SPECIAL ISSUE: JOURNAL OF APPLIED BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE
SCIENCE AND SERVICE IN ORGANIZATIONAL SCHOLARSHIP
(Volume 32, Number 4, December 1996)
Edited by James R. Bailey & Wayne N. Eastman
Faculty of Management, Rutgers University
Dear Colleagues:
I am writing to inform you about a recent special issue of the Journal of
Applied Behavioral Science that Wayne Eastman and I co-edited. The reason I
do so is that the theme of this special issue is of great interest to all of
us who are devoted to examining and apprehending organizational phenomena.
Briefly, the enterprise of contemporary organizational scholarship is
premised on the belief that stable principles govern societies, economies,
organizations and individuals, and that these can be communicated to and
used by practicing managers in their everyday business dealings. Thus
conceived, organizational scholarship is simultaneously committed to
science--the effort to elucidate the fundamental laws of social reality--and
service--the practical intention of converting scientifically generated
knowledge into useful managerial prescriptions. From this perspective,
science and service are harmoniously wed; equal and complementary parts of a
whole. But a tension between the two has emerged over the last two decades
as a source of considerable disenchantment within both academic and
corporate halls. It is to diagnosing the discord between the process of
inquiry (i.e., science) and the usefulness of its outcome (i.e., service)
that this special issue of JABS is devoted.
This issue has several unique features. First, it enlists the talents of
some of the fields most noted thinkers, including Chris Argyris, Ken Gergen,
Robert Hogan and Walter Nord. Second, it uses a dialogue format, where
authors put forth their own views and then respond to those of other authors
in a separate paper. Third, it includes an orienting introduction and
conclusion by Wayne Eastman and myself. (See the Table of Contents below.)
We feel this special issue could be very valuable as a concise and engaging
guide to the fundamental philosophical foundations of and challenges to
organizational scholarship. It would be ideal for use in Ph.D. seminars, or
for anyone who wishes to advance their knowledge of the complex conditions
and contradictions that are facing modern organizational theory.
If you are interested, you can contact either myself at the number below, or
Sage Publications directly at 805-499-9774.
Cordially,
James Bailey
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Section 1: Introduction
Tensions Between Science and Service in Organizational Scholarship
James R. Bailey & Wayne N. Eastman
Section 2: Papers
Organization Science as Social Construction: Postmodern Potentials
Kenneth J. Gergen & Tojo Joseph Thatchenkery
Intellectual, Ideological, and Political Obstacles to the Advancement of
Organization Science
Robert Hogan & Robert Sinclair
Actionable Knowledge: Design Causality in the Service of Consequential Theory
Chris Argyris
The Bloodless Coup: The Infiltration of Organization Science by Uncertainty
and Values
Ann Connell & Walt Nord
Section 3: Responses
Developing Dialogue for Discerning Differences
Kenneth J. Gergen & Tojo Joseph Thatchenkery
The Answer is Still Yes: But What was the Question?
Robert Sinclair & Robert Hogan
Actionable Knowledge: Intent Versus Actuality
Chris Argyris
Uncertainty and Values to the Rescue
Ann Connell & Walt Nord
Section 4: Conclusions
Epistemology, Action and Rhetoric: Past and Present Connections in
Organizational Scholarship
Wayne N. Eastman & James R. Bailey
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* James Bailey, Ph.D. *
* Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior *
* and Human Resource Management *
* Faculty of Management, Rutgers University *
* 180 University Ave., Newark, NJ 07102 *
* 201-648-5983 (office) *
* 201-659-4345 (home) *
* 201-648-1664 (fax) *
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