John Hassard - Böcker

What would the world of work look like if interpreted through the lens of the fairytale? To answer this question Once Upon a Time in Facilities Management explores storied spaces and metaphorical archetypes in the study of business, management, and organization. At its core, the authors offer a diagnostic approach for the study of work organization that links management theory, storytelling, and the business imaginary. An important empirical focus is also included that explores a business service rarely studied in the management literature: Facilities Management (FM), a 'secondary service' of non-core and increasingly outsourced organizational functions. An in-depth appreciation of FM is provided that assesses the people, practices, and processes of the service in a study that also highlights the characteristic liminality of the sector's professional activities.Emphasis is placed on illuminating the storytelling nature of the service, using primarily the genre of fairytales to identify representational archetypes (including queen, shadow, sage, trickster, adventurer, and eternal child) within FM's storied space. In the process, three central characters (essentially modes of FM delivery) are identified - the professional consultant, the external service provider, and the in-house function - with these forming the structural basis of fairytales explaining the culture and symbolism of FM as a business service. The authors conclude by extrapolating findings from the study to inform a discussion of the contributions of folkloric analysis to organization theory explicitly and our understanding of business and management practice more widely.

The literature on management and organization studies suggests the time is right for a focus on 'care and compassion'. The aim of this book is to answer this call by examining the cultural changes found within a particular 'compassionate organization' - an English hospice - from its altruistic beginnings to the more professionalized culture of today.The study seeks to understand how its members identify or fail to identify with an organization where issues of life and death take centre stage and explores some of the problems the hospice faces regarding its representation in society. These strands are then drawn together to consider the interrelationships between culture, identity, and image in the organization. An ethnographic approach, including participant observation, extended interviews, and group meetings, was used to study this organization over a period of almost two years. This enabled the production of a nuanced, sensitive, and holistic interpretation of the case study hospice as inferred from the views of both insiders and outsiders. The findings shed new light on the literature in management studies by proposing a view of culture as a sense-making context that facilitates group socialization underpinning a sense of personal and organizational identity. The study suggests a link between culture and group identification, making discussions about culture almost inseparable from those around identity. With regard to identity and image however the study suggests a dynamic and iterative relationship with a continuous flow between interpretation and reinterpretation influenced by the all-pervading cultural context.

The volume traces distinct traditions of time analysis in social science and uses these to explain, for example, the development of capitalist time-consciousness, the ways we structure time in organizations and institutions, and how our time perceptions change in line with changes in culture.

Until now, research has given us only a limited understanding of how managers actually make sense of and apply management knowledge; how networks of interaction amongst managers help or hinder processes of knowledge diffusion and the sharing of best practice; and how these processes are all influenced both by the organisations in which managers act and by the professional communities of practice they belong to. Managing Modern Healthcare fills these important gaps in our understanding by drawing upon an in-depth study of management networks and practice in three healthcare organisations in the UK. It draws from the primary research a number of important and grounded lessons about how management networks develop and influence the spread of management knowledge and practice; how management training and development relates to the needs of managers facing challenging conditions; and how those conditions are themselves shaping the nature of management in healthcare.This book reveals how managers in practice are responding to the many contemporary challenges facing healthcare (and the NHS in particular) and how they are able or not to effectively exploit sources of knowledge, learning and best practice through the networks of practice they engage in to improve healthcare delivery and healthcare organisational performance. Managing Modern Healthcare makes a number of important theoretical contributions as well as practical recommendations. The theoretical and empirical contributions the book makes relate to wider work on networks and networking, management knowledge, situated learning/communities of practice, professionalization/professional identity and healthcare management more generally. The practical contribution comes in the form of recommendations for healthcare management practitioners and policy makers that are intended to impact upon and help enhance healthcare management delivery and performance.

The Theory and Philosophy of Organizations makes a major contribution to the debate on the status of organizational theory as a discipline. The volume is divided into three sections exploring issues under the headings `theory', `anasis' and `philosophy'. In each, the limitations of `traditional' or `scientific' organizational paradigms are illuminated and new forms of interpretation offered.

