Critical Management Studies at Work Negotiating Tensions Between Theory and Practice

Critical management studies (CMS) seeks to expose the hidden workings of power, and to identify and reform the everyday practices that create injustices in organizations and in society. In this mix of scholarly and less academic chapters, theoretical and empirical contributions by authors mainly in the UK and Australia reflect on what it means to perform critical management studies across domains of consultancy, research, teaching, managing. Many of the authors reflect on their own CMS practice in all its ambiguity and pain. Essays on critical management research in action look at choice and constraint in the generation and translation of actionable knowledge, and dilemmas arising from competing agendas of multiple stakeholders in research. Perspectives on critical teaching and learning reveal responsibilities in contemporary management education, and describe concerns that occupy both teachers and students of CMS, such as reconciling different paradigms in practice, and aligning teaching and supervision methods with beliefs. Factors that shape and constrain CMS practitioners' individual identities are explored, and individuals' attempts to resist those constraints are described. The book will be of interest to critical researchers, educators, and graduate students in business and management fields. Cox is chair in management at Deakin University, Australia. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).