Key readings which complement the study of organizations and organizational theory. David Knights and Hugh Willmott's carefully chosen readings are always thought-provoking and occasionally controversial. Classic articles as well as more recent pieces are included. As a whole, this book reflects the significant shifts emerging in organization theory today and will help familiarise the student with the competing paradigms central to the study of organizations. Subjects covered include traditional topics such as leadership, strategy and human resource management, as well as emergent areas such as consumption, diversity, environment and globalization. Organizational Analysis will help students learn how to critically analyse original sources and will expand their knowledge of the subject. It is an ideal point of reference for further reading.

The fourth edition of Organization Theory & Design provides students with an understanding of the different approaches to designing and managing an organization. Illustrated with many enlightening global examples drawn, this book combines classic ideas and contemporary theories to reflect the challenges faced by managers. Developed for students in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, it provides an up-to-date, international perspective to Richard L. Daft's landmark text.

Now in its fourth edition, this excellent text continues its trademark approach with contributions from scholars committed to thinking differently. Each chapter is written by topic specialists who explore key issues in an effective, thought-provoking way. Exploring the divisions and associated debates, the title adopts a selective and critical approach to established organizational behaviour topics while thoroughly engaging students in the subject.

Since the appearance of Braverman's "Labour and Monopoly Capital", the impact of labour process analysis has been experienced in the fields of industrial sociology, organization theory, industrial relations, labour economics, politics and business studies. The annual UMIST-Aston Labour Process Conferences have provided a regular forum for advancing empirical and theoretical analysis in these fields. By combining a selection of papers delivered at these conferences with specially commissioned contributions, the series examines various aspects of the employment relationship across the range of productive and service industries. In this review of the contribution of labour process theory to the study of work organization, various contributors explore the theoretical foundations of labour process analysis and suggest new directions for its development. The contriubtors include Gibson Burrell, Paul Edwards, Andrew Friedman, David Knights, Craig Littler, Dominic Strianti, Paul Thompson, Mark Wardell, Jackie West and High Willmott.

The Routledge Companion to Philosophy in Organization Studies provides a wide-ranging overview of the significance of philosophy in organizations. The volume brings together a veritable "who's-who" of scholars that are acclaimed international experts in their specialist subject within organizational studies and philosophy. The contributions to this collection are grouped into three distinct sections: Foundations - exploring philosophical building blocks with which organizational researchers need to become familiar. Theories - representing some of the dominant traditions in organizational studies, and how they are dealt with philosophically. Topics - examining the issues, themes and topics relevant to understanding how philosophy infuses organization studies. Primarily aimed at students and academics associated with business schools and organizational research, The Routledge Companion to Philosophy in Organization Studies is a valuable reference source for anyone engaged in this field.

Essays on the development of the post-medieval house, its contents and decoration. During the last forty years, South-West England has been the focus of some of the most significant work on the early modern house and household in Britain. Its remarkable wealth of vernacular buildings has been the object of muchattention, while the area has also seen productive excavations of early modern household goods, shedding new light on domestic history. This collection of papers, written by many of the leading specialists in these fields, presents a number of essays summarizing the overall understanding of particular themes and places, alongside case studies which publish some of the most remarkable discoveries. They include the extraordinary survival of wall-hangings in a South Devon farm, the discovery of painted rooms in an Elizabethan town house, and a study of a table-setting mirrored on its ceiling. Also considered are forms of decoration which seem specific to particular areas of the West Country houses. Taken together, the papers offer a holistic view of the household in the early modern period. John Allan is Consultant Archaeologist to the Dean & Chapter of Exeter Cathedral; Nat Alcock is EmeritusReader in the Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick; David Dawson is an independent archaeologist and museum and heritage consultant. Contributors: Ann Adams, Nat Alcock, John Allan, James Ayres, Stuart Blaylock, Peter Brears, Tania Manuel Casimiro, Cynthia Cramp, Christopher Green, Oliver Kent, Kate Osborne, Richard Parker, Isabel Richardson, John Schofield, Eddie Sinclair, John R.L. Thorp, Hugh Wilmott,

The Routledge Companion to Philosophy in Organization Studies provides a wide-ranging overview of the significance of philosophy in organizations. The volume brings together a veritable "who's-who" of scholars that are acclaimed international experts in their specialist subject within organizational studies and philosophy. The contributions to this collection are grouped into three distinct sections: Foundations - exploring philosophical building blocks with which organizational researchers need to become familiar. Theories - representing some of the dominant traditions in organizational studies, and how they are dealt with philosophically. Topics - examining the issues, themes and topics relevant to understanding how philosophy infuses organization studies. Primarily aimed at students and academics associated with business schools and organizational research, The Routledge Companion to Philosophy in Organization Studies is a valuable reference source for anyone engaged in this field.

