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The Oxford Handbook of Organization Theory
Meta-theoretical Perspectives

Edited by Haridimos Tsoukas and Christian Knudsen

Price: £29.99 (paper)
ISBN-13: 978-0-19-927525-0
Publication date: 10 March 2005
666 pages, 246x171 mm
Series: Oxford Handbooks
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Reviews

'...brings together an extraordinary and erudite range of conributions to which I expect to refer for many years to come. There is not a single chapter from which I did not learn something, and from many I learnt a great deal.' - Organization, Vol 12 (6)
'Imagine a restaraunt where all your favourite dishes are prepared, each by a master chef, and unknown delights also await your pleasure. You do not have to go anywhere to get to this restaraunt, it is right in your own kitchen. You can even take it to the office with you. Without too much exaggeration, this is the rough equivalent of what is offered to the student of organization theory in The Oxford Handbook of Organization Theory
' - Management Learning
'The Oxford Handbook [of Organization Theory] can be returned to many times to reflect on assumptions held on what organizations are, on what good science is, and on who should be the end customer for ones scientific activities ... This is the big tent depiction of organizational studies as a civilized community building an increasingly relevant narrative on organizations pertinent to more and more people. It is hip. It is current. It is self-consciously aware of the forces that shape as it grows.
' - Organization Studies

Description

Leading academics in organization theory reflect on the historical development, present state, and future possibilities of the field
Builds on past debates in organization theory, examining them in the light of recent developments
Takes an explicit meta-theoretical approach to organization theory
Includes contributions from all the leading names in the field from Europe and the US

This book provides a forum for leading scholars in organization theory to engage in meta-theoretical reflection on the historical development, present state, and future prospects of organization theory as a scientific discipline. The central question explored is the epistemological status of organization theory as a policy science. This is a meta-theoretical question; the object of analysis and debate in this volume is not a set of organizational phenomena, but organization theory itself.

By drawing attention to organization theory as a practical social activity, this handbook reviews and evaluates important epistemological developments in the discipline. More specifically, the focus is on issues related to the nature of knowledge claims put forward in organization theory and the controversies surrounding the generation, validation, and utilization of such knowledge.

Five sets of questions are raised in the handbook, each one of which is dealt with in a separate section:

1) What does a science of organizations consist of? What counts as valid knowledge in organization theory and why? How do different paradigms view organization theory as a science?
2) How has organization theory developed over time, and what structure has the field taken? What assumptions does knowledge produced in organization theory incorporate, and what forms do its knowledge claims take as they are put forward for public adoption?
3) How have certain well-known controversies in organization theory, such as for example, the structure/agency dilemma, the study of organizational culture, the different modes of explanation, the micro/macro controversy, and the differnet explanations produced by organizational economists and sociologists, been dealt with?
4) How, and in what ways, is knowledge generated in organization theory related to action? What features must organization theory knowledge have in order to be actionable, and of relevance to the world 'out there'? How have ethical concerns been taken into account in organization theory?
5) What is the future of organization theory? What direction should the field take? What must change in the way research is conducted and key theoretical terms are conceptualized so that organization theory enhances its capacity to generate valid and relevant knowledge?

Readership: Academics, researchers, and postgraduate students in management studies, organization theory (organizational analysis, strategy, systems, etc.), and sociology; Managers and consultants wishing to follow cutting-edge debate.

Contents

Introduction: The Need for Meta-theoretical Reflection in Organization Theory , Haridimos Tsoukas and Christian Knudsen

Part I: Organization Theory as Science

1. Organizational Theory as a Positive Science , Lex Donaldson

2. Organization Theory as an Interpretive Science , Mary Jo Hatch and Dvora Yanow

3. Organization Theory as a Critical Science: Forms of analysis and 'new organizational' forms , Hugh Willmott

4. Organization Theory as a Postmodern Science , Robert Chia

Part II: The Construction of Organization Theory

5. The Origins of Organization Theory , William H. Starbuck

6. Fusing Sociological Theory with Engineering Discourse: The historical and epistemological foundations of organization theory , Yehouda Shenhav

7. Feminist Theory and Organization Theory: A dialogue on new bases , Silvia Gherardi

8. The Styles and the Stylists of Organization Theory , Barbara Czarniawska

9. Pluralism, Scientific Progress, and the Structure of Organization Theory , Christian Knudsen

Part III: Meta-theoretical Controversies in Organization Theory

10. Open Doors and Brick Walls: The agency/structure dilemma in organization theory , Michael Reed

11. Modes of Explanation in Organization Theory , Andreas Georg Scherer

12. Micro and Macro Perspectives in Organization Theory: A tale of incommensurability , William McKinley and Mark A. Mone

13. Economic Versus Sociological Approaches to Organization Theory , Richard Swedberg

14. Meta-theoretical Controversies in Studying Organizational Culture , Joanne Martin

Part IV: Organization Theory as a Policy Science

15. Actionable Knowledge , Chris Argyris

16. Theory and Practice in the Real World , Karl E. Weick

17. Organization Theory and Ethics: Varieties and dynamics of constrained optimization , Richard P. Nielsen

18. Character and Virtue in an Era of Turbulent Capitalism , Iain Mangham

Part V: The Future of Organization Theory

19. The Future of Organization Theory: Prospects and limitations , Gibson Burrell

20. Managing Organization Futures in a Changing World of Power/Knowledge , Stewart Clegg

21. The Future of Organization Theory: Beyond the selection-adaptation debate , Arie Y. Lewin

22. At Home from Mars to Somalia: Recounting organization theory , Marta B. Calas

23. New Times, Fresh Challenges: Reflections on the past and the future of organization theory , Haridimos Tsoukas

Authors, editors, and contributors

Edited by Haridimos Tsoukas, Professor of Organisation Studies, Warwick Business School and
Christian Knudsen, Department of Industrial Economics and Strategy, Copenhagen Business School

Links to web resources and related information

More in the same subject area:
Organizational theory & behaviour
Business strategy

The specification in this catalogue, including without limitation price, format, extent, number of illustrations, and month of publication, was as accurate as possible at the time the catalogue was compiled. Occasionally, due to the nature of some contractual restrictions, we are unable to ship a specific product to a particular territory. Jacket images are provisional and liable to change before publication.

The Oxford Handbook of Organization TheoryMeta-theoretical Perspectives

The Oxford Handbook of Organization Theory
Meta-theoretical Perspectives