Managing without Leadership Towards a Theory of Organizational Functioning

Book details for Managing without Leadership

Contributor(s): Gabriele Lakomski (author),

Format: Hardback, 234 x 156 x 11mm , 168 pp

Publication date: 15 Dec 2004

Imprint: Elsevier Science Ltd

ISBN: 9780080433523

Price: £73.95

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Synopsis

A critical examination of leadership theories past and present, "Managing without Leadership" argues that leadership as traditionally understood does not explain organizational functioning. Bounded by empiricist assumptions and methodology, and including a narrow theory of mind as symbol processor, leadership theories are unable to support their claims about leaders and their actions. Drawing on coherentist epistemology, connectionism, and the theory of self-organizing dynamic systems, a naturalistic account of organizational functioning and organization design is explored that includes leaders as non-privileged agents in the cognitive fabric of organizational life.

Reviews

"Managing Without Leadership challenges orthodox thinking about leadership provoking scholars in the field to re-examine the epistemological assumptions that underpin their work." - Professor James Spillane, Northwestern University, US

Contents

Explaining Organizational Functioning: Leadership's Past and Present. Why We Can Manage without Leadership, Postmodernist Leadership, Leadership, Organizational Culture and Change, Substituted or Distributed: The End of Leadership as We Know It? Explaining Organizational Functioning: Moving beyond Leadership. Managing Organizational Knowledge, Moving Knowledge: What is transfer?, Organization, Emergence and Design, A Road Map to Managing without Leadership.