Critical Management Studies

It could be said, as we enter the second decade of the 21^st century, that critical management studies is in disarray. Examining the often overlooked negative aspects of organization and management, the interpretive nature of the critical approach means that the very claim of being 'critical' is constantly questioned and challenged. From Marxist labor process theory, to radical structuralism and postmodernism, the sheer volume and growing diversity of work placed under the umbrella of critical management studies has increased exponentially in the last 50 years, culminating in its own international conference and division in the Academy of Management, and with it recognition as a significant and hotly contested territory on the landscape of business and management.

Mats Alvesson and Hugh Willmott are two of the founding fathers of modern critical management studies, and with this collection guide the reader through the theoretical schools that have been seminal to the critical examination of the culture, subjectivity and meanings of management studies. As well as offering the last word on critical management studies of the last century, this collection also offers a selection of more recently published work that is set to set the agenda in the years to come.

Volume 1: Origins, Developments and Debates, incorporating classic works and broad reviews of the field.

Volume 2: Perspectives: The Diversity of Critical Analyses, providing examples of the wide variety of critical approaches in management studies.

Volume 3: The Specialisms of Management, presenting key critical contributions to specific areas of management, such as accounting, human resource management and strategy.

Volume 4. Established and Emergent Themes, covering the topical present and future of critical management studies, from knowledge management to gender and diversity.