Volume 18, Number 3 Article by Manu Parashar September, 2006
Studying Organizations : By Chris Grey, 2005, Response Books, pp 146, Price: Rs. 195.:
Sometimes books with innocuous titles spring a surprise. This is one of those books. Studying Organizations claims to be ‘a fairly short, fairly interesting and reasonably cheap’ book. It delivers on all that it claims and a lot more. The discourse in this book uses the lens of critical theory to look at the popular management theories that have shaped management thought. This kind of work has still not found a widespread audience and this book seems to be an effort to make critical thought more accessible.
The book has three parts apart from the introduction. The introduction covers the ontological and epistemological aspects of the chosen territory. There is a discussion on the positivist versus the constructivist approach. The author’s sympathies obviously lie with the constructivist view. This view positions the book away from the dominant lens used in management literature. The author makes a clean differentiation between formal rationality and the substantial rational. This differentiation is very similar to Habermas’ technical and practical reason. Critical theory sees just formal rationality or technical reason as incomplete rationality in the absence of practical reason or substantial rationality. The use of incomplete rationality results in the subjugation of the human agent as technical reason is just concerned with control and coordination and not with the complete understanding of a phenomenon. This is the argument that the author uses to analyse major management theories.
Part I of the book reviews the classical theories in management. Three major theories are covered. Weber’s bureaucracy, Taylor’s scientific management and the human relations school are covered. This forms the bulk of early management thought. Weber’s efficient bureaucracy is seen as an embodiment of formal rationality where means (i.e. processes) become more important than ends (i.e. results). Efficiency becomes the focus of the system rather then the results it produces. The example of Nazi concentration camps illustrates the point effectively. Taylor’s scientific management has been critiqued widely for the problems it creates for people. The human relations school came up as a reaction to Taylor’s theory. However the author sees the human relations school as more dangerous. Scientific management tries to control work behaviours through the use of rewards and punishments which are largely monetary in nature. However the human relations school uses even more insidious methods to predict and control behaviour. They do this through intrusive techniques that play on motivations, emotions and drives. The personal sphere is invaded by the organisation trying to control behaviours of its employees.
Part II looks at some of the more recent management theories specifically around organisational culture and change management. The author has two problems with the whole concept of organisational culture and its impact on organisational performance. The first is that this is the most insidious attempt at controlling employees. There is an underlying assumption that employees can be brainwashed to behave in a particular manner. The second issue arises from the first issue. The question is whether culture can actually be manipulated and controlled as suggested by these theories. Culture is socially constructed and may not be easy to manipulate and control. This is a concern that the author expresses about all management theories. The concern is whether these theories actually work as they claim. More often than not, they fail to achieve the prediction and control of behaviours. The critique of change management is largely around the fact that most of the change management theories have been failures, the most spectacular being business process re-engineering (BPR) that failed in 70% of the organisations in which it was implemented.
The last part of the book concerns management education. Since management education is based on the theories of management that the author has critiqued the critique of education extends from there. The big problem with management education seems to be its pre-occupation with technical reason (efficiency, prediction and control) and its inability to engage with a deeper understanding of organisations. The second problem originates from the first one where most of the theories based on technical reason actually don’t work too well in real organisations. In fact there seems to exist an understanding between faculty and students that what they learn in business schools does not apply in the real world. Management education at best becomes a legitimising device.
This is one of the most accessible books on organisation theory that an aspiring student of management or organisations can read. The issues in mainstream organisation theory are tackled from a critical point of view that exposes their shortcomings. This healthy scepticism is a point of view not often found in mainstream management literature. The focus of this book is on understanding rather than prediction and control, and that provides a deeper insight into organisations. One problem with works on critical theory is that while a wide-ranging critique is provided, solutions are not always provided. This leaves the reader with an incomplete feeling. The author realises this and devotes a section on the reasons for scepticism and the fruits that scepticism can bear. The idea of critiquing is to provide impetus for further thought and work on the issues raised. The author largely succeeds in doing that.
This is clearly a book that every serious student of organisations and managers who want to understand organisations need to have on their shelves. Despite the serious issues it tackles, the book is extremely interesting to read. This is a big achievement for the author. Final verdict: go buy it!
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