Need for change highlighted by public suspicion of management cheerleaders
Anarchism, feminism and communism are among the political philosophies that could help create a new and fairer world, according to experts from the School of Management who will be convening with more than 400 academics from around the world for a conference between 8-10 July to disuss alternative forms of management.
Among the keynote speakers at the event are the writer and champion of worker self-management David Erdal, critical management expert Gibson Burrell, and environmental activist Vandana Shiva. They will all be criticising current dogma management and exploring alternatives.
Professor Martin Parker (pictured), Director of Research for the School of Management, said: “For well over a decade now, the School of Management at Leicester has been recognised for its unusual approach to Management research. Many ordinary people are suspicious about the cheerleaders for management – whether they be Alan Sugar on The Apprentice, bankers crying crocodile tears or corporations which claim to care about the environment.
“Rather than avoiding these questions, as most business schools do, we are organising a big international conference on how to do business differently. Academics from over the world will be discussing how we can organise differently, and the role that management researchers might have in helping to produce a new world.”
The conference, ‘Is there an alternative? Management after critique’, will explore alternatives to modern neoliberal market managerialism, rejecting the idea that business as usual is the only way forward.