A philosophical analysis of management: improving praxis

This paper draws on the philosophy of social sciences to develop a framework that permits a critical analysis of management practice. It uses this framework to construct a taxonomy that enables the identification of the competing philosophical paradigms that underpin contending perspectives on what constitutes “good” management practice, so enabling the articulation of their salient risks and thus their fundamental philosophical flaws. It then proposes the requirements for a philosophically coherent approach to management. Thereon, the implications for management development are explicated.