Critical management studies
Encyclopedia
Critical management studies (CMS) is a loose but extensive grouping of politically left wing and theoretically informed critiques of management
, business and organisation, grounded originally in a critical theory
perspective. Today it encompasses a wide range of perspectives that are critical of traditional theories of management and the business schools that generate these theories.
and post-structuralist writings, but has since developed in more diverse directions.
A dominant narrative within CMS is that perhaps the most important development in its stimulation was the global expansion of business schools, an American invention, especially in Europe. Decreases in state funding, so the narrative has it, for social sciences and increases in funding for business schools during the 1980s resulted in many academics with graduate training in sociology
, history
, philosophy
, psychology
and other social sciences ending up with jobs "training managers". However, what business schools are or should do has always been debated.
These academics brought different theoretical tools and political perspectives into business schools. They began to question the politics of managerialism and to link the techniques of management to neo-liberalism. These new voices drew on the Frankfurt School
of critical theory, and the work of Michel Foucault
, Jacques Derrida
and Gilles Deleuze
. Later Feminism
, queer theory
, post-colonial theory, anarchism
, ecological philosophies, and radical democratic theory also had some influence. (See Alvesson and Willmott 2003 for a survey of the field.)
The roots of CMS also came from a series of UK Labour Process Conferences that began in 1983 and reflected the impact of Braverman
's (1974) attempt to make Marxist categories central to understanding work organisations. Industrial relations and labor studies scholars have joined the CMS fold in the US, seeking new opportunities for employment as labor-related programs have diminished in number.
At the same time a significant strand of critical accounting studies began to develop marked by the publication of Tony Tinker's Paper Prophets (1985) and the appearance of the journal Critical Perspectives on Accounting.
Contrasting with the dominant origin narrative is an account which states that, along with the contributors to CMS from the intellectual traditions identified here, there is a significant - and overlapping - bloc among CMS scholars of those who have had extensive pre-University experience as workers and managers. The inconsistencies between their experiences in the workplace and the claims of mainstream managerialism, and an intention to connect those experiences to broader explanations and theorizing leads these people to CMS.
and behaviour parts of British, Australian and Scandinavian business schools, though there are strong contributions in related fields such as accounting with growing interest in other management specialisms, such as marketing,international business, operational research, logistics etc. Since the 1990s academics from North America and other parts of the world are also engaging with this body of writing and research. The CMS Division within the (American) Academy of Management (AoM), with a membership of around 800, is larger than some of its Divisions and is more international than any Division.
Many heterodox scholars in various parts of the world had been inspired by the international activities of the Standing Conference on Organisational Symbolism. This latter grouping developed work which drew variously on post-structuralism
and symbolic interactionism
in order to develop a cultural and anthropological
understanding of contemporary organizations. Others, though, were without affiliation and/or seeking new formations and alliances. Since 1999, there has been a bi-annual CMS conference held in the UK as well as workshops and a bi-annual conference held at US Academy of Management.
Today there are significant concentrations of CMS scholars in the UK at the School of Business and Management at Queen Mary, University of London
, at the School of Management at the University of Leicester
, and at Essex Business School at the University of Essex
. Elsewhere, Copenhagen Business School
and Istanbul Bilgi University
have clusters of CMS scholars, but many CMS scholars globally rely on conferences and journals like Tamara Journal for Critical Organization Studies, ephemera: theory and politics in organization, Culture and Organization, or Organization: the critical journal of organization, theory and society for their affiliations.
, the nature and purposes of CMS critique, as well as questions of inclusion and exclusion (Fournier and Grey 2000), the possibilities of social transformation from within business schools (Parker 2002), and the development of alternative models of globalisation.
A recent trend in CMS has seen the incorporation of automist Marxist theory, first introduced in the English-speaking world by the work of Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri (2000). New CMS scholars using these theories are interested in proposing alternative non-capitalist forms of organizing work and life often around the notion of collective responsibility for the commons. Other recent developments include engagements with post-colonial theory and critical race theory to investigate the way management and business schools contribute to what Cedric Robinson (1983) has called racial capitalism.
Wider impatience with market managerial forms of organization are common enough outside the business school, from anti-corporate
protest to popular media presentations of managers. What CMS attempts to do is to articulate these voices within the business school
, and provide ways of thinking beyond current dominant theories and practices of organization.
