STORRE Collection: Electronic copies of Management, Work and Organisation book reviews.
http://hdl.handle.net/1893/10736
Electronic copies of Management, Work and Organisation book reviews.2024-03-19T04:04:17ZPolitical economies of security for some time to come
http://hdl.handle.net/1893/29626
Title: Political economies of security for some time to come
Author(s): Pierides, Dean
Abstract: First paragraph: Insurance is a very large industry and an important source of security. As an empirical site for investigating risk and security, insurance thus deserves the careful and scholarly attention that Luis Lobo-Guerrero has given to it in these two books. The first book, Insuring Security (2011), tells a story of how it becomes possible to render uncertainty into a tradable substance, thereby producing a source of political economies of security from which insurance instruments emerge. The second book, Insuring War (2012a), tells a story of how the relationship between these processes wraps up the commercial need for uninterrupted circulation together with the forcefulness of the state in insurance-related war partnerships. The understanding of risk itself ends up being transformed by these processes. Both books are part of the Interventions series which focuses on international politics, is published by Routledge and edited by Jenny Edkins and Nick Vaughan-Williams. Together with the third and forthcoming volume, Insuring Life, Lobo-Guerrero’s books promise to be a triptych that allows us to appreciate how political economies of security take shape for some time to come.2014-07-03T00:00:00ZBook Review: A New History of Management
http://hdl.handle.net/1893/28911
Title: Book Review: A New History of Management
Author(s): Lord, Gemma; Pierides, Dean
Abstract: A New History of Management (ANHM) sets a renewed and higher standard for teaching the history of our field. It confronts commonly accepted textbook representations of the history of management with novel interpretations of ‘classical texts’, supported by new historical case materials, which together challenge many conventional narratives about management that would typically be taught in business schools. In the authors’ words, “without critical questioning, the little that we remember of our past becomes inevitable, both as the truth about our past and for our future horizons too” (p. 320). The authors of ANHM expect that readers who understand the socio-political contexts which led to the development of each of the ‘classics’, will be convinced to abandon the idea that management theory emerged solely as a response to, and in the quest for, efficiency.2019-09-01T00:00:00ZIdentity as a category of theory and practice
http://hdl.handle.net/1893/27807
Title: Identity as a category of theory and practice
Author(s): Mallett, Oliver
Abstract: Identity has emerged as a major theme in management and organisation studies. This is perhaps unsurprising since questions of who one is or who one might become are particularly important in organisational settings (Watson, 2008). An insightful and widely cited introduction to a special issue in the journal Organization by Alvesson, Ashcraft and Thomas note that ‘Identity has become a popular frame through which to investigate a wide array of phenomena […] linked to nearly everything: from mergers, motivation and meaning-making to ethnicity, entrepreneurship and emotions to politics, participation and project teams’ (2008: 5). They suggest that the concept’s adoption reflects an academic fashion but argue that its popularity is predominantly due to identity’s widespread application and its value for a range of different perspectives, including functionalist, interpetivist and critical approaches. Given its widespread and varied use in management and organisation studies, the concept of identity itself seems worthy of consideration and critical reflection.Generally, the adoption of identity to understand organisations and develop organisation theory has been taken up unproblematically. This is in contrast to other areas of study such as ethnicity where questioning identity has a longer and more powerful tradition (see, for example, Gleason, 1983; Brubaker and Cooper, 2000). Identity and Capitalism by Marie Moran represents a fascinating review of a range of these literatures, drawing out some of the often unquestioned or obscured limitations in identity scholarship that may also be of relevance and value to management and organisation studies. This review will follow Moran in outlining a contested history of the concept of identity before highlighting key debates and discussing what emerges from this critique which is, for Moran, the need to consider identity as a category of practice.2016-08-31T00:00:00ZFinding the Perfect Fit - Paradigmatic Choices for Novice and Experienced Qualitative Researchers
http://hdl.handle.net/1893/27117
Title: Finding the Perfect Fit - Paradigmatic Choices for Novice and Experienced Qualitative Researchers
Author(s): Rodner, Victoria
Abstract: The choice of paradigm that academics face when conducting qualitative research is no easy task. From start to finish, methodological assumptions shape our research journey and our own epistemological outlook, so that our choice of paradigm speaks to us as social inquirers and says a lot about us to our readership. With this in mind, this review explores two recent publications aimed at seducing qualitative researchers to the theoretical paradigms they each advocate. Firstly, I consider Yvonna Lincoln and Egon Guba's (published posthumously)The Constructivist Credo(2013) and secondly Barry Gibson and Jan Hartman'sRediscovering Grounded Theory(2014). For this review, I will do my part to assess the validity and weight of these publications as research manuals. Once the inquirer has identified the “perfect paradigmatic fit” that speaks clearly and loudly to their professional and personal choices, it will be unlikely that they will later drift from this epistemological stance. Hence, finding the right paradigm appears to be a crucial first step into any research journey and a decision that stays with us for a lifetime.2015-02-01T00:00:00Z