Organizational aesthetics, both as a body of theory and a method of inquiry, is a rapidly expanding area of the organizational sciences. The Aesthetics of Organization accessibly draws key contributions delineating the emerging parameters of the field. It explains the significance of concepts devised by postmodern thinkers, through which emerge meaning and order in organizations. Methodological problems associated with investigations of the aesthetic are also highlighted so the reader can identify and understand the importance of recent ideas on vision, perspective and periphery for learning in organizations. Through the contributions of leading international theorists, organizational aesthetics is defined in greater

Diverse philosophies constitute the theoretical ground of the study of the aesthetic side of organization. In fact, there is not a single unique philosophy behind the organizational research of the aesthetic dimension of organizational life. Organizational Theory and Aesthetic Philosophies will illustrate and discuss this complex phenomenon, and it will be dedicated to highlight the philosophical basis of the study of aesthetics, art and design in organization. The book distinguishes three principal "philosophical sensibilities" amongst these philosophies: aesthetic, hermeneutic and performative philosophical sensibility. Each of them is described and critically assessed through the work of philosophers, art theorists, sociologists and social scientists who represent its main protagonists. In this way, the reader will be conducted through the variety of philosophies that constitute a reference for aesthetics and design in organization. The architecture of the book is articulated in two parts in order to provide student and scholars in philosophical aesthetics, in art, in design and in organization studies with an informative and agile instrument for academic research and study.

"This book draws together in an accessible style key foundational contributions delineating the emerging parameters of the field. It explains the significance of concepts devised by postmodern thinkers, through which emerge meaning and order in organizations." "The Aesthetics of Organization is a resource for students and researchers in organization and business studies."--BOOK JACKET.

This book shows how aesthetic understanding of organizations can extend our knowledge and sharpen our insights into many processes that shape organizational action. Organizational life is pervaded by aesthetics, yet conventional organizational analysis has been dominated by a `scientific′, logico-rational tradition that ignores the aesthetic dimension. The book highlights the role of emotion in organizations, the importance of symbol, the subjective influence of culture and the processes of learning and cognition. These phenomena are related to the aesthetic rather than to purify rational, demanding new modes of inquiry that allow us richer insight into the dynamics of organizational life. Organization and Aesthetics provides a powerful new lens through which the daily, ever-chaning complexity of organizations can be better understood by students, researchers and mangers.

Organizational aesthetics, both as a body of theory and a method of inquiry, is a rapidly expanding area of the organizational sciences. The Aesthetics of Organization accessibly draws key contributions delineating the emerging parameters of the field. It explains the significance of concepts devised by postmodern thinkers, through which emerge meaning and order in organizations. Methodological problems associated with investigations of the aesthetic are also highlighted so the reader can identify and understand the importance of recent ideas on vision, perspective and periphery for learning in organizations. Through the contributions of leading international theorists, organizational aesthetics is defined in greater historical and theoretical depth, with a broad conceptual and practical range which academics will find invaluable.

This book is a reaction to the reductionist and exploitative ideas dominating the mainstream contemporary management discourse and practice, and an attempt to broaden the horizons of possibility for both managers and organization scholars. It brings together the scholarly fields of humanistic management and organizational aesthetics, where the former brings in the unshakeable focus on the human condition and concern for dignity, emancipation, and the common good, while the latter promotes reflection, openness, and appreciation for irreducible complexity of existence. It is a journey towards wholeness undertaken by a collective of management and organization theorists, philosophers, artists, and art curators. Reading this book’s contributions can help both academics and practitioners work towards building organizational practices aimed at (re)acquiring wholeness by developing aesthetic awareness allowing for more profound understandings of performativity, insights into the dynamics of power, appreciation of ambiguity and ambivalence, and a much needed grasp of complexity. The varied ways of engaging with art explored by the authors promote imaginative insights into and reflection on the beauty and vicissitudes of organizing, of management knowledge and collective expression. It will be of interest to researchers, academics, practitioners, and students in the fields of organizational theory and practice, business and management history, human resource management, and culture management.

Ten years ago, critical theory and postmodernism were considered new and emerging theories in business and management. What will be the next new important theories to shape the field? In one edited volume, Daved Barry and Hans Hansen have commissioned new chapters that will allow readers to stay one step ahead of the latest thinking. Contributors draw on research and practice to introduce ideas that are considered ′fringe′ and controversial today, but may be key theoretical contributions tomorrow. Each chapter sets these ideas in their historical context, lays out the key theoretical positions taken by each new approach and makes it clear why these approaches are different to more mainstream concepts. Throughout, contributors refer to existing studies that show how these developing themes will change the business and management arena. Researchers, teachers and advanced students who are interested in the future of Business and Management scholarship will want to read this Handbook.