Part of a series of books based on papers delivered at the annual UMIST-Aston conference, combined with specially commissioned contributions, this text examines the labour process, focusing on the white-collar/non-manual sector of the work force.

The papers in this volume examine the conditions and consequences of micro-electronic technology within one or more of various spheres of the labour process.

This major new book examines the way in which employment is managed across organizational boundaries. It analyses how public-private partnerships, franchises, agencies and other forms of inter-firm contractual relations impact on work and employment and the experiences of those working in these increasingly significant forms of organization. It draws upon research undertaken in eight separate networks comprising over 50 organizations to explore the fragmentating effects of contemporary changes in the organization of work and employment relationships. It considers the consequences of increased reliance upon inter-organizational mechanisms for producing goods and especially for delivering services. It argues that established analyses continue to rely too heavily upon a model of the single employing organization whereas today the situation is often more complex and confused. Public-private 'partnerships' are one high profile example of this phenomenon but private enterprises are also developing new relations with their clients and customers that impinge upon the nature of the employment relationship. Established hierarchical forms are becoming disordered, with consequences for career patterns, training and skills, pay structures, disciplinary practice, worker voice, and the gendered division of labor. The findings of the study raise questions about the governance of such complex organizational forms, the appropriateness of current institutions for addressing this complexity, and the challenge of harnessing of employee commitment in circumstances where human resource practices are shaped by organizations other than the legal employer. Using an analytical schema of three dimensions (institutional, organizational, employment) and four themes (power, risk, identity, trust), the authors adopt an inter-disciplinary perspective to address these complex and critically important practical, policy and theoretical concerns. Fragmenting Work will be vital reading for all those wishing to understand the contemporary realities of work and employment.

'Critical Management Studies', or 'CMS', describes a diverse group of work that has adopted a critical or questioning approach to the traditional concerns of Management Studies, and the growing interest in CMS has produced a vibrant and exciting body of research. Christopher Grey and Hugh Willmott, leading authorities in this area, introduce seventeen readings which reflect these developments, and show CMS' importance. As an assessment of CMS, the Reader will be of interest to academics, researchers, and students of Management Studies. As an introduction to CMS, it will prove invaluable to students taking courses requiring familiarity with the CMS literature.

This book provides a timely and original overview of the Dissolution of the Monasteries and its longer term affects on the social and physical landscape of England and Wales during the decades that followed. Combining for the first time the full wealth of archaeological evidence gathered over the last century with the established documentary sources, it takes a more nuanced approach to the understanding of an event that has polarized debates ever since the 16th century. The book examines the most immediate and destructive outcomes of the Dissolution, such as the ruination and asset stripping of religious property and the dispersal of monastic lands. However, it also presents its longer term, albeit often unexpected outcomes, such as the creation of economic opportunities for individual entrepreneurs and civic authorities, the stimulation of new forms of polite architecture and the development of previously unimagined leisure landscapes. It concludes that whilst the Dissolution had devastating impact upon those in religious orders, its lasting legacy was the remarkable preservation of the country’s medieval Christian heritage through the monuments and archaeological sites that remain to this day in every area of the country. While primarily focusing on archaeological material, the book also encompasses a range of diverse historical sources. It is aimed at students and scholars seeking an introduction to the main debates surrounding the Dissolution, as well as providing original in-depth case studies to illustrate these.

