Mats Alvesson

Kaj Sköldberg

In their overview of the problems of reflexivity and interpretation, Mats Alvesson and Kaj Sk[um]oldberg have provided an invaluable guide to this central aspect of research methodology. The authors review the major intellectual streams; discuss the development of a reflexive methodology; and show how culture, language, selective perception, and ideology all, in complicated ways, permeate scientific activity. They make explicit the links between techniques used in empirical research and different research traditions, making possible a theoretically informed approach to qualitative research.

New Vistas for Qualitative Research

Reflexive Methodology

André Spicer

Functional stupidity can be catastrophic. It can cause organisational collapse, financial meltdown and technical disaster. And there are countless, more everyday examples of organisations accepting the dubious, the absurd and the downright idiotic, from unsustainable management fads to the cult of leadership or an over-reliance on brand and image. And yet a dose of stupidity can be useful and produce good, short-term results: it can nurture harmony, encourage people to get on with the job and drive success. This is the stupidity paradox. The Stupidity Paradox tackles head-on the pros and cons of functional stupidity. You'll discover what makes a workplace mindless, why being stupid might be a good thing in the short term but a disaster in the longer term, and how to make your workplace a little less stupid by challenging thoughtless conformity. It shows how harmony and action in the workplace can be balanced with a culture of questioning and challenge. The book is a wake-up call for smart organisations and smarter people. It encourages us to use our intelligence fully for the sake of personal satisfaction, organisational success and the flourishing of society as a whole.

The Power and Pitfalls of Functional Stupidity at Work

The Stupidity Paradox

Jorgen Sandberg

Doing Interesting Research

Constructing Research Questions

Interpreting interviews

Researchers conducting interviews in the social sciences quickly find that there is no single best way to approach their task. This text offers a critique of traditional interviewing practices and provides a framework for thinking about issues such as trustworthiness, identity and language in a conceptual rather than technical context, allowing you to develop your own reflexive practice. The research interview is in with the brick and mortar of qualitative research, and is one of the routine methods of obtaining knowledge of individuals, groups and organizations. Through the use of eight original metaphors drawing on trends in language, subject and discourse, this cutting-edge text will encourage you to question the interpretive nature and theoretical underpinnings not only of your interview method, but of the knowledge which is conveyed through it. This text is essential reading for postgraduate students of qualitative methods and researchers looking to more clearly conceptualise their interviewing practice and explore its theoretical basis.

Interpreting Interviews

Todd Bridgman

Hugh Willmott

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.

The Oxford Handbook of Critical Management Studies

Dan Karreman

Empirical data is one of the cornerstones of knowledge in the social sciences, and yet the researcher often takes it for granted, reserving his or her imaginative faculties for finding a theory that ′fits the data′. This revealing account of the theory-data relationship calls this faith in data into question and establishes a reflexive framework and vocabulary to explore the creative, political and philosophical elements of data production. Rather than thinking about the theory-data ′fit′, Alvesson and Karreman will encourage you to consider the research process as one of theory-data interplay, asking if creative empirical material can challenge established theory and inspire new lines of development, and if breakdowns and mysteries encountered in research can be a constructive rather than destructive process. They will encourage you to think critically about empirical data in terms of construction rather than verification, and most importantly they will encourage you to develop theory that is interesting and novel, rather than naive or irrelevant, making this title essential reading for those who often find the traditional vocabulary and frameworks of social science research obvious or simplistic.

Mystery as Method

Qualitative Research and Theory Development

The Limits and Shortcomings of Humanistic Organization Theory

Rationality, Ideology and Quality of Work

Organization Theory and Technocratic Consciousness

Electronic Inspection Copy available for instructors here The first edition of Making Sense of Management set out to provide a fresh perspective on management that was both broad and critical, exploring how the disruptive and constructive potential of critical theory can be realized in organizations. Along the way, it has proven to be a landmark contribution to critical management studies. As well as setting the agenda for current research, this revised edition has been written to appeal to a broader readership and open up critical theory for the general management student. New sections on HRM, brands, identity, ethics and leadership have been fully developed alongside the rest of the text to reflect the current state of play in critical management studies. The second edition of Making Sense of Management will be of interest to students and researchers in critical management studies and students on general management courses with a critical perspective.

