A Longitudinal Analysis of Technical and Organizational Uncertainty in Management Theory
Organization Studies · 2000 · Volume 21 · Issue 1
Abstract
This study examines the rise of discourse on uncertainty in management during th period 1879-1932. It offers quantitative empirical analyses that are based on primary data collected from the American Machinist and the Engineering Magazine, the central sources of documentation on management during this period. The research provides a critical interpretation of the emergence of uncertainty discourse by linking it to professional, cultural and social forces. The empirical findings lend strong empirical support for the `professionalization' and the `labour unrest' arguments. The implications for contemporary organization theory are discussed.
Keywords
organizational uncertainty, history of organization theory, managerial ideology, mechanical engineering and management, genealogical analysis
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