This work examines the rise of postmodernism in management scholarship and argues that the prevalence of postmodernist thought reflects a lack of understanding by management researchers of the core principles upon which Western business endeavour is based. The author highlights postmodernism’s...

1. Introduction to Management History: debates and methodology -- 2. Work, Organization and Commerce in the Pre-Modern World -- 3. The Foundations of Modern Management -- 4. The Classic Age of Management Thought (mid-19th century until 1939) -- 5. Management in the Age of Prosperity (1940s –...