Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book provides a more nuanced and practical account of rationality in organizational contexts. It offers new insight into one of the best-known and foundational women thinkers on managing and organizing: Mary Parker Follett. The book explores the fundamental contributions of sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild to organization theory, and focuses on her central role in advancing understanding of the relation between private lives and public organizing. It considers how the work of Heather Hopfl disrupts standard accounts of organization and management. The book reviews the work and life of Lillian Moller Gilbreth. While Lillian Moller Gilbreth is appreciated for her work on scientific management and motion studies, her wider contribution to the study and practice of organization and management is less well understood.