Apologies for cross-posting.
======= SECOND CALL FOR PAPERS =======
INNOVATION AND EMANCIPATION :
THE MANAGEMENT OF TECHNOLOGY AND
THE PROCESS OF WORK
The `Technology' Stream of the
International Conference on Critical Management Studies
Manchester, July 14-16 1999
Abstracts, of 750 -1,000 words, to be sent to the stream convenor
by September 30th 1998 (well, actually October 5 as I'm away till
then), with a copy to the Conference Secretary, Mrs Mary O'Brien,
Manchester School of Management, UMIST PO Box 88
Manchester M60 1QD. Authors of accepted papers will be notified
by mid-November, and full papers will be required by May 1.
--- A selection of the best papers will be published in a
--- Special Issue of <Technology Analysis & Strategic
--- Management>
THEMES FOR THIS REFEREED PAPER STREAM
The themes of 'innovation' and 'competitiveness' are increasingly
being deployed as organising principles within firms, nations, and
even public-sector and not-for-profit organisations. In many ways
the focus on 'change' rather than 'equilibrium' has emancipatory
potential, but as we have seen extensively in recent years, an
explicit focus on change, innovation, flexibility, etc, can often
mask a hardening of underlying inequalities - within organisations,
within nations, and between nations.
This Track seeks to explore the intersections between Critical
Management Studies, and the wide variety of enquiries into
Innovation, Science and Technology. These include:- studies of the
management of technology and innovation; history & philosophy
of science & technology; science, technology and economic
development; sociology of scientific knowledge; studies of science,
technology and medicine from feminist, cultural, policy, and legal
perspectives; the history and economics of production and product
technologies; and the political economy of technical change. This
track also hopes to initiate a dialogue with scholars in Evolutionary
and Institutional Economics who have paid particular attention to
these areas but have focused less on some of the issues central to
critical management studies and sociological studies of science,
technology, and innovation.
We seek papers that actively examine these intersections between
Critical Management studies and enquiries into innovation, science
and technology. The papers may be theoretical, empirical,
historical - but preferably some combination. Possible issues,
question, and topics might be:-
Innovation, technology, and work organization:
- The management and work organisation of scientists,
technologists, engineers, health and environment professionals in
various settings:- private or public R&D units; public testing and
assessment laboratories; offices which assess the economic or
social impact of science, technology and medicine
- The occupational cultures and institutions found in these settings
- The networks through which the work and work products of these
are linked to and interact with other important social arenas
- The relations between paid work and unpaid professional or
reputational work
- Macrocultural, national, and regional differences and
similarities in the management of professions and disciplines.
Marx, Habermas, Foucault, Feminist, and Actor-Network
approaches:
Each of these have specific perspectives on science, technology
and medicine, and each have profound implications for our
understanding of the potential for Critical Management. Are
there concepts, objects of study, theoretical trends, or empirical
studies which contribute towards positive and constructive
dialogues between critical management studies on the one hand,
and sociological perspectives on science, technology, and
medicine on the other.
Technological utopianism and the political economy (global,
national, regional, local) of technical change:
Much work in the political economy of technical change casts
doubt on taken-for-granted assumptions about, for instance,
the conditions of possibility for mobilising technical change 'in
support of' emancipatory programs, especially when technical
change becomes 'locked in' to particular trajectories and
evolutionary paths. On the other hand, the policy
recommendations that emerge from these studies often ignore
many of the recent insights into the micro-level implementation of
new production technologies, and their intricate links with new
management practices. In short, how can we better link Critical
Management studies to studies of the microfoundations of
technical change in a global economy.
'Managing' the natural environment:
This is one area where the supposed 'value' of technological
innovation is most often challenged. So, can Critical
Management of science and technology - within firms, industries,
nations or regulatory bodies - contribute towards environmentally
sustainable global development?
Stream Convenor:
Richard Hull, ESRC Centre for Research on Innovation &
Competition
[log in to unmask]
Co-Convenors:
William Kaghan, University of Washington
Ossie Jones, Aston University Business School
Andrew Webster, SATSU, Anglia Polytrechnic University
================================================
____________________________________________________________________
Richard Hull
CRIC (ESRC Centre for Research on Innovation & Competition)
Tom Lupton Suite, University Precinct Centre
University of Manchester
Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9QH
Tel: +44 (0)161 275 7364 Fax: 7361
email: [log in to unmask]
http://les.man.ac.uk/cric/Richard_Hull/index.html
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