Critical Management Studies (CMS) has emerged as a movement that questions the authority and relevance of mainstream thinking and practice. Critical of established social practices and institutional arrangements, it challenges prevailing systems of domination and promotes the development of alternatives to them.
CMS draws upon diverse critical traditions. Of particular importance for its initial articulation was the thinking of members of the Frankfurt School of Critical Theory. From these foundations, CMS has grown into a pluralistic and inclusive movement incorporating a diverse range of perspectives--ranging from labour process theory to radical feminism. In recent times, a set of ideas broadly labelled "poststructuralist" have been developed to complement and challenge the insights of Critical Theory, giving new impetus for scholars seeking to challenge the status quo and articulate a more inclusive and humane future for management practice.
The Oxford Handbook of Critical Management Studies provides an overview of theoretical approaches, key topics, issues, and subject specialisms in management studies, as well as a set of reflections on the progress and prospects of CMS. Contributors are all specialists in the respective fields and share a concern to interrogate and challenge received wisdom about management theory and practice. Given the rapid growth of the CMS movement, its ever increasing theoretical and geographical diversity and its outreach into the public sphere, The Oxford Handbook of Critical Management Studies is a timely publication. In addition to UK contributors, where CMS has developed most rapidly, there is strong representation from North American contributors as well as from areas where CMS has taken hold more recently, such as Australasia.
About the Series
Oxford Handbooks in Business & Management bring together the world's leading scholars on the subject to discuss current research and the latest thinking in a range of interrelated topics including Strategy, Organizational Behavior, Public Management, International Business, and many others. Containing completely new essays with extensive referencing to further reading and key ideas, the volumes, in hardback or paperback, serve as both a thorough introduction to a topic and a useful desk reference for scholars and advanced students alike.

Critical Management Studies (CMS) has emerged as a movement that questions the authority and relevance of mainstream thinking and practice. Critical of established social practices and institutional arrangements, it challenges prevailing systems of domination and promotes the development of alternatives to them. CMS draws upon diverse critical traditions. Of particular importance for its initial articulation was the thinking of members of the Frankfurt School of Critical Theory. From these foundations, CMS has grown into a pluralistic and inclusive movement incorporating a diverse range of perspectives - ranging from labour process theory to radical feminism. In recent times, a set of ideas broadly labelled 'poststructuralist' have been developed to complement and challenge the insights of Critical Theory, giving new impetus for scholars seeking to challenge the status quo and articulate a more inclusive and humane future for management practice. The Oxford Handbook of Critical Management Studies provides an overview of theoretical approaches, key topics, issues, and subject specialisms in management studies, as well as a set of reflections on the progress and prospects of CMS. Contributors are all specialists in their respective fields and share a concern to interrogate and challenge received wisdom about management theory and practice. Given the rapid growth of the CMS movement, its ever increasing theoretical and geographical diversity, and its outreach into the public sphere, the Oxford Handbook of Critical Management Studies is a timely publication. In addition to UK contributors, where CMS has developed most rapidly, there is strong representation from North American contributors as well as from areas where CMS has taken hold more recently, such as Australasia.

'Critical Management Studies', or 'CMS', has emerged over the last ten years as the term to describe a diverse group of work that has adopted a critical or questioning approach to the traditional concerns of Management Studies. In this time, CMS has come to exert an increasing influence in Management and Management Studies, and while it has prompted fierce debate about its validity and use, there is no doubt that the rapidly growing interest in CMS has produced a vibrant and exciting body of work. Christopher Grey and Hugh Willmott, leading authorities in this area, have collected together seventeen readings which reflect these developments, and show why CMS has become an important field of research. The book is divided into four sections, 'Anticipating CMS', looking at some of the roots of CMS, 'Studying Management Critically', 'Critical Studies of Management', and 'Assessing CMS', examining some of the internal and external critical discussions of CMS. Each reading and its significance is introduced by the editors, and in their introduction to the Reader, they reflect more broadly on the history of CMS. In particular, they consider its institutionalization, both in terms of its becoming an identifiable body of work or approach, and its institutional context within business schools, and indeed what it means to produce a Reader of critical work. As an assessment of CMS, the Reader will be of interest to academics, researchers, and students of Management Studies. As an introduction to CMS, the book will prove invaluable to students taking courses requiring familiarity with the CMS literature. Includes work by: Paul S. Adler, Mats Alvesson, P. D. Anthony, James R. Barker, Loren Baritz, Stewart Clegg, Bill Cooke, Stanley Deetz, David Dunkerley, Christopher Grey, Heather Hopfl, David Knights, Richard Marsden, C Wright Mills, Martin Parker, Rosemary Pringle, Paul Thompson, Barbara Townley, Hugh Willmott, and Edward Wray-Bliss.

