Management knowledge: a critical view.

A discussion of the epistemological issues underpinning the aspirations of researchers to have established areas of knowledge about management. The argument is generally sceptical of many claims to knowledge. Positivism, realism, deconstruction, post-modernism, interpretavism, and action/participant based approaches are all critically evaluated. The upshot is that no one of the classical 'theories' of management knowledge stand up as supplying a complete account of how we know things about management and organisations. each however, has a distinct contribution to make. Therefore these theories should not be seen as in opposition. The book ends with reflections on Habermas' idea of knowledge as relating to human interests, and how this may help furnish a more complete account of what knowledge we have about management.