R&D Decisions, Strategy, Policy and Innovations explores how research and development decisions affect all of us. They are linked inextricably to the performance of firms and of economics as a whole. Their importance means that they are of concern to a large number of practitioners, policy-makers and researchers. This book demonstrates the range of issues and perspectives which R&D can encompass and at the same time brings out the elements which unite them.The papers in this book are organized into three main sections:* Strategy and Organization explores the importance of R&D and of the structures and strategies of individual organizations. The emerging 'core competence paradigm' is especially noted.* Policy and Performance looks at what new thinking on R&D more generally implies for government policy and the performance of industries, regions and economies.* Disclosure and the Market examines issues raised by changing regulations on the disclosure of R&D expenditure.

The body occupies a prime position in contemporary theoretical work, yet still there is no consensus on exactly what it is and what constitutes it. Contested Bodies brings together a number of different accounts and perspectives on the body, drawing out some of the key connections and disjunctures from this most contested of topics. This volume features fresh and fascinating contributions from some of the leading thinkers and upcoming theorists in the field. Themes that run through the work include:* the place of the body in theory* the notion of labour in the production of bodies * the transformative potential of bodies on spaces.Grounded in real life experience and examples, this key text will be a valuable reference for undergraduates of sociology and gender studies.

The body occupies a prime position in contemporary theoretical work, yet still there is no consensus on exactly what it is and what constitutes it. Contested Bodies brings together a number of different accounts and perspectives on the body, drawing out some of the key connections and disjunctures from this most contested of topics. This volume features fresh and fascinating contributions from some of the leading thinkers and upcoming theorists in the field. Themes that run through the work include:* the place of the body in theory* the notion of labour in the production of bodies * the transformative potential of bodies on spaces.Grounded in real life experience and examples, this key text will be a valuable reference for undergraduates of sociology and gender studies.

Based on extensive original research, this book provides a comprehensive overview of the current status of state enterprise reform in China. Chinese State Enterprise Reform considers the relationship between public ownership and public enterprises, and the historical evolution of China's economic reform programme since 1978, including assessments of the Contrast Responsiblity System, which operated from the early 1980s to the early 1990s, and the Group Company Experiments, which began in the 1990s. It discusses the relations between workers, managers, and the state in post-Dengist China, the implications of the reform programme for human resources management in state enterprises, the nature of labour representation, and organization under tate capitalism and the problems of surplus labour and reemployment.

Organizational analysis has moved in a number of directions since its origins in mainstream theories of positivism and functionalism. This challenging book sets out an alternative agenda for the field, discussing existing critical discourses, whilst exploring a selection of emerging ideas and arguments. Addressing a series of key epistemological, conceptual and methodological issues, Disorganization Theory is designed to encourage reflexive thinking on the part of the reader. Influenced by critical philosophies of deconstruction and discourse, the book not only offers insight into established debates surrounding, for example, postmodernism and actor-network theory, but also brings forth new insights in the field: mimesis, consumption, retrospection, decoration, governmentality, and fluidity theories are all discussed.Written by an international team of leading organizational theorists, this book is an important and contentious addition to the literature. It is an ideal companion for students and researchers working in the fields of advanced organization and management theory, and critical management studies.

Organizational analysis has moved in a number of directions since its origins in mainstream theories of positivism and functionalism. This challenging book sets out an alternative agenda for the field, discussing existing critical discourses, whilst exploring a selection of emerging ideas and arguments. Addressing a series of key epistemological, conceptual and methodological issues, Disorganization Theory is designed to encourage reflexive thinking on the part of the reader. Influenced by critical philosophies of deconstruction and discourse, the book not only offers insight into established debates surrounding, for example, postmodernism and actor-network theory, but also brings forth new insights in the field: mimesis, consumption, retrospection, decoration, governmentality, and fluidity theories are all discussed.Written by an international team of leading organizational theorists, this book is an important and contentious addition to the literature. It is an ideal companion for students and researchers working in the fields of advanced organization and management theory, and critical management studies.

Critical approaches to leadership studies have sought to challenge the normative position of leadership as residing solely within the formal leader and have gone as far as to undermine the traditionally held assumption of leadership as a "real" phenomenon. The book offers a critical account of the nature of leadership and management in modern organizations. Specifically it examines the forces that affect the influence relationships between leaders and followers in public sector organizational settings and thus, how these relationships inform social influence processes. Although the book focuses on the case of a public sector organization in the UK, the findings are placed in the context of both leadership theory and research across the globe and the dissemination of 'new public management' worldwide.By acknowledging the criticisms concerning the weaknesses of conventional or mainstream leadership study and through the adoption of a critical perspective, Critical Leadership provides a deep and rich interpretation of the empirical material on leadership, thus making an outstanding contribution to the current literature.

