The purpose of this article is to compare and contrast the socio‐economic approach to management (SEAM) with 15 large system change methods. All 16 of these methods are part of the transorganizational development (TD) gameboard (see the Web site at http://web.nmsu.edu/ dboje/TDgameboard.html...

The purpose of this article is to explore the similarities and differences in the socio‐economic approach to management (SEAM) method and postmodern approaches to theatre. Neither metaphorical nor managerialist, SEAM's perspective allows that the organization is theatre. Introduces the terms...

Purpose – The purpose is to inspire a more Bakhtinian perspective of conversations in change communication. Inspiration is drawn from Bakhtin and argue that change management has, for too long, focused on monologic implementation of predetermined change, i.e. how to develop the “best...

This article develops an example of Letiche’s article on phenomenal complexity by contrasting academic research projects that have contradictory findings concerning Disney. Some academics think Disney is unfairly critiqued while others think that Disney escapes. Phenomenal complexity theory is...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a typology of enchantment approaches that are related to storytelling practices in organizations: enchantment by design and enchantment by emergence. Design/methodology/approach – The authors explore this enchantment framework in a...

Attempts to reformulate the notion of organizational control considering the new dictates of the post‐Fordist agenda. Ideology, as a control mechanism, takes on a secondary role with the body (re‐)emerging as the ontological priority for the examination of human subjectivity, or more...

Looks at the historical roots of TQM. Finds that TQM, while popularly attributed to W. Edwards Deming, can be linked in Japan to 1920s industrialization and to the importation of Taylor’s philosophy. Posits that TQM’s neo‐modernism. Concludes with post‐TQM ideas for managing change.

Provides a postmodern view of consultants′ experiences with diversity. Calls into question the relationship between what becomes a “diversity category” and the other differences that remain background. Looks at the political and economic system that sustains the categories of diversity in...

This article introduces the contributions made by a leading management scholar (Lou Pondy) and discusses ways he responded as a mentor to the questionings of his many students.

Some of Lou Pondy′s closest colleagues were invited to submit letters and articles, as a starting point for this special issue. Many letters were received from leading scholars at some of the most respected institutions in the world, capturing Lou′s human qualities and his unique analytic...