Puritans, visionaries and survivors

All readings take place in the here-and-now, even of texts written back there and then. Nowhere in management and organization theory has this been truer of anyone than Max Weber. Unread in English during his lifetime, it was nearly 30 years after his death before his ideas had much impact. When they did, they were read in a context and tradition years away from those in which they were conceived. And, ever since, they have been subject to systematic reinterpretation on the one hand and neglect on the other. The paper addresses how one might use Weber today, in terms of his sensitivity to current issues, such as sustainability, as well as the still largely unacknowledged foundation that Weber constructed for contemporary cultural studies. The paper will bring these two themes together, using analysis of contemporary equivalents to the popular culture that formed the basis for some of Weber's own investigations. Copyright © 2005 SAGE Publications

Corporate sustainability: challenge to managerial orthodoxies

This paper addresses the issue of corporate sustainability. It examines why achieving sustainability is becoming an increasingly vital issue for society and organisations, defines sustainability and then outlines a set of phases through which organisations can move to achieve increasing levels of sustainability. Case studies are presented of organisations at various phases indicating the benefits, for the organisation and its stakeholders, which can be made at each phase. Finally the paper argues that there is a marked contrast between the two competing philosophies of neo-conservatism (economic rationalism) and the emerging philosophy of sustainability. Management schools have been strongly influenced by economic rationalism, which underpins the traditional orthodoxies presented in such schools. Sustainability represents an urgent challenge for management schools to rethink these traditional orthodoxies and give sustainability a central place in the curriculum

Under new management: Australian organization in transition/ Dunphy

vi, 218 hal.; ill.; 24 cm

Leadership for sustainability

In this chapter we discuss the leadership of change and the roles that different kinds of change agents can play in constructing the new reality of the sustainable corporation – human sustainability and ecological sustainability. Transforming the way we do business will require the inspiration, energies and skills of more people than are currently engaged in the task. To create a sustainable world, we need many more effective leaders

Heresies to orthodoxies : organizational renewal in Australia 1966–1996

This paper traces the emergence of a social movement that has attempted to transform the fundamental character of organizations in Australia. Unlike many other such social movements, this worldwide social movement has been largely unresearched and even unnamed. It is referred to as the organizational renewal movement. This paper demonstrates how this new social movement gained momentum and influence and eventually contributed to today's prevailing management orthodoxy. Change initiatives moved from being heresies to orthodoxies. In particular the paper traces the movement through three phases. The first phase traces the foundations and acceptance of humanistic change interventions. The second phase traces the challenges to the humanistic agenda and the emergence of new directions. The third phase demonstrates the process of strategic alignment, where heresies became accepted as orthodoxies. The paper concludes with some observations on future directions for the movement

Action research as an approach to integrating sustainability into MBA programs : an exploratory study

This article reports on an exploratory project that employed an action research approach to integrating sustainability into core subjects in the MBA program at an Australian university. It documents the change methodology used, the theoretical basis for this choice, and the project outcomes. It then identifies some key enabling factors and barriers to successful integration of sustainability themes into the MBA. The article also draws on theories of organizational change to illustrate the strengths and limitations of the approach used in this study compared to other possible approaches. Key success factors included active faculty participation from the redesign process to evaluation and collaboration between multiple stakeholders.20 page(s

Towards new forms of governance for issues of sustainability : renewing relationships between corporates, government and community

The leading theories of democracy and stakeholder inclusion from traditional democratic theory demonstrate major limitations in conceptualising these interactions in terms of inclusion or equity, key requisites for the achievement of sustainability. Leading interpretations of management theory are also limited, either constrained by narrow concepts of economic development and shareholder accountability or lost in a directionless argument concerning stakeholder priorities. However, more critical views from political theory such as radical pluralism and deliberative democracy closely correspond to emergent concepts in management theory. We argue this correspondence justifies the incorporation of these concepts in a model of inter-organisational governance that would have the capacity to provide good governance of sustainability related issues.29 page(s

Human and Ecological Factors: A Systematic Approach to Corporate Sustainability

30 page(s

A Case study in strategic sustainability : Fuji Xerox Eco Manufacturing Centre, Sydney, Australia

The Fuji Xerox Company is a leading global corporation that has achieved success by re-inventing its business through re-manufacturing the components of its office equipment products. In this study we explore the particular progress towards sustainability achieved at the Fuji Xerox Eco Manufacturing plant in Sydney, Australia and the organisational qualities which have enabled this progress. The authors conducted semi-structured interviews with managers, supervisors and other members of Fuji Xerox staff from the Eco Manufacturing Centre at Zetland, New South Wales. Promotional and other literature produced by Fuji Xerox and other sources were also examined. This case demonstrates some of the challenges and business advantages of the emerging concept of corporate sustainability.11 page(s