The Politics of Management Knowledge

Stewart R Clegg

ISBN 10: 0803979339 / ISBN 13: 9780803979338

Published by SAGE Publications Inc, US, 1996

About this Item

The notion that management knowledge is universal, culture-neutral, readily transferable to any country or situation, has come under mounting challenge. The Politics of Management Knowledge goes beyond such `broad-brush' assertions to explore in detail the relations between management knowledge, power and practice in a world where globalization highlights, rather than obscures, the locally specific character of many management recipes.The book recognizes the political nature of management knowledge as a discourse produced from, and reproducing, power processes within and between organizations. This theme underpins discussion of the ways in which management ideas and practices `produce' managers of a particular kind - person of enterprise, bureaucrat, heroic leader and so on. Critical examinations of certain current management theories - lean production, excellence, entrepreneurship - illuminate the myriad modes in which relations of power intermingle with relations of knowledge.Eminent authors from a variety of countries address the social and political processes involved in cross-cultural transference of management ideas across the world. They also look to the future, stressing the need for a substantial new understanding that is less attuned to the corporate worlds of today and more appropriate for the increasingly diverse organizations likely to emerge in the twenty-first century.

Seller Inventory # LU-9780803979338

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Politics of Management Knowledge
• Publisher: SAGE Publications Inc, US
• Publication Date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0803979339
• ISBN 13: 9780803979338
• Binding: Hardback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 520 grams

About this title

Synopsis

In recent years management knowledge has seen mounting challenges to the notions of objectivity, neutrality, and universality. The Politics of Management Knowledge goes beyond broad-brush affirmations on this theme. This insightful volume explores the connections among management knowledge, power, and practice in a world where globalization highlights, rather than obscures, the localizations of generic management recipes. Central to the book is the recognition of management knowledge′s political nature and the discourse produced from power processes within and between organizations. This theme underpins the various ways that management practices produce managers as particular kinds of subjects for example, man-of-enterprise, bureaucrat, heroic leader, and so on. Critical examinations of management theories about lean production and excellent entrepreneurship also highlight the myriad areas in which relationships between knowledge and power intermingle. The Politics of Management Knowledge discusses the future of management knowledge and argues that even at a time when middle management in particular is under threat, there is a need for a new understanding less attuned to the corporate world of today and more appropriate for the emerging industries of the 21st century.

About the Author

Stewart Clegg is Professor at the University of Sydney in the School of Project Management and the John Grill Institute for Project Leadership and an Emeritus Professor of the University of Technology Sydney.