Contemporary Issues in Management

This book is for upper-level students, managers and academics who are interested in exploring the ‘messy reality’ of the contemporary workplace and in considering how things might be done differently. In particular, it offers a critical perspective on organisational behaviour and the sociology of work.By challenging common sense ideas about management, this textbook offers an up-to-date view of the complex problems and dilemmas facing managers and workers in the contemporary world. Providing a fresh analysis and overview of several core themes, the chapters focus on applied ethics, social issues, diversity, continuity and change. Theoretical reflections are combined with detailed ethnographic studies to offer both breadth and depth. Individual chapters present studies on issues as diverse as teleworking, apprentices, paternalism, migration, animal charities, factory work and farm work. Underpinning all of these studies is a sense that the world of work could be a better place and that students, practitioners and tutors all have an obligation to question the assumptions in business and management.