I've almost always been in conflict with management because they vigorously fight even their own interests -- they're gladdest when I'm least productive and most agitated when I'm most productive.
This is because they typically don't have much idea what I'm doing. So they judge based on how much work I "look like" I'm doing, rather than my actual output.
Oops. Big mistake. They don't understand how alienated work dulls the mind. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marx's_theory_of_alienation#Alienation_in_the_labour_process
I frequently observe alienated workers painting themselves into corners, and falling into a dull conformist groove which ruins their own work. (Even Adam Smith claimed this spills over into normal life, in Wealth of Nations.)
It's a vicious circle -- managers are encouraged to be decisive, while workers are punished. So managers start thinking they're above the herd.
Anyway, of the things that Marx wrote about, I imagine his thoughts on alienation are among the more useful concepts.
Tayssir