Organizations change. They grow, they adapt, they evolve. The effects of organizational change are important, varied and complex and analyzing and understanding them is vital for students, academics and researchers in all business schools. The Routledge Companion to Organizational Change offers a comprehensive and authoritative overview of the field. The volume brings together the very best contributors not only from the field of organizational change, but also from adjacent fields, such as strategy and leadership. These contributors offer fresh and challenging insights to the mainstream themes of this discipline.Surveying the state of the discipline and introducing new, cutting-edge themes, this book is a valuable reference source for students and academics in this area.

Based on extensive original research, this book provides a comprehensive overview of the current status of state enterprise reform in China. Chinese State Enterprise Reform considers the relationship between public ownership and public enterprises, and the historical evolution of China's economic reform programme since 1978, including assessments of the Contrast Responsiblity System, which operated from the early 1980s to the early 1990s, and the Group Company Experiments, which began in the 1990s. It discusses the relations between workers, managers, and the state in post-Dengist China, the implications of the reform programme for human resources management in state enterprises, the nature of labour representation, and organization under tate capitalism and the problems of surplus labour and reemployment.

In recent years, widespread organisational change in large corporations has almost invariably led to work intensification and increased stress for managers. Managing in the Modern Corporation explains how and why large companies have changed their organisational structures and philosophies, focusing in particular on how these changes affect the careers of middle managers. Based on in-depth interviews with over two hundred middle and senior managers working in large corporations in the USA, UK and Japan, it shows how the working lives of managers have been subjected to major disruption, involving work intensification and reduced opportunities for career progression. Furthermore, it argues that such widespread overwork and poor treatment of highly skilled and highly motivated staff has created a major international problem that must be addressed. The book presents a range of solutions to this important problem, suggesting that there are possibilities for saner, less brutal organisational environments.

It has been claimed that organisation theory is in a state of 'crisis'. This book traces the history of the orthodox systems theory paradigm in organisation studies from its foundations in positivist sociology, through its theoretical and empirical development under structural-functionalism, to its recent deconstruction by postmodernists. The analysis offers general support for the 'sociology-in-crisis' thesis, but takes issue with one of its main propositions, that paradigms are incommensurable. It is argued that paradigms are porous rather than hermetic phenomena, a fact which has profound implications for the theory building process. Based on language-game philosophy, a dialectical theory is developed to illustrate how seemingly exclusive idioms can be mediated. The enquiry provides a pluri-paradigm method for organisational research, and an epistemological framework for postmodern organisational analysis.

In recent years, widespread organisational change in large corporations has almost invariably led to work intensification and increased stress for managers. Managing in the Modern Corporation explains how and why large companies have changed their organisational structures and philosophies, focusing in particular on how these changes affect the careers of middle managers. Based on in-depth interviews with over two hundred middle and senior managers working in large corporations in the USA, UK and Japan, it shows how the working lives of managers have been subjected to major disruption, involving work intensification and reduced opportunities for career progression. Furthermore, it argues that such widespread overwork and poor treatment of highly skilled and highly motivated staff has created a major international problem that must be addressed. The book presents a range of solutions to this important problem, suggesting that there are possibilities for saner, less brutal organisational environments.

The representation of organizations and working life in the popular media signifies, but also helps shape, contemporary practice and institutions. Organization-Representation unravels the complex social relationship between organization and its representation, offering new insights into the interaction between the popular images we create and receive, and the power relations that govern society, working life and culture.

Representations in Hollywood movies, ethnographic and documentary films, children's literature and the popular and `quality' press replicate the power structures they supposedly describe and consequently help shape contemporary realities. This volume offers rich insights into the relations between culture, power and work. It goes beyond such purely ontological questions to show convincingly that a critical analysis of the relationship between popular culture and the nature of organizational life enhances our understanding of both.

The representation of organizations and working life in the popular media signifies, but also helps shape, contemporary practice and institutions. Organization-Representation unravels the complex social relationship between organization and its representation, offering new insights into the interaction between the popular images we create and receive, and the power relations that govern society, working life and culture.

