's critique ran parallel, in many ways, to that of Foucault. In the 1970s Foucault argued that power should not be seen as the product of a stratifying system which is located in the macro structures of society. Rather, power should be seen in 'relational' terms, as a set of discourses and strategies operating in particular contexts. Power is not a 'single, all-encompassing strategy' (Foucault, 1984:103), but works through specific institutions. Much of Foucault's work comprised detailed studies of institutional changes and their linked transformation of power relations: in mental asylums (Foucault, 1961), hospitals and clinics (Foucault, 1965), and prisons (Foucault, 1977). In these cases he