A Critical Introduction

Making Sense of Management

Per O. Berg

An Overview

Corporate Culture and Organizational Symbolism

All researchers want to produce interesting and influential theories. A key step in all theory development is formulating innovative research questions that will result in interesting and significant research. Traditional textbooks on research methods tend to ignore, or gloss over, actual ways of constructing research questions. In this text, Alvesson and Sandberg develop a problematization methodology for identifying and challenging the assumptions underlying existing theories and for generating research questions that can lead to more interesting and influential theories, using examples from across the social sciences. Established methods of generating research questions in the social sciences tend to focus on 'gap-spotting', which means that existing literature remains largely unchallenged. The authors show the dangers of conventional approaches, providing detailed ideas for how one can work through such problems and formulate novel research questions that challenge existing theories and produce more imaginative empirical studies. Constructing Research Questions is essential reading for any researcher looking to formulate research questions that are interesting and novel.

Roland Paulsen

Yiannis Gabriel

This book argues that we are currently witnessing not merely a decline in the quality of social science research, but the proliferation of meaningless research, of no value to society, and modest value to its authors - apart from securing employment and promotion. The explosion of published outputs, at least in social science, creates a noisy, cluttered environment which makes meaningful research difficult, as different voices compete to capture the limelight even briefly. Older, more significant contributions are easily neglected, as the premium is to write and publish, not read and learn. The result is a widespread cynicism among academics on the value of academic research, sometimes including their own. Publishing comes to be seen as a game of hits and misses, devoid of intrinsic meaning and value, and of no wider social uses whatsoever. Academics do research in order to get published, not to say something socially meaningful. This is what we view as the rise of nonsense in academic research, which represents a serious social problem. It undermines the very point of social science. This problem is far from 'academic'. It affects many areas of social and political life entailing extensive waste of resources and inflated student fees as well as costs to tax-payers. Part two of the book offers a range of proposals aimed at restoring meaning at the heart of social research and drawing social science back address the major problems and issues that face our societies.

A Social Science with Something to Say

Return to Meaning

Electronic Inspection Copy available for instructors here 'With his usual engaging and inimitable style, Mats Alvesson takes the reader on a riveting journey through the diverse ways in which culture itself can be understood and how these powerfully inform organizational life.' - Blake E. Ashforth, Arizona State University 'Understanding Organizational Culture comunicates complex ideas in a manner that will illuminate for those who are less familiar with the concepts discussed, as well as providing a depth and critique of interest to those familiar with the topics.' - Claire Valentin, The University of Edinburgh Unlike prescriptive books about organizations, Understanding Organizational Culture challenges and provokes the reader to think critically. It provides an insight into organizational culture, aided by numerous empirical illustrations from ethnographic studies that develop and illustrate how cultural thinking can be used in managerial and non-managerial organizational theory and practice. Mats Alvesson answers questions of definition, explores alternative perspectives and exands on substantive issues, before discussing key issues of research and developing his framework. Further more, the advances in the field of organizational culture are synthesized for the reader by drawing upon the range of relevant literature within organization studies. Understanding Organizational Culture provides great breadth within a textbook approach - covering a wide spectrum of management and organization while at the same time developing a new theoretical approach to organizational culture. The new edition contains improved pedagogy and expanded coverage of topics such as identity and organizational change. It is essential reading for students taking undergraduate and postgraduate modules in Organizational Behaviour and Organizational Theory on Management and Organization Studies programmes, including MBA.

Understanding Organizational Culture

Lund University Mats Alvesson

Too often, studies of organizational culture are conceived from a management perspective, and deal largely with problems of leadership. This wide-ranging book offers, in contrast, a sophisticated overview of the various issues which a theory of organizational culture must address.

Cultural Perspectives on Organizations

Stefan Sveningsson

How is practical change work carried out in modern organizations? And what kind of challenges, tasks and other difficulties are normally encountered as a part of it? In a turbulent and changing world, organizational culture is often seen as central for sustained competitiveness. Organizations are faced with increased demands for change but these are often so challenging that they meet heavy resistance and fizzle out. Changing Organizational Culture encourages the development of a reflexive approach to organizational change, providing insights as to why it may be difficult to maintain momentum in change processes. Based around an illuminating case study of a cultural change programme, the book provides 15 lessons on the entire change journey; from analysis and design, to implementation and how organizational members should approach change projects. This enhanced edition considers the most recent studies on organizational change practice, with new examples from businesses and the public sector, and includes one empirical study which uses the authors’ own framework, enriching their practical recommendations. It also draws on the latest theoretical developments, including ideas of power and storytelling. Accompanying the text is an online pedagogic and research ideas guide available for course instructors and lecturers at Routledge.com. Changing Organizational Culture will be vital reading for students, researchers and practitioners working in organizational studies, change management and HRM.

