Pragmatism and Organization Studies

Abstract

The development of pragmatist thought (Peirce, James, Dewey, and Mead) in the first half of the twentieth century in the United States deeply impacted political science, semiotics, philosophy, psychology, sociology, education, law. Later intellectual trends (analytical philosophy, structuralism, cognitivism) focusing on rational representations or archetypical models somehow sidelined Pragmatism for three decades. In the world of organizations, they often conveyed the Cartesian dream of rational control, which became the mainstream view in management and organization research. In response to the growing uncertainty and complexity of situations, social sciences have experienced a “pragmatist turn.” Many streams of organization research have criticized the view of organizations as information-processing structures, controlled through rational representations. They share some key theoretical principles: the processual view of organizing as “becoming”; the emphasis on the key role of action; the agential power of objects; the exploratory and inquiring nature of organizing. These are precisely the key theses of pragmatists, who formulated a radical critique of the dualisms which hinder organization studies (thought/action, decision/execution, reality/representation, individual/collective, micro/macro) and developed key concepts applicable to organization studies (inquiry, semiotic mediation, habit, abduction, trans-action, valuation). This book aims to make the pragmatist intellectual framework more accessible to organization and management scholars. It presents some fundamental pragmatist concepts, and their potential application to the study of organizations, drawing conclusions concerning managerial practices, in particular the critique of the Taylorian tradition and the promotion of continuous improvement. To enhance accessibility, each theme is illustrated by real cases experienced by the author.