ABSTRACT

This book connects findings and insights authored by famous scholars in management and organization studies with challenges the military is facing today.

One assumes that management and organization studies is only about the rational, predictable, and manageable, and that military action is predominately irrational, unpredictable, and unmanageable; both assumptions are wrong. This book argues that the discipline of management and organization studies is highly relevant for the military in both peace- and wartime conditions, and for any situation in between. In all conditions, the giant and complex military organization needs to be structured, processed, administrated, led, and accounted for. Each chapter presented in this volume focuses on the contributions of founding thinkers in management and organization studies, with their work translated and applied to the military setting. These scholars are drawn from a variety of backgrounds, including organizational sociology, economics, political science, psychology, and engineering. Although the work of only a few explicitly refers to the military, the contributions of all these scholars are relevant in order to come to grips with security and military affairs. Together with many other academics’ work, the contributions of these 18 scholars constitute the core of the field of management and organization studies.

This book will be of much interest to students of military studies, management studies, and organization studies.

chapter 1|10 pages

Why management and military studies?

chapter 2|14 pages

Frederick Taylor

Standardized work division, calculation and efficiency, criticism and new developments

chapter 3|12 pages

Mary Parker Follett

Dynamic administration, from the growing of power to constructive conflict

chapter 4|14 pages

Chester Barnard

The human side of the (military) enterprise and leadership

chapter 5|13 pages

James March

Decision-making in organizations and the military, the “upper echelon” approach

chapter 6|14 pages

Chris Argyris

Organizational learning in the military

chapter 7|14 pages

Henry Mintzberg

Managing in exceptional and military circumstances, strategy development, organization’s structures and closing gaps

chapter 8|14 pages

Oliver Williamson

Externalizing activities through transaction costs economics, new public management, organizational hybridities

chapter 9|13 pages

Michael Porter

Strategic management and value creation in business and the military

chapter 10|14 pages

Kenneth Merchant

Management control, hard and soft controls, financial policies, quality management

chapter 11|14 pages

Jeffrey Pfeffer

External control, unleashing the work force, the knowing-doing gap, effects- and evidence-based management

chapter 12|13 pages

Karl Weick

Making sense of safety and incidents, making sense in military operations

chapter 13|14 pages

Steven Barley

The acceptance of technology, virtual work in the military, drones, cyber and big data

chapter 14|14 pages

Geert Hofstede

International management, international military cooperation

chapter 15|15 pages

Rosabeth Moss Kanter

Diversity, organizational change and innovation in (military) organizations

chapter 16|12 pages

Keith Provan

Forms of network governance and network performance

chapter 17|13 pages

Nils Brunsson

Limits to organizational rationality, organizational hypocrisy, standardization

chapter 18|13 pages

Barbara Czarniawska

Narratives in management, security and the military

chapter 19|13 pages

Martha Finnemore

International governmental organizations in the world of security and the military

chapter 20|10 pages

Conclusions

General developments, military effectiveness, changes, restraint and understanding