An understanding of identity is fundamental to a complete understanding of organizational life. While conventional management textbooks nod to in-groups, cohesion and discrimination, this text offers instead a deeper, more nuanced understanding of why people, groups and organizations behave the way they do. With conceptions of identity perhaps less stable than they have ever been, the authors make complex theoretical issues accessible to the reader through the use of lively examples from popular culture. The authors present an overview of the key issues, as well as an examination of cutting-edge research and topical forces currently re-defining identity, such as globalisation, the fair trade movement and online identities. This text is a succinct, relevant and exciting overview of the field of identity studies as it relates to business and management and applied social sciences, an is an invaluable resource to undergraduate and postgraduate students of management on any course that has an identity component.

This book provides a timely and original overview of the Dissolution of the Monasteries and its longer term affects on the social and physical landscape of England and Wales during the decades that followed. Combining for the first time the full wealth of archaeological evidence gathered over the last century with the established documentary sources, it takes a more nuanced approach to the understanding of an event that has polarised debates ever since the 16th century. The book examines the most immediate and destructive outcomes of the Dissolution, such the ruination and asset stripping of religious property and the dispersal of monastic lands. However, it also presents its longer term, albeit often unexpected, outcomes such as the creation of economic opportunities for individual entrepreneurs and civic authorities, the stimulation of new forms of polite architecture, and the development of previously unimagined leisure landscapes. It concludes that whilst the Dissolution had devastating impact upon those in religious orders, its lasting legacy was the remarkable preservation of the country's medieval Christian heritage through the monuments and archaeological sites that remain to this day in every area of the country. Whilst primarily focusing on archaeological material, the book also encompasses a range of diverse historical sources. It is aimed at students and scholars seeking an introduction to the main debates surrounding the Dissolution, as well as providing original in-depth case studies to illustrate these.

The Reengineering Revolution reviews the significance of the Business Process Reengineering trend for management practice since the early 1990's.

Combining empirical and theoretical perspectives, David Knights and Hugh Willmott show how both term and practice shaped the recent widely adopted policies of downsizing', restructuring and emphasis on process' rather than task.

Well-known contributors analyze the impact of Business Process Reengineering in a number of settings: supermarkets and the food chain; the public sector; banks.

The theoretical history of Business Process Reengineering is also detailed in relation to ideas about bureaucracy, hierarchy, transformation

Customer service is at the center of many recent changes in work and organizations and is often celebrated as being of benefit to all. This book explores the real nature of customer service from different critical perspectives drawing on a wide range of sectors internationally.

Issues around identity, agency and reflexivity are opened up and explored in a refreshing new perspective that deepens our understanding of organization and institutions. Body and Organization thorougly invigorates the study of process and brings the organization to three-dimensional life for a new generation of students and researchers.