Cultural Change Work in Progress

Changing Organizational Culture

År 1959 kom den brittiske marinhistorikern Northcote Parkinson ut med ett flertal lagar som beskriver den byråkrati som styr och sysselsätter oss på arbetsplatsen och som bl a förklarar hur sju anställda kan fås att utföra en persons arbete. Parkinsons kritik av den jäsande administrationen i större organisationer gjorde internationell succé. 60 år senare präglas vår tids organisationer och samhällsliv fortfarande av Parkinsons lagar, men mycket har också hänt. Regelverk och procedurer expanderar fortsatt men så gör också grandiosa anspråk, ett allt mer utbrett offer-tänkande och krav på att ha och uttrycka rätt åsikter. Vår tids människa och arbetsliv präglas av en märklig blandning av tjusighetsambitioner – med titelinflation, varumärkande, värdegrundsprat och fina framträden på sociala medier – och rädsla för allt möjligt – där farliga könsrelationer, stress, krav och risk för kränkningar gör folk nervösa och i behov av stöd. Allt oftare blir vad som lanseras som lösningar på problem i själva verket orsak till eller förstärkare av problem. Mats Alvesson, organisationsforskare och professor vid Lunds Universitet, beskriver åtta sociala lagar som utmärker vår ofta bisarra värld: lagen om att land ska med lag raseras, lagen om offerhierarkin, lagen om den krampaktiga godheten, lagen om tvungen hjälpsamhet, lagen om ballongsamhället, lagen om Ikarossyndromet, lagen om de lågt hängande frukterna och bumerang-lagen.

När samhälls- och människoförbättrandet slår tillbaka

Extra allt

Det finns oräkneliga vardagsexempel på organisationer som accepterar det tveksamma, det absurda och det helt idiotiska – allt från ohållbara management-trender till övertro på varumärke och image. Men en viss dos dumhet kan vara konstruktiv och ge goda kortsiktiga resultat: den kan uppmuntra folk att jobba på och ge drivkraft åt framgångar. Detta är dumhetsparadoxen. Dumhetsparadoxen utforskar den funktionella dumhetens för- och nackdelar. Upptäck vad som gör att ingen på en arbetsplats tänker självständigt eller hur du kan göra din arbetsplats mindre dum genom att utmana det tanklösa likformighet som ofta råder. Den är en väckarklocka för smarta organisationer och kloka människor som uppmanar oss att använda vår intelligens för att uppnå organisatorisk framgång och socialt välstånd.

Den funktionella dumhetens fördelar och fallgropar

Dumhetsparadoxen

Martin Blom

Lecturers/Instructors - Request a free digital inspection copy here Making a case for a reflexive approach to leadership, the authors draw upon decades of carrying out in-depth studies of professionals trying to “do” leadership. Through interviews with managers and their subordinates, getting a good understanding of organizational context, and critically interpreting their observations considering both leadership theories and a wealth of other perspectives, their celebration of reflexivity is used to question dominant leadership thinking. Considering and challenging various departures from lines of reasoning results in a book that draws upon rich empirical material and which has a number of new, provocative, critical and constructive ideas that help to develop sharper and more thoughtful thinking and practice - both in academic and practical contexts. Suitable for leadership and organisation courses at upper-level undergraduate and upwards (including MBA-classes and Executive Education) and a thought provoking read for practitioners and management development professionals interested in leadership thought.

Organising in an imperfect world

Reflexive Leadership

`An excellent source for graduate students, especially in the field of human resource development, who are exploring areas for future research of a critical nature' - Adult Education Quarterly Drawing upon a range of influential contemporary movements in the social sciences, primarily upon critical traditions, such as the Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School, this text provides a wide ranging analysis of management and its various specialisms. The book offers critical understandings of key areas of management theory and practice such as accounting, strategic management, marketing, business ethics and environmental management. It also examines the relations between power and discursive practices in the modern corporation; the role of architecture as a repressive and emancipatory force in organizations; gender and organizations and critical methodology for organizational research. Key issues of power/knowledge relations across these areas are addressed and new agendas both for these fields and for management studies as a whole are introduced. Contributing authors include: Mats Alvesson, Gibson Burrell, David Cooper, Karen Dale, Stan Deetz, Linda Forbes, John Forester, John Jermier, David Levy, Joanne Martin, Glenn Morgan, Martin Parker, Mike Power, Richard Loughlin and Hugh Willmott

Mats Alvesson

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