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  3. Sociology and Organization Theory
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    • Publisher:
      Cambridge University Press
      Publication date:
      May 2011
      April 1993
      ISBN:
      9780511557651
      9780521484589
      DOI:
      https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511557651
      Dimensions:
      Weight & Pages:
      Dimensions:
      (228 x 152 mm)
      Weight & Pages:
      0.31kg, 184 Pages
      • Subjects:
      Organisational Sociology, Organisation Studies, Management: General Interest, Management, Sociology
      Series:
      Cambridge Studies in Management (20)
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    • Selected: Digital
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    Subjects:
    Organisational Sociology, Organisation Studies, Management: General Interest, Management, Sociology
    Series:
    Cambridge Studies in Management (20)
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    Book description

    It has been claimed that organisation theory is in a state of 'crisis'. This book traces the history of the orthodox systems theory paradigm in organisation studies from its foundations in positivist sociology, through its theoretical and empirical development under structural-functionalism, to its recent deconstruction by postmodernists. The analysis offers general support for the 'sociology-in-crisis' thesis, but takes issue with one of its main propositions, that paradigms are incommensurable. It is argued that paradigms are porous rather than hermetic phenomena, a fact which has profound implications for the theory building process. Based on language-game philosophy, a dialectical theory is developed to illustrate how seemingly exclusive idioms can be mediated. The enquiry provides a pluri-paradigm method for organisational research, and an epistemological framework for postmodern organisational analysis.

    Reviews

    ‘An exciting and important book…a significant contribution to organization theory.’

    Source: British Journal of Industrial Relations

    ‘Commendable for its lucidity and thorough scholarship.’

    Source: The Times Higher Education Supplement

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