Telling tales: Management gurus' narratives and the construction of managerial identity
This paper examines the reasons for the apparently powerful impact of management gurus' ideas (i.e. guru theory) on senior managers. An examination of the limited literature on management gurus and other related literatures suggests three explanations for the appeal of guru theory for senior ma...
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1998
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sg-smu-ink.lkcsb_research-72602019-09-20T03:50:36Z Telling tales: Management gurus' narratives and the construction of managerial identity CLARK, Timothy Adrian Robert SALAMAN, Graeme This paper examines the reasons for the apparently powerful impact of management gurus' ideas (i.e. guru theory) on senior managers. An examination of the limited literature on management gurus and other related literatures suggests three explanations for the appeal of guru theory for senior managers. The first set of explanations relates to various features of management work which may heighten managers' receptivity to guru ideas. The second set focuses on the gurus themselves and emphasizes the form in which they are presented (i.e. public performances). The final set of explanations highlights the importance of the socioeconomic and cultural context within which guru theories emerge and become widely adopted. A number of criticisms of these explanations are offered: that they define the manager as passive, that the flow of ideas is one way (guru to manager), that they rely on an academic conception of knowledge. An alternative explanation of their success is outlined which suggests that their work – their analyses, presentations and theories – offer attractive conceptions of the role of managers which constitute the identity of the modern senior manager as an heroic, transformative leader. Gurus therefore not only constitute the organizational realities but also managers themselves. 1998-03-01T08:00:00Z text application/pdf https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research/6261 info:doi/10.1111/1467-6486.00088 https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/lkcsb_research/article/7260/viewcontent/Telling_Tales_2015_sv.pdf Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business eng Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University Organizational Behavior and Theory |
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Organizational Behavior and Theory CLARK, Timothy Adrian Robert SALAMAN, Graeme Telling tales: Management gurus' narratives and the construction of managerial identity |
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This paper examines the reasons for the apparently powerful impact of management gurus' ideas (i.e. guru theory) on senior managers. An examination of the limited literature on management gurus and other related literatures suggests three explanations for the appeal of guru theory for senior managers. The first set of explanations relates to various features of management work which may heighten managers' receptivity to guru ideas. The second set focuses on the gurus themselves and emphasizes the form in which they are presented (i.e. public performances). The final set of explanations highlights the importance of the socioeconomic and cultural context within which guru theories emerge and become widely adopted. A number of criticisms of these explanations are offered: that they define the manager as passive, that the flow of ideas is one way (guru to manager), that they rely on an academic conception of knowledge. An alternative explanation of their success is outlined which suggests that their work – their analyses, presentations and theories – offer attractive conceptions of the role of managers which constitute the identity of the modern senior manager as an heroic, transformative leader. Gurus therefore not only constitute the organizational realities but also managers themselves. |
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text |
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CLARK, Timothy Adrian Robert SALAMAN, Graeme |
author_facet |
CLARK, Timothy Adrian Robert SALAMAN, Graeme |
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CLARK, Timothy Adrian Robert |
title |
Telling tales: Management gurus' narratives and the construction of managerial identity |
title_short |
Telling tales: Management gurus' narratives and the construction of managerial identity |
title_full |
Telling tales: Management gurus' narratives and the construction of managerial identity |
title_fullStr |
Telling tales: Management gurus' narratives and the construction of managerial identity |
title_full_unstemmed |
Telling tales: Management gurus' narratives and the construction of managerial identity |
title_sort |
telling tales: management gurus' narratives and the construction of managerial identity |
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Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University |
publishDate |
1998 |
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https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research/6261 https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/lkcsb_research/article/7260/viewcontent/Telling_Tales_2015_sv.pdf |
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