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
, business and organisation, grounded originally in a critical theory
Critical theory
Critical theory is an examination and critique of society and culture, drawing from knowledge across the social sciences and humanities. The term has two different meanings with different origins and histories: one originating in sociology and the other in literary criticism...
perspective. Today it encompasses a wide range of perspectives that are critical of traditional theories of management and the business schools that generate these theories.
History
It is generally accepted that CMS began with Mats Alvesson and Hugh Willmott's edited collection Critical Management Studies (1992). Critical Management Studies (CMS) initially brought together critical theoryCritical theory
Critical theory is an examination and critique of society and culture, drawing from knowledge across the social sciences and humanities. The term has two different meanings with different origins and histories: one originating in sociology and the other in literary criticism...
and post-structuralist writings, but has since developed in more diverse directions.
A dominant narrative within CMS is that perhaps the most important development in its stimulation was the global expansion of business schools, an American invention, especially in Europe. Decreases in state funding, so the narrative has it, for social sciences and increases in funding for business schools during the 1980s resulted in many academics with graduate training in sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
, history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
, philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
and other social sciences ending up with jobs "training managers". However, what business schools are or should do has always been debated.
These academics brought different theoretical tools and political perspectives into business schools. They began to question the politics of managerialism and to link the techniques of management to neo-liberalism. These new voices drew on the Frankfurt School
Frankfurt School
The Frankfurt School refers to a school of neo-Marxist interdisciplinary social theory, particularly associated with the Institute for Social Research at the University of Frankfurt am Main...
of critical theory, and the work of Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault , born Paul-Michel Foucault , was a French philosopher, social theorist and historian of ideas...
, Jacques Derrida
Jacques Derrida
Jacques Derrida was a French philosopher, born in French Algeria. He developed the critical theory known as deconstruction and his work has been labeled as post-structuralism and associated with postmodern philosophy...
and Gilles Deleuze
Gilles Deleuze
Gilles Deleuze , was a French philosopher who, from the early 1960s until his death, wrote influentially on philosophy, literature, film, and fine art. His most popular works were the two volumes of Capitalism and Schizophrenia: Anti-Oedipus and A Thousand Plateaus , both co-written with Félix...
. Later Feminism
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
, queer theory
Queer theory
Queer theory is a field of critical theory that emerged in the early 1990s out of the fields of LGBT studies and feminist studies. Queer theory includes both queer readings of texts and the theorisation of 'queerness' itself...
, post-colonial theory, anarchism
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
, ecological philosophies, and radical democratic theory also had some influence. (See Alvesson and Willmott 2003 for a survey of the field.)
The roots of CMS also came from a series of UK Labour Process Conferences that began in 1983 and reflected the impact of Braverman
Harry Braverman
Harry Braverman was an American Socialist, economist and political writer. He sometimes used the pseudonym Harry Frankel.Braverman was born on the 9th December 1920 in New York City...
's (1974) attempt to make Marxist categories central to understanding work organisations. Industrial relations and labor studies scholars have joined the CMS fold in the US, seeking new opportunities for employment as labor-related programs have diminished in number.
At the same time a significant strand of critical accounting studies began to develop marked by the publication of Tony Tinker's Paper Prophets (1985) and the appearance of the journal Critical Perspectives on Accounting.
Contrasting with the dominant origin narrative is an account which states that, along with the contributors to CMS from the intellectual traditions identified here, there is a significant - and overlapping - bloc among CMS scholars of those who have had extensive pre-University experience as workers and managers. The inconsistencies between their experiences in the workplace and the claims of mainstream managerialism, and an intention to connect those experiences to broader explanations and theorizing leads these people to CMS.
Geographical base
The main home of CMS has been in the organisation theoryOrganizational studies
Organizational studies, sometimes known as organizational science, encompass the systematic study and careful application of knowledge about how people act within organizations...
and behaviour parts of British, Australian and Scandinavian business schools, though there are strong contributions in related fields such as accounting with growing interest in other management specialisms, such as marketing,international business, operational research, logistics etc. Since the 1990s academics from North America and other parts of the world are also engaging with this body of writing and research. The CMS Division within the (American) Academy of Management (AoM), with a membership of around 800, is larger than some of its Divisions and is more international than any Division.
