Beyond the Tangible in Management Education and Development

Abstract

We call for the fostering of a genuine plurality of outlooks and approaches among providers of management education and development. We note that, despite a considerable amount of criticism, one particular system of thought about appropriate subject-matter has predominated in the major business schools, and as a consequence there has been a tendency for the range of acceptable teaching approaches to be restricted. Although we acknowledge that there is plurality of provision in some locations, we note that in others there is a reining back towards more conventional forms of provision. We look to psychological theory for clues regarding why there is resistance to pluralism in many institutions providing management education, and to second-stage feminism for a vision of institutional politics that can challenge as appropriate, but also negotiate and work with the managerial and professional development of management educators.