
Beyond Rationality in Organization and Management
Routledge (Publisher)
1st Edition
Published on 11. June 2019
Book
Hardback
106 pages
978-0-367-23393-8 (ISBN)
Description
Spanning the 20th and 21st centuries, the writers considered in this first book of the Routledge Focus on Women Writers in Organization Studies series make an important contribution to how we think about rationality in managing, leading and working. It provides a space in which to think differently about rationality, challenging dominant masculine logics while positioning relations between people centre stage.
A critical and intellectually provocative text, the book provides a nuanced and practical account of rationality in organizational contexts, making it clear that women have and continue to write groundbreaking work on the subject: women like Lillian Moller Gilbreth, who was at the forefront of developments in scientific management, and Frances Perkins, who was the first female US cabinet secretary. Both are important not only for what they achieved but also as illustrations of the ways in which women have been written out of the accounts of managing and management thought. This matters not only because credit is denied to those who deserve it, but also because it impoverishes our understanding of complex organisational phenomenon. Where so much extant writing on managing and organizing is preoccupied with abstract notions of structure, strategy, metaphor and machines, the writers considered here explain why effective working and managing is primarily about seeing and working with people. Writers such as Arlie Hochschild, Mary Parker Follett and Heather Hoepfl remind us that rationality cannot be decoupled from emotion or, where a system is to be rationalised, then it should start with and enhance the lives of people - be designed with people at the centre. In this sense, the book is not arguing for a wholesale rejection of rationality. Rather, authors call on readers to move beyond a preoccupation with rationality for its own sake, seeing it instead as a useful and highly contestable aspect of organizational life.
Each woman writer is introduced and analysed by an expert in their field. Further reading and accessible resources are also identified for those interested in knowing more. This book will be relevant to students, researchers and practitioners with an interest in business and management, organizational studies, critical management studies, gender studies and sociology. Like all the books in this series, it will also be of interest to anyone who wants to see, think and act differently.
A critical and intellectually provocative text, the book provides a nuanced and practical account of rationality in organizational contexts, making it clear that women have and continue to write groundbreaking work on the subject: women like Lillian Moller Gilbreth, who was at the forefront of developments in scientific management, and Frances Perkins, who was the first female US cabinet secretary. Both are important not only for what they achieved but also as illustrations of the ways in which women have been written out of the accounts of managing and management thought. This matters not only because credit is denied to those who deserve it, but also because it impoverishes our understanding of complex organisational phenomenon. Where so much extant writing on managing and organizing is preoccupied with abstract notions of structure, strategy, metaphor and machines, the writers considered here explain why effective working and managing is primarily about seeing and working with people. Writers such as Arlie Hochschild, Mary Parker Follett and Heather Hoepfl remind us that rationality cannot be decoupled from emotion or, where a system is to be rationalised, then it should start with and enhance the lives of people - be designed with people at the centre. In this sense, the book is not arguing for a wholesale rejection of rationality. Rather, authors call on readers to move beyond a preoccupation with rationality for its own sake, seeing it instead as a useful and highly contestable aspect of organizational life.
Each woman writer is introduced and analysed by an expert in their field. Further reading and accessible resources are also identified for those interested in knowing more. This book will be relevant to students, researchers and practitioners with an interest in business and management, organizational studies, critical management studies, gender studies and sociology. Like all the books in this series, it will also be of interest to anyone who wants to see, think and act differently.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
4 s/w Abbildungen, 4 s/w Photographien bzw. Rasterbilder
4 Halftones, black and white; 4 Illustrations, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 222 mm
Width: 145 mm
Thickness: 10 mm
Weight
275 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-367-23393-8 (9780367233938)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Robert McMurray | Alison Pullen
Beyond Rationality in Organization and Management
Book
12/2021
1st Edition
Routledge
€35.70
Shipment within 10-20 days

Robert McMurray | Alison Pullen
Beyond Rationality in Organization and Management
E-Book
05/2019
1st Edition
Routledge
€31.49
Available for download

Robert McMurray | Alison Pullen
Beyond Rationality in Organization and Management
E-Book
05/2019
1st Edition
Routledge
€31.49
Available for download
Persons
Robert McMurray is Professor of Work and Organization at The York Management School, UK. Research interests include the organization of health care, professions, emotion labour, dirty work and visual methods. Other collaborative book projects include The Dark Side of Emotional Labour (2015) The Management of Wicked Problems in Health and Social Care (2018) and Urban Portraits (2017).
Alison Pullen is Professor of Management and Organization Studies at Macquarie University, Australia, and Editor in Chief of Gender, Work and Organization. Alison's research has been concerned with analysing and intervening in the politics of work as it concerns gender discrimination, identity politics and organizational injustice.
Alison Pullen is Professor of Management and Organization Studies at Macquarie University, Australia, and Editor in Chief of Gender, Work and Organization. Alison's research has been concerned with analysing and intervening in the politics of work as it concerns gender discrimination, identity politics and organizational injustice.
Content
Series note, Notes on contributors, 1. Introduction: beyond rationality, Robert McMurray & Alison Pullen, 2. Unbounded Relationality: Mary Parker Follett's Integrative Theory, Method, and Life, Ellen O'Connor, 3. Arlie Russell Hochschild, Jenna Ward, 4. Lillian Moller Gilbreth, Scott Lawley & Valerie Caven, 5. The inspirations of Heather Hoepfl: Taking heart from radical humanism, Achilleas Karayiannis & Monika Kostera, 6. Discursive Writing, Representations of the Past and Gender: Writing Frances Perkins out of Management and Organizational Studies, Kristin S Williams & Albert J Mills, Index