Call For Papers


INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

St Anne's College, Oxford

26 - 29 June 2002

DEVELOPING PHILOSOPHY OF MANAGEMENT


Organised by Reason in Practice: The Journal of Philosophy of Management

This international conference open to all will be of special interest to
philosophers in all traditions, management researchers and teachers,
consultants and practising managers. It builds on the successful
'Introducing Philosophy of Management' conference at the LSE in June 2001.

PURPOSE

Management as a set of ideas, a function and a group has never been more
influential or visible and the complexity and impact of its work continues
to grow across cultures. In this context, philosophical scrutiny of its
theory and practice and engagement with its issues has never been more
necessary. This conference will provide an opportunity for theorists and
practitioners to present new work in the philosophy of management, engage
with philosophical and practical issues in management within and across
cultures and experience the power of philosophical skills and techniques in
practice.

CONFERENCE FORMAT

 Plenary sessions with leading speakers from education and management

 Presentation of papers in parallel sessions

 Workshops, panel discussions and interviews

 Poster presentations

 Practitioner Pathway including items such as:

- Workshops offering participants the opportunity to experience or observe
philosophical processes and techniques in use by managers (such as
Philosophical Enquiry, Socratic Dialogue, decision-making)
- Executive introductions to philosophical issues in management
- Case studies demonstrating the application of philosophical thinking and
techniques in management practice and management development


SCOPE AND THEMES

Academic and practical contributions in any of the above formats are invited
on any aspect of philosophy of management including:

1. Presuppositions of management theory and practice

2. Concepts employed in management thinking and practice

3. Representations of management and the managerial myths informing
management theory and practice

4. Management methodologies

5. The relevance and applicability of philosophical techniques and skills to
management practice

6. The application of philosophical disciplines to issues facing managers


SOME POSSIBLE THEMES

 Management agency and responsibilities
 The 'right to manage' and the place of regulation
 The contribution of different philosophical traditions to management
 The presuppositions of classical management theories
 How should managed organisations be construed? As a social contract? A
community? An instrument? A constellation of stakeholders?
 The construction, status and rights of managed 'employees': Citizens?
Stakeholders? Resources?
 Management as ideology
 Management, relativism and culture
 Management, technology and nature
 The 'real world' of management
 The meaning of management, managerialism, professionalism and leadership -
      and the relations between them
 The self in management
 The language of management
 Performance measurement
 Gender and management
 Feminist contributions to management theory and practice
 Work and the emotions
 Work, meaning and careers
 The contributions of philosophers and different philosophical traditions
to management
 The role of ethicists
 Philosophical techniques in management: enquiry, dialogue, decision-making
 Management education: content and methods
 The relationship of theory to practice

OPEN MANAGEMENT AND ITS ENEMIES

To mark the centenary of Karl Popper's birth contributions in any format
addressing this theme will be especially welcome. Possible topics include:

 The practical and theoretical relevance of Popper's thought to management
 Epistemology in management
 Managerial expertise and authority
 Policy making and implementation
 The political forms most appropriate for managed organisations
 The status of management theories
 Knowledge creation and management
 Learning in management
 Managing change
 Organisational design
 Dialogue, communication, confidentiality and secrecy


PUBLICATION

The official conference publication is Reason in Practice: The Journal of
Philosophy of Management. All papers will be considered for publication in a
special issue of the Journal and/or in a post-conference book.

LANGUAGE

The language of the conference will be English.


TO CONTRIBUTE...

Please submit a 500 word proposal plus your contact details and brief cv to
arrive by
16 November

Use email if possible to

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Alternatively, send 3 paper copies to

Nigel Laurie
Reason in Practice
74a Station Road East
Oxted
Surrey  RH8 0PG
UK

Contributors will be informed of acceptance by 10 December.

TIMETABLE

16 November   Proposals due

10 December  Contributors informed of acceptance

15 February  Full papers due

18 March   Notification of conference streams, session dates and times, etc

8 April   Final paper text due in electronic form for inclusion in
proceedings

3 June   Despatch of proceedings in paper and cd formats to all participants


CONFERENCE BOOKING DETAILS WILL BE AVAILABLE SHORTLY

Send a blank email to

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Or post your contact details to

Conference
Reason in Practice
74a Station Road East
Oxted  Surrey  RH8 0PG    UK


PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO ANYONE WHO WOULD BE INTERESTED.
THANK YOU.


Nigel Laurie
Editor and Publisher
Reason in Practice The Journal of Philosophy of Management
74a Station Road East
Oxted  Surrey RH8 0PG
United Kingdom
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tel/fax +44 (0)1883 715419