This book is for upper-level students, managers and academics who are interested in exploring the 'messy reality' of the contemporary workplace and in considering how things might be done differently. In particular, it offers a critical perspective on organisational behaviour and the sociology of work.By challenging common sense ideas about management, this textbook offers an up-to-date view of the complex problems and dilemmas facing managers and workers in the contemporary world. Providing a fresh analysis and overview of several core themes, the chapters focus on applied ethics, social issues, diversity, continuity and change. Theoretical reflections are combined with detailed ethnographic studies to offer both breadth and depth. Individual chapters present studies on issues as diverse as teleworking, apprentices, paternalism, migration, animal charities, factory work and farm work. Underpinning all of these studies is a sense that the world of work could be a better place and that students, practitioners and tutors all have an obligation to question the assumptions in business and management.

Key features include:








Original in-depth qualitative cases


Critical approach


Non-standard work situations


Presents lived experience rather than 'model' or 'idealised' problems


Focus on context, understanding and interpretation of complex situations


Examples of a variety of management practice


Discussion of management issues in wider philosophical and political context




Contemporary Issues in Management would be suitable for those studying organisational behaviour, management, ethnography and sociology of work. The book will also be of interest to the general reader with an interest in developing a broader awareness of contemporary management.