Representations in Hollywood movies, ethnographic and documentary films, children's literature and the popular and `quality' press replicate the power structures they supposedly describe and consequently help shape contemporary realities. This volume offers rich insights into the relations between culture, power and work. It goes beyond such purely ontological questions to show convincingly that a critical analysis of the relationship between popular culture and the nature of organizational life enhances our understanding of both.

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.

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.

Essential reading for all those concerned with contemporary theorizing of organization, this important and thought-provoking volume explores the implications of postmodernist/poststructuralist thinking for organizations and organizational analysis.

The book introduces the concepts underpinning a postmodern organizational analysis, contrasting modern and postmodern forms of explanation and addressing the distinctions between postmodernity and postmodernism. Succeeding chapters then examine and assess the interplay of major postmodernist themes - such as deconstruction, desire, difference, pluralism and relativism - with key topics of organizational analysis and research. The final section is one of critique, as its authors variously argue that postmodernism fails adequately to address the realities of power, control and change in a globalizing world.

Existing narratives about how we should organize are built upon, and reinforce, a concept of 'good management' derived from what is assumed to be a fundamental need to increase efficiency. But this assumption is based on a presentist, monocultural, and generally limited view of management's past. A New History of Management disputes these foundations. By reassessing conventional perspectives on past management theories and providing a new critical outline of present-day management, it highlights alternative conceptions of 'good management' focused on ethical aims, sustainability, and alternative views of good practice. From this new historical perspective, existing assumptions can be countered and simplistic views disputed, offering a platform from which graduate students, researchers, and reflective practitioners can develop alternative approaches for managing and organizing in the twenty-first century.

The Theory and Philosophy of Organizations makes a major contribution to the debate on the status of organizational theory as a discipline. The volume is divided into three sections exploring issues under the headings `theory', `anasis' and `philosophy'. In each, the limitations of `traditional' or `scientific' organizational paradigms are illuminated and new forms of interpretation offered.

First published in 1994, the essays collected in this book explore the impact and current status of the ideas put forth in David Silverman’s The Theory of Organizations, and how they relate to future directions in organization theory. After opening with a chapter by Silverman himself, the subsequent chapters investigate key issues in the study of organizations, including structure and agency, the politics of organization theory, and the meanings of post-positivist organizational analysis. Contemporaneous debates on postmodernism, the emotions, gender and structuration are discussed in the context of the development of organizational theory in the preceding twenty-five years — providing insights into the continuities within organizational theory and provoking thought about future directions.

First published in 1994, the essays collected in this book explore the impact and current status of the ideas put forth in David Silverman’s The Theory of Organizations, and how they relate to future directions in organization theory. After opening with a chapter by Silverman himself, the subsequent chapters investigate key issues in the study of organizations, including structure and agency, the politics of organization theory, and the meanings of post-positivist organizational analysis. Contemporaneous debates on postmodernism, the emotions, gender and structuration are discussed in the context of the development of organizational theory in the preceding twenty-five years — providing insights into the continuities within organizational theory and provoking thought about future directions.

In this book, first published in 1989, the authors have sought to highlight some of the major themes in the study of time and work within separate but related fields of study. A number of common starting points and issues are examined, alongside the various conclusions which different researchers have drawn together. Working together, the four authors have enriched their individual understanding of worktime through exposure to approaches taken by others working within different discipline boundaries. This title will be of interest to students of business studies.

In this book, first published in 1989, the authors have sought to highlight some of the major themes in the study of time and work within separate but related fields of study. A number of common starting points and issues are examined, alongside the various conclusions which different researchers have drawn together. Working together, the four authors have enriched their individual understanding of worktime through exposure to approaches taken by others working within different discipline boundaries. This title will be of interest to students of business studies.

Organizations change. They grow, they adapt, they evolve. The effects of organizational change are important, varied and complex and analyzing and understanding them is vital for students, academics and researchers in all business schools. The Routledge Companion to Organizational Change offers a comprehensive and authoritative overview of the field. The volume brings together the very best contributors not only from the field of organizational change, but also from adjacent fields, such as strategy and leadership. These contributors offer fresh and challenging insights to the mainstream themes of this discipline.Surveying the state of the discipline and introducing new, cutting-edge themes, this book is a valuable reference source for students and academics in this area.