The "fact" of management

This paper addresses the status of management knowledge and the nature of fact therein, and suggests that neither in theory nor in practice is management best served by a veneer of scientistic pretensions. Taking motivation theory as an example, the inherent contradictions in the historical development of management theory are highlighted, and the influence of postmodernism on management knowledge is considered. It is argued that the development of management knowledge is limited by ideological commitment to scientism and that recent developments in epistemology offer a more fruitful way forward.

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