The Oxford Handbook of Sociology and Organization Studies: Classical Foundations

by Paul S. Adler

Overview

Organizations are a defining feature of the modern world, and the study of organizations (Organization Studies) has become well established in both sociology departments and professional schools, most notably business and management schools.

Organization Studies has long drawn inspiration from foundational work in sociology. The sociological lens affords depth of insight into the technological, economic, cultural, and political forces that shape organizations from both within and without. In particular, "classical" works in sociology have long energized organizational research, primarily by suggesting ways of making sense of the ever-accelerating pace of social change. In recent decades, however, the field has lost interest in these sociology classics. This trend reflects and reinforces an increasingly academic focus of contempory Organization Studies. Not only does this trend weaken Organization Studies' engagement with the big social issues of our time, but it isolates the field from the broader field of the social sciences.

The aim of this Handbook is to re-assert the importance of classical sociology to the future of Organization Studies. Alongside several thematic chapters, the volume includes chapters on each of nearly two dozen major European and American theorists, each of these chapter addressing: (a) the ideas and their context, (b) the impact of these ideas on the field of Organization Studies, and (c) the potential future research these ideas might inspire. The goal is not reverential exegesis, but rather to examine how the classics can energize organizational research.

This wide-ranging Handbook, with contributions from leading American and European scholars, will be a vital, informative, and stimulating resource for anybody undertaking research in, teaching, or interested in learning more about Organization Studies today.

About the Series
Oxford Handbooks in Business & Management bring together the world's leading scholars on the subject to discuss current research and the latest thinking in a range of interrelated topics including Strategy, Organizational Behavior, Public Management, International Business, and many others. Containing completely new essays with extensive referencing to further reading and key ideas, the volumes, in hardback or paperback, serve as both a thorough introduction to a topic and a useful desk reference for scholars and advanced students alike.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199593811
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	12/15/2010
Series:	Oxford Handbooks
Pages:	700
Sales rank:	992,874
Product dimensions:	6.70(w) x 9.70(h) x 1.70(d)

About the Author

Professor Adler began his education in Australia and moved to France in 1974. He received his doctorate in economics and management there while working as a Research Economist for the French government. He came to the USA in 1981, and before arriving at USC in 1991, he was affiliated with the Brookings Institution, Columbia University, the Harvard Business School, and Stanford's School of Engineering. His research and teaching focus on organization theory and design, strategic management and human resource management in R&D, engineering, software, healthcare, and manufacturing operations. He has served as chair of the Technology and Innovation Management Division and the Critical Management Studies Interest Group of the Academy of Management, and he has published widely in academic and managerial journals both in the U.S. and overseas. His most recent book was The Firm as a Collaborative Community: Reconstructing Trust in the Knowledge Economy (OUP, 2006).

Table of Contents

PART I THE ROLE OF THE CLASSICS
1. Introduction: A Social Science which Forgets its Founders is Lost — Paul S. Adler
2. The Value of the Classics — Patricia H. Thornton

PART II EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVES
3. Tocqueville as a Pioneer in Organization Theory — Richard Swedberg
4. Marx and Organization Studies Today — Paul S. Adler
5. It's Not Just for Communists Any More: Marxian Political Economy and Organizational Theory — Richard Marens
6. Sintering the Iron Cage: Translation, Domination, and Rationality — Stewart Clegg and Michael Lounsbury
7. Max Weber and the Ethics of Office — Paul du Gay
8. On Organizations and Oligarchies: Michels in the Twenty-First Century — Pamela S. Tolbert and Shon R. Hiatt
9. How Durkheim's Theory of Meaning-Making Influenced Organizational Sociology — Frank Dobbin
10. A Durkheimian Approach to Globalization — Paul Hirsch, Peer C. Fiss, and Amanda Hoel-Green
11. Gabriel Tarde and Organization Theory — Barbara Czarniawska
12. Georg Simmel: The Individual and the Organization — Alan Scott
13. Types and Positions: The Significance of Georg Simmel's Structural Theories for Organizational Behavior — Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Rakesh Khurana
14. Schumpeter and the Organization of Entrepreneurship — Markus C. Becker and Thorbjorn Knudsen
15. Norbert Elias's Impact on Organization Studies — Ad Van Iterson

