Written by outstanding scholars, the themes of this book cover a wide range of issues at the heart of the study of organizations. These include debates over the role of economics in strategic management research and the now classic exchanges between Jeff Pfeffer and John Van Maanen over the direction of organization science studies; discourses that describe, analyze and critique ways to represent and understand organizations, including a re-appraisal of Gibson Burrell and Gareth Morgan's seminal work on sociological paradigms of organizational analysis and views on (organizational) culture expressed by several leading writers on the topic; and dialogues on some quite radical or unusual `takes' on organizational life: the role of the tempered radical working inside the organization for fundamental change, the dilemmas facing individuals publishing qualitative research in mainstream journals, the implications of adopting a spiritual lens to the study of organizations and a discussion of ways we might better bridge the gap between academic thinking and business practice.
PART ONE: DEBATES IN ORGANIZATION SCIENCE Collaboration or Paradigm Shift? - Paul M Hirsch, Ray Friedman and Mitchell P Koza Caveat Emptor and the Risk of Romance with Economic Models for Strategy and Policy Research The Myth of a Monolithic Economics - William S Hesterly and Todd Zenger Fundamental Assumptions and the Use of Economic Models in Policy and Strategy Research Barriers to the Advance of Organization Science - Jeffrey Pfeffer Paradigm Development as a Dependent Variable Style as Theory - John Van Maanen Mortality Reproducibility and the Persistence of Styles of Theory - Jeffrey Pfeffer Fear and Loathing in Organization Studies - John Van Maanen PART TWO: DISCOURSES ABOUT ORGANIZATION SCIENCE Two Dimensions - Gibson Burrell and Gareth Morgan Four Paradigms Describing Differences in Approaches to Organization Science - Stanley Deetz Rethinking Burrell and Morgan and Their Legacy From Quicksand to Crossroads - Walter R Nord and Ann F Connell An Agnostic Perspective on Conversation Organizational Performance as a Dependent Variable - James March and Robert Sutton Writing Organizational Tales - Dvora Yanow et al Four Authors and Their Stories about Culture Critical Issues in Organization Science - John M Jermier and Stewart R Clegg A Dialogue (Part One) PART THREE: DIALOGUES AND DIRECTIONS Tempered Radicalism and the Politics of Ambivalence and Change - Debra Meyerson and Maureen Scully The Virtues of Closet Qualitative Research - Robert I Sutton Critical Issues in Organization Science - John M Jermier and Stewart R Clegg A Dialogue (Part Two) "Soul Work" in Organizations - Philip H Mirvis Bridging Academia and Business A Conversation with Steve Kerr PART FOUR: CONCLUSION
