Historically publishing: research from the 1997 Academy of Management History Division Free

Historically publishing: research from the 1997 Academy of Management History Division

Paula Phillips Carson

About the Guest EditorPaula Phillips Carson received her doctorate from Louisiana State University, her master's degree in Business Administration from Millsaps College and her bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Loyola University. She has published over 80 proceedings papers, articles and books. As the Professional Women's Association Endowed Professor, at the University of Southwestern Louisiana, Dr Carson teaches management courses in the areas on human resources, labour relations and "quality".

Keywords Management,History

Nearly 500 years ago, Sir Walter Raleigh (1552-1618) proclaimed, "History hath triumphed over time, which besides it nothing but eternity hath triumphed over." Such wisdom is as true now as it was during his life. But in order for history to continue to inspire, inform,and invigorate us, scholars and other enthusiasts must have access to compelling and cutting edge historiography.

This points to the underlying reason why the Journal of Management History is so significant to the discipline of management. Since the journal's inauguration, it has been a vital outlet for documenting, and indeed preserving, important but previously undiscovered information regarding the evolution of the field. This special issue, which contains five articles presented to the Management History Division, at the 1997 Academy of Management Annual Meeting, aspires to contribute to the Journal's tradition of disseminating relevant,thought-provoking history research.

The manuscripts included in this special issue are quite diverse in content, approach, and perspective. "The contributions of Chester Barnard to strategic management theory" authored by David McMahon and Jon Chandler Carr presents an application of the writings of Chester Barnard in Functions of the Executive to modern-day developments in strategic management. "Labor, capital and the Church: a call for action" by Eileen P. Kelly focuses on the Catholic church's social teachings regarding economic systems, private property, and labor unions. "A historical analysis of the international business perspectives of Mexican industrial groups" by Darryl B. Lanoue discusses the evolution of Mexican industrial groups between 1821 and 1990. "Fayol's Principles and the Rule of St Benedict: is there anything new under the sun?" by Michael H. Kennedy contrasts the perspectives of two influential figures whose lives and work were separated by a period of 1,400 years. "The role of management history in the management curriculum: 1997" by Jane Whitney Gibson, Richard M. Hodgetts and Charles W. Blackwell summarizes survey results which indicate that while management history is not a very popular stand-alone course, there is a pervasive belief that history is not given sufficient coverage in contemporary management teaching.

In addition to contributing to our collective historical knowledge, I invite readers to think about three additional contributions each of these included manuscripts makes. First, the compilation is quite eclectic in terms of its subdisciplinary focus. Each of these five manuscripts fits quite appropriately within the domain of other Academy divisions, as indicated in Table I. This observation speaks to the fact that every idea, every theory, every trend, and every body of knowledge has a history.

Also demonstrated in Table I is the contemporary nature of these historical topics. Each of the included manuscripts addresses an issue that is currently the subject of much debate and deliberation. And, last but certainly not least, each of the five papers offers a unique and valuable history lesson of sorts, but they are relevant not only to historical researchers but to all those who desire and profess to push the envelope of management wisdom.

I would very much like to thank Dr Jack Rabin, Editor of the Journal of Management History, MCB University Press and the Management History Division authors and reviewers for turning this special issue into a reality and I am pleased to be able to say that the research papers from the 1998 Academy of Management Annual Meeting will be published in the next issue of this journal.

Table I.Contributions of the manuscripts included in this special issue