Critical perspectives on organization and management theory

Critical perspectives on organization and management theory

by Linda Mary Smircich

Part of History of management thought

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This volume questions the organization of knowledge in organization studies that emerged after World War II. It calls into question the managerialist view of what organizations are, how they should be conducted, and how they should be studied. The authors of the essays included here represent a diversity of views: neomarxist, labour process, symbolic, feminist. Together they question the epistemological choices that were made; they articulate other paradigmatic paths that could have been taken; and they provide alternative forms of knowledge production. Collectively they forward a view of organizations not as rational and efficiency seeking, but as sites of inequalities and resistances, where meanings and interpretations are contested, reflecting the wider tensions among diverse interest groups within society.

Discussion questions for Critical perspectives on organization and management theory

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  1. 1

    How does shifting our view of organizations from "rational and efficiency-seeking" to "sites of inequalities and resistances" change how you navigate your own workplace dynamics?

  2. 2

    The book critiques the dominant post-WWII "managerialist" view; in your personal experience, how is this managerialist mindset reinforced in everyday corporate culture?

  3. 3

    In what ways do the alternative paradigms presented in the essays—such as symbolic, feminist, and neomarxist perspectives—expose blind spots in traditional leadership training?

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