PART III AMERICAN PERSPECTIVES
16. Thorstein Veblen and the Organization of the Capitalist Economy — Gary G. Hamilton and Misha Petrovic
17. The Sociology of Race: The Contributions ofW. E. B. Du Bois — Stella M. Nkomo
18. Organizations and the Chicago School — Andrew Abbott
19. After James on Identity — Arne Carlsen
20. Reading Dewey: Some Implications for the Study of Routine — Michael D. Cohen
21. Mary Parker Follett and Pragmatist Organization — Christopher Ansell
22. Peopling Organizations: The Promise of Classic Symbolic Interactionism for an Inhabited Institutionalism — Tim Hallett, David Shulman, and Gary Alan Fine
23. John R. Commons: Back to the Future of Organization Studies — Andrew H. Van de Ven and Arik Lifschitz
24. The Problem of the Corporation: Liberalism and the Large Organization — Elisabeth S. Clemens
25. Bureaucratic Theory and Intellectual Renewal in Contemporary Organization Studies— Mike Reed
26. The Columbia School and the Study of Bureaucracies:Why Organizations Have Lives of their Own — Heather A. Haveman
27. Parsons as an Organization Theorist — Charles Heckscher

PART IV AFTERWORD
28. Sociological Classics and the Canon in the Study of Organizations — Gerald F. Davis and Mayer N. Zald
Part I: The Role of the Classics
1. Introduction: A Social Science which Forgets its Founders is Lost, Paul Adler
2. The Value of the Classics, Patricia H. Thornton
Part II: European Perspectives
3. Tocqueville as a Pioneer in Organization Theory, Richard Swedburg
4. Marx and Organization Studies Today, Paul Adler
5. It's Not Just for Communists any More: Marxian Political Economy and Organizational Theory, Richard Marens
6. Weber:Sintering the Iron Cage: Translation, Domination, and Rationality, Stewart Clegg and Michael Lounsbury
7. Max Weber and the Ethics of Office, Paul du Gay
8. On Organizations and Oligarchies: Michels in 21st Century, Pamela S. Tolbert and Shon R. Hiatt
9. How Durkheim's Theory of Meaning-making Influenced Organizational Sociology, Frank Dobbin
10. A Durkheimian Approach to Globalization, Paul Hirsch, Peer Fiss, and Amanda Hoel-Green
11. Gabriel Tarde and Organization Theory, Barbara Czarniawska
12. Georg Simmel: The Individual and the Organization, Alan Scott
13. Types and Positions: The Significance of Georg Simmel's Structural Theories for Organizational Behavior, Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Rakesh Khurana
14. Schumpeter and the Organization of Entrepreneurship, Markus C. Becker and Thorbjorn Knudsen
15. Norbert Elias's Impact on Organization Studies, Ad van Iterson
Part III: American Perspectives
16. Thorstein Veblen and the Organization of the Capitalist Economy, Gary G. Hamilton and Misha Petrovic
17. The Sociology of Race: The Contributions of W. E. B. Du Bois, Stella M. Nkomo
18. Organizations and the Chicago School, Andrew Abbott
19. After James on Identity, Arne Carlsen
20. Reading Dewey: Some Implications for the Study of Routine, Michael D. Cohen
21. Mary Parker Follett and Pragmatist Organization, Christopher Ansell
22. Peopling Organizations: The Promise of Classic Symbolic Interactionism for an Inhabited Institutionalism, Tim Hallett, David Shulman, and Gary Alan Fine
23. John R. Commons: Back to the Future of Organization Studies, Andrew Van de Ven and Arik Lifschitz
24. The Problem of the Corporation: Liberalism and the Large Organization, Elisabeth S. Clemens
25. Bureaucratic Theory and Intellectual Renewal in Contemporary Organization Studies, Michael Reed
26. The Columbia School and the Study of Organizations: Why Organizations Have Lives of Their Own, Heather Haveman
27. Parsons as an Organization Theorist, Charles Heckscher
Part IV: Afterword
28. Afterword: Sociological Classics and the Canon in the Study of Organizations, Gerald Davis and Mayer N. Zald

Editorial Reviews

"Without exception, these chapters are first-rate and full of insights, even for those well-versed in classical theory. They certainly make a case for the continued vitality of these time-worn works... It is a very good book that will provide countless hours of intellectual stimulation." —Contemporary Sociology

From the Publisher