Making Sense of Management: A Critical Introduction

'A critical-academic-analysis of received wisdom, for serious students of the subject' - Long Range Planning Provocative and thoughtful, this book provides a fresh perspective on management that is both broad and critical. The authors argue for the importance of subjecting received wisdoms about management to scrutiny. Such scrutiny needs to address not only the means but also the outcomes of management theory and practices as social and ecological problems proliferate in the global economy. The book begins by examining why we should question notions of management as a neutral 'technology' with no moral commitments and consequences, and the role of critical reflection in such questioning. It introduces Critical Theory in the context of other critical traditions in management and the social sciences, and then explores various core management sub-disciplines, examining dominant perspectives within each specialism. In the final section, the authors consider the possibilities for synthesis between the insights and ideals of Critical Theory and progressive elements in current management thinking.They discuss theoretical implications and issues of practice, in teaching and research in the field, and for managers themselves in their organizational settings.

Table of Contents:
Introduction PART ONE: INTRODUCING CRITICAL THEORY TO MANAGEMENT Management in Critical Perspective The Power of Science and the Science of Power Critical Theory Development and Central Themes PART TWO: MANAGEMENT SPECIALISMS IN A CRITICAL PERSPECTIVE Critical Conceptualizations of Management Critically Assessing Management Specialisms I Organization Theory, Marketing and Strategic Management Critically Assessing Management Specialisms II Accounting, Information Systems and Operational Research PART THREE: TOWARDS AN INTEGRATION OF CRITICAL THEORY AND MANAGEMENT Recasting Emancipation in Management and Organization Studies Critical Theory and Management Practice

About the Author :
Mats Alvesson is a Visiting Lecterer at Exeter University, He holds a chair in the Business Administration department at Lund University in Sweden. He has published a large selection of journals and has contributed too many handbooks as well. He is also on the Board for the Academy of Management Review, Journal of Management Studies, and Strategic Organizations, Management Communication Quarterly and Organizational Research Methods and a co-editor of Organization. He is currently leading a large scale europe wide study on how specialists secure and enhance their managerial identity. Mats Alvesson is on the editorial board for The Academy Academy of Management Review, Journal of Management Studies, Strategic Organinzation, Management Communication Quarterly and Organizational Research Methods and a co-editor of Organization.

Review :
'While this book brings together for the first time in a single text a wide range of critical literature on the subject of management, it is also important to identify it as a welcome successor to an earlier (1992) collection of papers edited by the authors' - The British Accounting Review 'The building of a critical dialogue which addresses the "double challenges" of relevance, both interdisciplinary and cross-contextual, is crucial to the ongoing development of management. Such a process of dialogue-building is unlikely to be tidy, but like this book it needs to be both provocative and stimulating. Hence like the arena it is engaging with, this book is both interdisciplinary and conceptually hybrid. In terms of style and audience it sl also hybrid, ebing btoh introductory and developmental... Yet such hybridity is entirely appropriate, for Alvesson and Willmott have been admirably engaged in an opening up of important and complex territory to critical discussion, and in these respects as their emphasis shifted from the conventions of Critical Theory the more interesting and significant the book became. As a whole, this book makes an important contribution to the development of a theory and practice of Critical Management that is relevant to contemporary concern, as well as stimulating further participation in the extension of this critical dialogue' - Management Learning 'The book scores considerable points for its rather generous references to women's issues, its extensive bibliography, the concentrated descripton of CT's development and its discussion of critical issues which should make a contribution to the indicated target audience's discourse' - Journal of the Operational Research Society 'A critical-academic-analysis of received wisdom, for serious students of the subject' - Long Range Planning 'Here we have another useful looking runner from the Alvesson/Willmott stable which builds upon and deepens their earlier, edited, Critical Management Studies (Alvesson and Willmott 1992)...As usual with these authors, there is an excellent reference list and a comprehensive index' - Organization Studies