"This is a useful contribution to the management literature and should be obligatory reading for management students." --Systems Practice "Alvesson and Willmott have compiled an interesting and provocative collection on the application of Critical Theory (CT) to the study of management and organization. . . . The editors manage to fulfil their promise of indicating what a critical analysis of management functions might look like." --Management Learning "A thought-provoking book for students and teachers in the field. . . . The topics are well chosen, and the contributors well-versed in their field." --Journal of the Operational Research Society "I enjoyed reading this book. To the credit of the editors, both its general conception and its implementation are excellent. Not only was their selection of authors adequate but also, it is apparent, they managed to get individual contributions well in line with the global purpose of the book. Each contribution succeeds in adding relevant insights and making apparent critical research issues. The authors show how management cannot be seen simply as a neutral, 'technical' function concerned with the production of certain goods and services. Rather it is highly complex and significant social phenomenon which can and should be the subject of serious examination. . . . This book is a must as a reader for students and practitioners of management sciences, operations research, and system sciences." --European Journal of Operational Research "This volume of essays arising from a conference held in England in 1990 offers a stimulating and, in some ways, biting commentary on the current status of management research. Whether one is easy or not with the stance taken by critical theorists, the authors certainly attempt a more interesting analysis of organizational management than is normally the case." --British Journal of Management "This text . . . aspires to provide a more focused, explicit and coherent representation of a 'critical theory' perspective on management that draws its ethical, ideological and intellectual inspiration from, mainly, Habermas and Foucault. In this respect the underlying rationale for this book is based on a highly ambitious intellectual project insofar as it attempts to pull together the highly diverse, not to say disparate, theoretical stands which go to make up 'critical theory' and to assess their interpretative and explanatory potential in the field of management and organization studies." --The Occupational Psychologist The first to bring an integrated critical approach to the study of management and organizations, Critical Management Studies draws on a wide range of influential contemporary movements in the social sciences. The contributors provide a critically-oriented overview of management studies in the following areas: organization theory, organizational behavior, marketing, accounting, information systems, and operational research. They offer a state-of-the-art report on those areas which are currently most influenced by critical theory and discuss its relevance for practitioners. Key issues addressed include the relations between power, discursive practices, and conflict suppression in the modern corporation; the construction of pleasure as a potentially subversive force in organizational life; the double-edged role of a critical social science for managers; and doing critical management research. Critical Management Studies will interest academics and students in management and organization studies.

`The authors bring a spark of vitality and life to an area that could be cynically viewed as a series of conflicting fads and fashions....I would recommend anyone in the process of reviewing or designing an entrepreneurship development course to consider the benefits that this book would bring to the teaching process' - Entrepreneurship and Innovation

`Using fiction in the classroom as an approach to stimulating the study of people in organizations is well-established. What this book contributes is a way of exploring some of the existential elements of life in organizations, which are typically difficult to study. It will be on my reading lists. Hopefully, this example, and regrettably few others which exist, will contribute in the long term to the reformulation of how the lived experience of organizational life may be explored in the classroom' - Leadership & Organization Development Journal

Based on courses taught by the authors over many years, this innovative text is a lively and accessible analysis of people at work and the problems they have to confront. The student is introduced to a range of key themes in management such as: power and identity; consumption and bureaucracy; rational choice and meaning all through the medium of characters and situations in contemporary literature.

The clear theoretical framework, supported by footnotes, summaries and further reading guides, makes this an introduction to management the student will find useful as well as enjoyable.

From Marxist labour process theory, to radical structuralism and postmodernism, the sheer volume and growing diversity of work placed under the umbrella of critical management studies has increased exponentially in the last 50 years, culminating in its own international conference and division in the Academy of Management, and with it recognition as a significant and hotly contested territory on the landscape of business and management. Mats Alvesson and Hugh Willmott are two of the founding fathers of modern critical management studies, and with this collection guide the reader through the theoretical schools that have been seminal to the critical examination of the culture, subjectivity and meanings of management studies. As well as offering the last word on critical management studies of the last century, this collection offers a selection of more recently published work that will set the agenda in the years to come. Volume One: Critical Management Studies: Overviews, Origins, Developments and Debates: incorporates classic works and broad reviews of the field. Volume Two: Critical Organization Studies: provides examples of the wide variety of critical approaches in management studies. Volume Three: Management Subspecialisms: presents key critical contributions to specific areas of management, such as accounting, human resource management and strategy. Volume Four: Debates, (Self)Critiques and Reflexivity: covers the topical present and future of critical management studies, from knowledge management to gender and diversity.

Comprehensively encompassing all topics within the area of organizational analysis, this book provides key readings which complement the study of organizations and organizational theory. David Knights and Hugh Willmott's carefully chosen readings are always thought-provoking and occasionally controversial. Classic articles as well as more recent pieces are included. As a whole, this book reflects the significant shifts emerging in organization theory today and will help familiarise the student with the competing paradigms central to the study of organizations. Subjects covered include traditional topics such as leadership, strategy and human resource management, as well as emergent areas such as consumption, diversity, environment and globalization. Organizational Analysis will help students learn how to critically analyse original sources and will expand their knowledge of the subject. It is an ideal point of reference for further reading. A complete list of contributors to the essential readings is available at www.cengage.co.uk/knights.