Many heterodox scholars in various parts of the world had been inspired by the international activities of the Standing Conference on Organisational Symbolism. This latter grouping developed work which drew variously on post-structuralism
Post-structuralism
Post-structuralism is a label formulated by American academics to denote the heterogeneous works of a series of French intellectuals who came to international prominence in the 1960s and '70s...
and symbolic interactionism
Symbolic interactionism
Symbolic Interaction, also known as interactionism, is a sociological theory that places emphasis on micro-scale social interaction to provide subjective meaning in human behavior, the social process and pragmatism.-History:...
in order to develop a cultural and anthropological
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
understanding of contemporary organizations. Others, though, were without affiliation and/or seeking new formations and alliances. Since 1999, there has been a bi-annual CMS conference held in the UK as well as workshops and a bi-annual conference held at US Academy of Management.
Today there are significant concentrations of CMS scholars in the UK at the School of Business and Management at Queen Mary, University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
, at the School of Management at the University of Leicester
University of Leicester
The University of Leicester is a research-led university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is a mile south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park and Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College....
, and at Essex Business School at the University of Essex
University of Essex
The University of Essex is a British campus university whose original and largest campus is near the town of Colchester, England. Established in 1963 and receiving its Royal Charter in 1965...
. Elsewhere, Copenhagen Business School
Copenhagen Business School
Copenhagen Business School, also known as CBS, is situated in Copenhagen, Denmark. With more than 17,000 students and 1,300 staff members, CBS is also one of the largest business schools in Europe. CBS offers a wide range of business-oriented university programmes and a research environment...
and Istanbul Bilgi University
Istanbul Bilgi University
Istanbul Bilgi University is a private, non-profit university in Istanbul, Turkey. It was actually established in 1994 under the name ISIS , but its name was changed to Istanbul Bilgi University with the foundation of the school on June 7, 1996...
have clusters of CMS scholars, but many CMS scholars globally rely on conferences and journals like Tamara Journal for Critical Organization Studies, ephemera: theory and politics in organization, Culture and Organization, or Organization: the critical journal of organization, theory and society for their affiliations.
Controversy and debate
Main points of debate have focused on the relationship with more orthodox forms of MarxismMarxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
, the nature and purposes of CMS critique, as well as questions of inclusion and exclusion (Fournier and Grey 2000), the possibilities of social transformation from within business schools (Parker 2002), and the development of alternative models of globalisation.
A recent trend in CMS has seen the incorporation of automist Marxist theory, first introduced in the English-speaking world by the work of Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri (2000). New CMS scholars using these theories are interested in proposing alternative non-capitalist forms of organizing work and life often around the notion of collective responsibility for the commons. Other recent developments include engagements with post-colonial theory and critical race theory to investigate the way management and business schools contribute to what Cedric Robinson (1983) has called racial capitalism.
Wider impatience with market managerial forms of organization are common enough outside the business school, from anti-corporate
Anti-corporate activism
Anti-corporate activists believe that the influence of large business corporations poses a threat to the public good and democratic authority...
protest to popular media presentations of managers. What CMS attempts to do is to articulate these voices within the business school
Business school
A business school is a university-level institution that confers degrees in Business Administration. It teaches topics such as accounting, administration, economics, entrepreneurship, finance, information systems, marketing, organizational behavior, public relations, strategy, human resource...
, and provide ways of thinking beyond current dominant theories and practices of organization.
See also
- Critical legal studiesCritical legal studiesCritical legal studies is a movement in legal thought that applied methods similar to those of critical theory to law. The abbreviations "CLS" and "Crit" are sometimes used to refer to the movement and its adherents....
- Phronetic organization research
- Critical psychologyCritical psychologyCritical psychology is an approach to psychology that takes a critical theory–based perspective. Critical psychology is aimed at critiquing mainstream psychology and attempts to apply psychology in more progressive ways, often looking towards social change as a means of preventing and treating...
- Critical pedagogyCritical pedagogyCritical pedagogy is a philosophy of education described by Henry Giroux as an "educational movement, guided by passion and principle, to help students develop consciousness of freedom, recognize authoritarian tendencies, and connect knowledge to power and the ability to take constructive...
External links
- http://www.criticalmanagement.org - A single point of access to resources about the critical study of all aspects of management: a portal that provides links to sites where more detailed information can be found.
- Links to Critical Management Resources
- Critical Management Studies Interest Group of the US Academy of Management
- Critical Organisation and Management Information and Education Sources (COMIES)