Organization, once a mainstay of sociological inquiry, has again become a key site in the rethinking of the social sciences. But despite radical changes in recent years, many of the more exciting recent ideas remain scattered across a wide array of sources. Contemporary Organization Theory brings together in a single volume some of the most important contemporary work in the study of organization.

This edited collection will serve as an important introduction for students of organization and is essential reading for scholars across the social sciences. Each of the eighteen chapters introduces, reviews and critically evaluates the work of a key theorist writing over the last two decades. Taking stock of the state of contemporary organization theory, the contributors to this volume engage powerfully with each theorist and develop and extend their work, in ways that take us towards the future, and therefore beyond contemporary organization theory.

Acknowledgements.

Organization Theory, 1985-2005: Campbell Jones and Rolland Munro.

1. Giorgio Agamben and the community without identity: René ten Bos.

2. Are we all good? Zygmunt Bauman's response to Hobbes: Ruud Kaulingfreks.

3. Gibson Burrell: Diabolical architect: Philip Hancock and Melissa Tyler.

4. Judith Butler: On organizing subjectivities: Janet Borgerson.

5. Othering Organization Theory: Marta Calás and Linda Smircich: Joanna Brewis.

6. Stewart Clegg: Towards a Machiavellian Organization Theory?: Peter Fleming and André Spicer.

7. Robert Cooper: Beyond organization: Sverre Spoelstra.

8. Immaculate defecation: Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari in Organization Theory: Bent Meier Sørensen.

9. André Gorz: Autonomy and equity in the post-industrial age: Finn Bowring

10. David Knights and Hugh Willmott: The subjugation of identity and...and...and...organization-to-come...: Damian O'Doherty.

11. The ordering of things: Organization in Bruno Latour: Jan Harris.

12. Organizations as decision machines: Niklas Luhmann's theory of organized social systems: Armin Nassehi.

13. Antagonism, contradiction, time: Conflict and organization in Antonio Negri: Matteo Mandarini.

14. The Theatre of Measurement: Michel Serres: Steven D. Brown.

15. Practical deconstructivist feminist Marxist organization theory: Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak: Campbell Jones.

16. Partial organization: Marilyn Strathern and the elicitation of relations: Rolland Munro.

17. Karl Weick: Concepts, style and reflection: Barbara Czarniawska.

18. Everything you wanted to know about Organization Theory...but were afraid to ask Slavoj Zˇ izˇek: Steffen Böhm and Christian De Cock.

Notes on contributors.

Index.