False binaries in management history, and the scope for a postcolonial project

Srinivas, Nidhi

doi:10.1108/jmh-08-2020-0050

Cited by 9 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…The first part identifies March's work on organizational behaviour and decision-making as an enduring concern with a cascading set of three paradoxes that beset modern organizations, leaders and those who work within them, namely, a paradox of rationality; a paradox of performance; and a paradox of meaning. This part of the framework answers appeals for greater attention to paradox in historical studies (Clegg et al, 2021), extends the historical analysis of the contributions to paradox studies of figures such as Mary Parker Follett and Douglass North (Bruce and von Staden, 2017;Eylon, 1998) and contributes to reflexive thinking about the history and future of modernization and modernity (Bowden, 2016;Seifried and Novicevic, 2017;Srinivas, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 89%

James March and the poetry of leadership

Badham

2021

JMH

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Purpose Taking issue with the predominance of reviews of James March’s writings that focus on his technical contributions to organizational studies, this study aims to emphasize the central significance and contemporary relevance of his critical reflections on the meaning of life and work in modern organizations. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses a novel framework illustrated by extensive original quotations for capturing and making more accessible March’s profound contribution to organization studies. His work on organizational behaviour and decision-making is viewed as identifying and grappling with three key paradoxes of modernity: of rationality, performance and meaning. His prescriptions on how to handle and address these paradoxes are explored through a focus on his reflections on the poetry of leadership. Findings Whilst March himself emphasized that not all of his insights can be captured in an article level overview, March, his collaborator Olsen and others who worked with and studied under him have confirmed the accuracy of the review and the value of the enterprise. Practical implications Capturing March’s advocacy of sensible foolishness and playful seriousness in the face of ambiguity, uncertainty and contestation hopefully contribute to enhancing practitioners’ “lightness of being” in coping with and finding meaning in challenging environments. Originality/value Through the range of ideas covered, the framework used and the extensive use of March’s own worlds, the study, hopefully, communicates the depth and richness of March’s humanitarian enterprise and the “playfully serious spirit” that he advocates and exemplifies – in a way that is often omitted from narrower, more technical and somewhat dry treatments of his work.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 89%

James March and the poetry of leadership

Badham

2021

JMH

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“…The implication of adopting presentist and universal perspectives is that one history can become imposed on collectives whose heritage and worldview are at odds with the dominant version. This circumstance leads to a collective adopting of a disenfranchising or even constraining way of knowing the past (Jones et al , 2012; Srinivas, 2021; Verhoef, 2021).…”

Section: Reflections On the Shape Of The History Of Management Thoughtmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Evolution of Management Thought: reflections on narrative structure

Weatherbee

Durepos²

2022

JMH

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Purpose This paper aims to problematize the dominant narrative forms of disciplinary histories of management thought. Specifically, the authors explore the narrative mode of emplotment used in Wren’s (and later Wren and Bedeian’s) 50-year encyclical on the history of management thought, namely, the The evolution of management thought (EMT). Design/methodology/approach The authors propose that management histories operate as powerful narratives that shape our understanding of management thought and, consequently, our disciplinary futures. This paper explores the textual narrative of EMT. Additional data are drawn from other scholars’ observations of this text. This paper is positioned in the debates of management history. Findings While acknowledging the wealth of historical facts in EMT, the authors argue that the umbrella narrative orders events of the past in such a manner that the historical knowledge follows a form of Darwinian evolutionism. Thus, the narrative leads to problematic representations suffering from progressivism, presentism and universalism. Research limitations/implications Disciplinary scholars in management and organization studies need to carefully reflect on how we construct our representations of the past and histories. This will allow us to better craft transparent and reflexive histories. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first to propose a remedy, albeit a partial remedy, which we believe is needed to avoid adverse epistemological consequences associated with the use of problematic narratives in management and organizational histories.

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“…Management education is generally understood to have emerged in tandem with modern industrialization in the West in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, subsequently diffusing into the rest of the world (St. John, 1986;Bowden, 2018). In the postcolonial nations, however, this emergence happened in the midst of the colonial encounter when the factory system gradually replaced the home-based cottage enterprises and capitalism replaced feudalism (Srinivas, 2020). History informs us that from the sixteenth century onwards, the most potent form of work and organization was the colonial institution of slavery.…”

Section: Iqbal and Management Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reversing the colonial warp in education: a decolonial encounter with Muhammad Iqbal

Ul-Haq

2021

High Educ

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In this paper, I study management and business education in Pakistan to evaluate their suitability for the local context and their compatibility with Islamic philosophy of education. I use decolonial theory and Iqbalian poetry to craft an evaluative lens for management education and to generate an alternative critical discourse grounded in theology. I found that utilitarianism and managerialism taught in the business schools is creating "captive minds" and is not compatible with traditional Pakistani norms and values. I use decolonial theorists' idea of pluriversality to offer an alternative. In this manner, I contribute to the critical educational philosophy by showing its parochial character. I argue that addressing the legacy of colonialism is important to develop an emancipatory and new way of thinking about education.

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False binaries in management history, and the scope for a postcolonial project

Cited by 9 publications

References 22 publications

James March and the poetry of leadership

James March and the poetry of leadership

The Evolution of Management Thought: reflections on narrative structure

Reversing the colonial warp in education: a decolonial encounter with Muhammad Iqbal

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