Introduction

Organization theory can seem somewhat distant from the territory of personnel specialists, especially when their work is represented in terms of administering or developing systems of recruitment, training, appraisal, etc. Yet, on reflection, the design and operation of such “human resourcing” systems is dependent on ideas about organizing and organization; and their operation has consequences for the maintenance and transformation of how work and employment are organized.

Developments and debates in organizational theory are, arguably, of considerable relevance for personnel specialists whose raison d’être, it has been suggested,

is one of keeping the organization as a whole going on a long-term basis through maintaining the staffing resource and coping with the conflicts and contradictions which arise wherever and whenever people are employed[1, p. 154].

Concluding remarks

Taking Clegg’s work as its focal point, this article has provided a critical exploration of new thinking about organizing and organizations. This thinking has drawn attention to the central role of meaning and power in organizations. Initially, the constitution of meaning and power was abstracted from the structuring of social relations, including employment relations, by class and gender. This deficiency was then corrected, at least in respect of class, at the expense of an appreciation of how these relations are always mediated by institutional frameworks which serve to interpret and evaluate the meaning of these relations. In Modern Organizations[16], the key role of these frameworks is recognized but sight is lost of how employment relations are organized and governed, first and foremost, by the imperative of capital accumulation.