Management Learning

 

Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Giroux, H.
Right arrow Articles by Taylor, J. R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?
Management Learning, Vol. 33, No. 4, 497-517 (2002)
DOI: 10.1177/1350507602334006

The Justification of Knowledge

Tracking the Translations of Quality

Helene Giroux

HEC Montreal, helene.2.giroux{at}hec.ca

James R. Taylor

University of Montreal, Canada, JTa8918673{at}aol.com

Current theories of organizational learning that emphasize knowledge creation and transformation assume, but fail to problematize, the justification of belief in new knowledge, although they admit it is an essential enabling condition for the dissemination and integration of innovative ideas and practices into organizational practice. The present article aims to correct this imbalance by (1) developing a theoretical framework for the study of organizational justification of belief, and (2) reporting on an empirical study of the processes by which quality management progressively became accepted as a solution to the economic problems encountered by enterprise during the decade of the 1980s. Grounded in a constructivist view of knowledge, we demonstrate that what Nonaka and Takeuchi refer to as a managerial intention is in fact the product of a process of learning, involving the play of both external and internal influences, channeled through the continuing association and disassociation of interests that reflect the communities of practice and discourse that are typical of every complex organization. Justification of belief is thus both a social and a rhetorical accomplishment, whose outcome is a priori unpredictable.

Key Words: discourse analysis • fads • knowledge management • organizational learning • quality • rhetoric • sociology of translation


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Management LearningHome page
A. Macpherson and O. Jones
Object-mediated Learning and Strategic Renewal in a Mature Organization
Management Learning, April 1, 2008; 39(2): 177 - 201.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Human RelationsHome page
R. Holt
Principals and practice: Rhetoric and the moral character of managers
Human Relations, December 1, 2006; 59(12): 1659 - 1680.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Organization StudiesHome page
I. Nonaka, G. von Krogh, and S. Voelpel
Organizational Knowledge Creation Theory: Evolutionary Paths and Future Advances
Organization Studies, August 1, 2006; 27(8): 1179 - 1208.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Management LearningHome page
A. Sturdy
The Adoption of Management Ideas and Practices: Theoretical Perspectives and Possibilities
Management Learning, June 1, 2004; 35(2): 155 - 179.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 OrganizationHome page
J. R. Taylor and D. Robichaud
Finding the Organization in the Communication: Discourse as Action and Sensemaking
Organization, May 1, 2004; 11(3): 395 - 413.
[Abstract] [PDF]