ABSTRACT
Sociologists of work and organisation have varied in their methodological and theoretical orientations. They have also differed in their primary interests. The managerial-psychologistic strand, which it consider first, contains what are usually seen as quite separate and indeed contrasting elements. Scientific management and psychological humanism are the ghosts at the banquet, in effect. The study of social interaction which focuses on how people develop their concept of self through processes of communication in which symbols such as words, gestures and dress allow people to understand the expectations of others. Scientific management and psychological humanism are, at first sight, diametrically opposed in underlying sentiment and assumptions about human nature. Interactionism has also contributed to how we understand work organisations. Its most significant contribution here is its conception of the organisation as a negotiated order. The 'negotiated order' perspective is expanded and developed by combining it with the powerful notion of institutional logics.
