Managing by Numbers : Continental Philosophical Perspectives

We are often told that only what can be measured can be managed. What is the connection between what is quot;manageablequot; and reality? According to the French economy of conventions school, even quantities like quot;profitquot; don't have a fixed reality, since they are constantly being re-defined through negotiations among firms, regulators and accountants. And according to transcendental phenomenology, we're making a fundamental metaphysical error when we trust quantitative models more than our own experience. This book review explores these issues from the perspectives of the French conventionalists, particularly the writings of Alain Desrosieres, and Edmond Husserl's Crisis of European Sciences. A slightly shorter version of this review appeared in Japanese in the quot;Dashboards amp; Indicatorsquot; theme issue (Spring 2009) of Nikkei Business Management [Nikkei Bijinesu Manejimento] under the title quot;'Kazu' 'teiryouka' o moushin suru bekarazuquot; (Y. Sunada, trans.)