Revisiting CMS Manifestos: Challenging to ReBuild – A Debate and Workshop
Dr Cynthia Dereli
Edge Hill University
Dr Peter Stokes
University of Central Lancashire
Dr Claude Hilaire
IUT-Toulouse, Université Paul Sabatier (Toulouse, France)
Critical Management Studies (CMS) has developed from an incipient range of introductory
writings and texts undertaking relatively tentative explorations in the 1990’s to the
burgeoning of an extensive and eclectic span of writings and forms in the contemporary era.
CMS textual output and CMS-style conferences have been concerned to generate
understanding in relation to a wide range of phenomena including inter alia: identity, power,
sexuality, subjectivities, gender, excess, speed, culture and politics. One of its central
concerns has been the exploration and elaboration of the potential and the conditions for
emancipatory discourse and action in a range of contexts in relation to individuals and
organizations as agents and subjects.
Much of this debate has been created in contrast, and often opposition and resistance to,
perceived and labelled ‘normative’ stances on organizations and management. Here,
‘normative’ may be viewed as embracing primarily managerialist, positivistic, modernistic
and objectivist portrayals of organizations and management exemplified by notions of ‘best
practice’, a corporate imperative of economic optimisation, and a focus on the people in
organizations as a unit of human resource. ‘Normative’ representations of organizational and
managerial experiences have exhibited considerable longevity and hegemonic status in seats
of learning (illustrated by, for example, replete and ongoing textbook production across a
wide range of topic/subject areas, numerous conferences dedicated to seeking ‘best practices’,
journals soliciting papers of normative genre) and theatres of practice where, while
acknowledgement has been made of equal opportunities, green business, sustainability and
corporate responsibility, the ‘bottom line’ persists as a essential element in the paradigm.
Frequently set against these hegemonic modernistic representations CMS has, in one way,
established itself as an alternative approach to talking about experience of organizations and
management. Nevertheless, there is often a sense that whereas normative approaches are
charged with being too quick to head for simplistic answers, CMS focuses on critique but is
short on practical solutions and answers. On the one hand, over the period of CMS activity
and growth, a substantial incursion has been made into terrain that was formerly only
normative. However, on the other hand, paradoxically, it may be argued that CMS is
becoming that which it has so vehemently and staunchly critiqued in normative arenas: little
more than another set of structures and power for the production and sustenance of academic
careers. We trust this is not the dominant ethos but we also wonder whether this dilemma
might, along the way, have hindered CMS from engaging more fully and constructively with
some major contemporary issues?
Meanwhile, the global zeitgeist is stark. Climate change is the biggest challenge to face the
world and the academic discipline most implicated in its production is business management.
But it seems that management knowledge which could lead the way to a rebuilding of our
concepts and practices of trading is trapped within the normative framework of capitalist
production predicated on ‘growth unlimited’ which business schools have historically existed
to support and perpetuate. Can CMS rise to the challenge?
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The workshop hopes to attract contributions which will throw down a challenge to
participants on some of the dominant issues of our time in the spirit of a CMS ‘provocation to
a debate’. With the task of rebuilding seriously in mind, and an emphasis on the search for the
green and sustainable shoots of alternative business practice, a foretaste of potential issues
may include:
Whether CMS-style accounts of business to date offer alternative perspectives and to what
extent they can influence decision makers?
Whether CMS can acknowledge and analyse the role of business management in bringing us
to the edge of the environmental abyss, and in doing so dig deep enough in its analyses to
discover the roots of new growth: the basis for an environmentally friendly trading system
and ways to assist in addressing climate change?
Whether previous work in CMS in areas such as co-operative working or work of NGOs
contains any seeds for an environmentally/human friendly business future?
Whether CMS can draw together and share experiences from across the globe where the seeds
of new business practices may be germinating?
Whether CMS can make a contribution to the search for an ethical base for extant and new
business organization in a context of sustainability, human rights, energy crisis and terrorism?
Whether CMS is ready to demonstrate its commitment to humanity as an integral aspect of its
work? And, what humanism or religions have to offer as other ways of seeing that might
contribute to a remodelling of business? What CMS can contribute to an understanding of the
role of respect and integrity in business?
WORKSHOP SCHEDULE AND FORMAT
The workshop will take place over an allocated three-hour period (please see main
Conference timetable for details) during which attendees and participants can elect to enter,
leave, re-enter or remain for the duration of the exchanges and debates. Issues raised during
the various discussions will be written up in ‘real-time’ and placed on display around the
walls. The intention is that this will provide a sense of building up a profile of the discussion.
In addition, it will allow, to some extent, those participants entering in the middle of a
discussion to gain an idea of the strands of ongoing and developing debate. The free-ranging
exchange of the workshop will be punctuated in a careful and appropriate manner by short
presentations by a number of invited speakers. The intention is that these will re-energise the
debate by proposing fresh points and information. It is intended that speakers will be drawn
from the CMS conference and also individuals from a number of diverse fields including
journalism, co-operatives and so on and so forth. If you wish to be a speaker during the
workshop please contact the workshop convenors. We invite proposals for specific
contributions and presentations of any form (talking, use of film, recordings, pictures,
paintings, artefacts and displays) that seek to take on these issues.
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Workshop Organisers
Dr Cynthia Dereli has lectured in areas of English Literature, European Literature and
Culture and latterly in Business Management during more than 20 years in Higher Education.
She has published in areas of 18th and 19th century literature and on strategy in local
government. Her research interests cover a range of CM issues from performance
management to ethics in organisations.
Dr Peter Stokes is Principal Lecturer/Division Leader in the Lancashire Business School,
University of Central Lancashire. His main research interests critically explore marginalised
and obscured areas of management studies. With colleagues from the National University of
Singapore, he has recently published a co-edited special issue on themes of militarization in
organization and business in the Journal Critical Perspectives on International Business.
Other recent publications have appeared in the International Journal of Cross Cultural
Management and Philosophy of Management.
Dr Claude Hilaire is senior lecturer in business and management language at IUT Toulouse Université de Toulouse 3 – France. His interests encompass social and cultural issues in
international business with a particular focus on Anglo-French contexts.
Call for Contributions
This workshop invites short papers and interventions that offer a 'provocation to debate' on
the contribution that CMS can make in shaping the business organization and management of
the future in the light of a perceived need for fundamental change to make human existence
across the planet sustainable. While the focus is on management it is anticipated that
contributions will come from speakers across a range of disciplines.
Bearing in mind the constraints of a three hour workshop, contributors are asked to submit
short papers or abstracts for short papers or proposals for short presentations of longer work
in progress. Please note that the final presentations in the workshop will be 5-10 minutes only
to allow for maximum time for debate.
Timeline
Abstracts/proposals to: Dr. Peter Stokes email: pstokes@uclan.ac.uk - 1.Nov.08
Decisions communicated:
Full paper/presentation or session to convenor
(depending on the proposed format of the presentation)
1 Dec. 08
1 May 09
Abstracts should fit the following requirements:
 Submissions in Word
 Arial Font
 Include:
Title
Authors (affiliation, contact details)
Body of Text
References
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