ABSTRACT
This book, inspired by the twenty-first birthday of Silverman’s influential book The Theory o f Organizations, is in part a stock taking on the current state of organization theory. But it is also looking forward and considering the potential which exists for a non-positivistic, non-managerialist organization theory. My pur pose is to contribute to such a project, arguing that one of the most significant ways in which organization theory can be developed is through its use as a resource for trying to understand practical and specific organizational problems and issues. I also wish to raise some questions about the purpose and functions of organization theory especially with regard to their relevance for people who are organizational practitioners rather than specialist organizational theorists. I am particularly concerned with those who are involved in processes of managing work, but this is not to adopt a managerialist viewpoint. I shall argue that a non managerialist and non-positivistic organization theory, which nevertheless draws on elements from the variety of existing socalled ‘paradigms’, would be a valuable resource both for practis ing managers and any others wanting to understand the function ing of complex organizations.
