An Introduction to Management Studies[Une introduction aux sciences de Gestion]

Moving beyond prescriptive and instrumental approaches, this textbook views management studies as a social science and offers a renewed perspective on management. It connects management techniques to their social embeddedness through an "extended sociotechnical" perspective. Drawing on a wide range of empirical settings—including business firms, public organizations, and social and solidarity economy organizations—as well as diverse theoretical frameworks, the authors build on major contributions from the social sciences, particularly those of Michel Foucault, to examine how management, understood as a form of "governmentality," structures organizations, shapes behaviour, and contributes to the major transformations of the contemporary world. The book sheds light on the conditions under which management knowledge is produced and on its effects on organizations and society. It is essential reading for anyone seeking to approach management studies beyond ready-made recipes and to explore their foundations, uses, and implications in the contemporary world.