This book brings a major resource to organization studies: the work of Norbert Elias. By applying his ideas in a critical but sympathetic way, the authors provide a new perspective on the never-ending stream of management fads and fashions. Standing back and taking a more detached perspective, inspired by the work of Norbert Elias (1897-1990), it becomes clear that many "new" types of organizations are often variations on an old theme. Elias gives us considerable purchase on current debates through his emphasis on long-term historical perspectives, his highlighting of issues of power, emotion and subjectivity, his interweaving of analysis at the level of the state, the organization, groups, and individuals, his alternative "take" on issues of agency and structure, and his relevance to a wide range of current organization theories. The contributions show the current relevance of Elias's work in numerous fields of organizational analysis such as the sociology of finance and markets, the comparative and cross-cultural study of organization, comparative management development, organizational meetings, organizational boundaries, gossip and privacy in organizations, emotion in organizations, and the significance of humiliation within organizations.

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction: Norbert Elias and the civilized organization (by Newton, Tim); 2. Part I: Organizing Discourse; 3. 1. The development of meeting behaviour in modern organizations and the rise of an upper class of professional chairpersons (by Vree, Wilbert van); 4. 2. Blame and praise gossip in organizations: Established, outsiders and the civilising process (by Soeters, Joseph); 5. 3. The humiliating organisation: The functions and dysfunctions of degradation (by Smith, Dennis); 6. Part II: Negotiating Boundaries; 7. 4. About individual autonomy and the relational self: The performance of privacy in contemporary organizations (by Gastelaars, Marja); 8. 5. Figurational sociology, monopolization and corporate governance (by Stokvis, Ruud); 9. 6. Boundary behaviour and organizational dynamics (by Hernes, Tor); 10. Part III: Crossing Cultures; 11. 7. From the socio-historical macro model to organizational behaviour: A comparative study of coordination in organisations in France and Germany (by Globokar, Tatiana); 12. 8. The evolution of management theories in China: An Eliasian analysis (by Chen, Stephen); 13. 9. Cultivating Indian management: Institutions, subjectivity, and the nature of knowledge (by Srinivas, Nidhi); 14. Part IV: Theorizing Practice; 15. 10. Norbert Elias as organizational sociologist (by Mastenbroek, Willem); 16. 11. Elias, organizatons and ecology (by Newton, Tim); 17. 12. Management and organization: Does Elias give us something to hold on to? (by Mastenbroek, Willem); 18. Notes; 19. References; 20. Index