American Pragmatism In Organization And Management

Emerging during the late nineteenth century in the diverse scholarship of US commentators such as Charles Sanders Peirce, William James and John Dewey, American pragmatism shaped many intellectual currents within a range of disciplines including politics, education, administrative science and religion. Despite attracting attention and interest due to its conceptualization of theory, in terms of its practical consequences for improving the human condition, American pragmatism struggled to maintain its influence and suffered a hiatus until it experienced a renaissance within scholarly circles during the 1970s. While renewed interest in American pragmatism continues to grow, with some scholars distinguishing between classical, neo and new forms of pragmatism, it is only relatively recently that organization studies scholars have drawn upon American pragmatist philosophies for shedding new light on aspects of contemporary organizational life. This edited collection builds on this emergent literature in an engaging and scholarly manner. American Pragmatism and Organization is a ground-breaking collection and distinctive in its book-length treatment of American pragmatism as a relevant resource for analysing organisations. It draws together an international body of research focused on the interconnections and interplay between American pragmatism and organizational phenomena, explores the theoretical possibilities afforded by pragmatist thinking for understanding organization, and illuminates the practical advantages of doing so.

Emerging during the late nineteenth century in the scholarly writings of US commentators such as Charles Sanders Peirce, William James, and John Dewey, American pragmatism shaped many intellectual currents within a range of disciplines including politics, education, administrative science, and religion. Despite attracting attention and critical acclaim for practical consequences for improving the human condition, American pragmatism struggled to maintain its influence beyond the first three decades of the twentieth century. While scholarly interest in American pragmatism has steadily grown since its revival during the 1970s, it is only relatively recently that organization studies scholars have drawn upon American pragmatist philosophy for shedding new light on aspects of contemporary organizational life. This book is one of the first to provide a comprehensive account of how strands of American pragmatist philosophy can enrich our understanding of organizations and the lives of the people who inhabit them. By introducing the reader to the origins of the American pragmatism movement, its key themes and leading figures, this book explores American pragmatism's potential for advancing organizational research and knowledge within areas such as gender, leadership, ambiguity in management practice, and management learning. Assessing the separate contributions of Peirce, James and Dewey, this book argues that organization studies scholars stand to gain much from embracing a pragmatist concept of science as a social practice accountable to those whose lives it aims to improve. This raises important ethical and methodological concerns about researching organizations which are also addressed in this book. Relevant at a time when managerialist perspectives, practices, and ideas are colonizing many areas of organizational life, this book provides a timely and scholarly account of the contemporary vitality of American pragmatism for organization studies researchers.

Many streams of research in organization and management have criticized the mainstream view of organizations as decision-making and information-processing structures, controlled through rational representations (substantive or procedural rationality). In spite of their differences, these streams of research share some key theoretical principles: Their processual view of organizing as 'becoming', their emphasis on the key role of action and action meaning; their interest in the agential power of artefacts and objects; the exploratory and inquiring nature of organizing. This book argues that Pragmatist thought can contribute to those approaches offering some theoretical argument, both as a general intellectual orientation and as a conceptual toolbox. As a general attitude, Pragmatism develops a radical critique of all the dualisms which often hinder organization studies: Thought and action, design and utilization, decision and execution, reality and representation, to name a few. As a conceptual toolbox, Pragmatism can contribute and clarify key concepts for organization and management studies, such as inquiry, semiotic mediation, habit, abduction, trans-action, and valuation. However, Pragmatist thought is still little known by organization and management scholars and by reflexive managers. The proposed book aims at making pragmatist key notions accessible to them and applicable to theorize organizations and transform managerial practices.

Many streams of research in organization and management have criticized the mainstream view of organizations as decision-making and information-processing structures, controlled through rational representations (substantive or procedural rationality). In spite of their differences, these streams of research share some key theoretical principles: Their processual view of organizing as 'becoming', their emphasis on the key role of action and action meaning; their interest in the agential power of artefacts and objects; the exploratory and inquiring nature of organizing. This book argues that Pragmatist thought can contribute to those approaches offering some theoretical argument, both as a general intellectual orientation and as a conceptual toolbox. As a general attitude, Pragmatism develops a radical critique of all the dualisms which often hinder organization studies: Thought and action, design and utilization, decision and execution, reality and representation, to name a few. As a conceptual toolbox, Pragmatism can contribute and clarify key concepts for organization and management studies, such as inquiry, semiotic mediation, habit, abduction, trans-action, and valuation. However, Pragmatist thought is still little known by organization and management scholars and by reflexive managers. The proposed book aims at making pragmatist key notions accessible to them and applicable to theorize organizations and transform managerial practices.

Emerging during the late nineteenth century in the diverse scholarship of US commentators such as Charles Sanders Peirce, William James and John Dewey, American pragmatism shaped many intellectual currents within a range of disciplines including politics, education, administrative science and religion. Despite attracting attention and interest due to its conceptualization of theory, in terms of its practical consequences for improving the human condition, American pragmatism struggled to maintain its influence and suffered a hiatus until it experienced a renaissance within scholarly circles during the 1970s. While renewed interest in American pragmatism continues to grow, with some scholars distinguishing between classical, neo and new forms of pragmatism, it is only relatively recently that organization studies scholars have drawn upon American pragmatist philosophies for shedding new light on aspects of contemporary organizational life. This edited collection builds on this emergent literature in an engaging and scholarly manner. American Pragmatism and Organization is a ground-breaking collection and distinctive in its book-length treatment of American pragmatism as a relevant resource for analysing organisations. It draws together an international body of research focused on the interconnections and interplay between American pragmatism and organizational phenomena, explores the theoretical possibilities afforded by pragmatist thinking for understanding organization, and illuminates the practical advantages of doing so.

Theoretical study of management and business organization, with particular reference to the u.s.a. - Covers management attitudes toward subordinates, decision making, communication, forecasting technological changes, etc. Bibliography pp. 202 to 209.

Good managers do not simply get things done—they do the right things. They are ethical. Through an examination of the work of Charles S. Peirce, the American philosopher who coined the term pragmatism in 1872, Fontrodona emerges with important clarifications, as well as an innovative view of human action and the practice of management. Pragmatism, often misunderstood as a triumph of pure effectiveness, is actually a process by which people, through action, reveal and develop themselves using virtue and value. In Part I, Fontrodona considers human action not only from the viewpoint of its effectiveness, but also from its purposefulness. In Part II, the study turns to Peirce's thought about the nature of science, which shows us that while management is eminently practical, it is also based on a scientific approach. Part III presents three principles for human action drawn from the three normative sciences: creativity based on logic; community based on ethics; and character based on aesthetics. Finally, Fontrodona questions the presence of these principles in the commonly accepted, current models of management.