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If Management is ‘Common Sense’, Why is Sense in Management so Uncommon?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2015

David Lamond*
Affiliation:
Macquarie Graduate School of Management, Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Tel: +61 2 9850 9019, Email: [email protected]

Abstract

One of the more regular observations of management students and managers is that it (management) is all ‘common sense.’ We are left to ponder then, ‘if management is common sense, why is sense in management so uncommon?’ This question is prompted by observations of managers and their decisions and actions over a number of years and reflections about various models of management. It is also a question appropriately asked in light of ‘globalisation,’ which is currently fashionable. Can ‘sense’ in management ever be ‘common,’ or do we need to revise our understanding of what is a ‘sound, practical perception or understanding’ according to the contexts within which the perceptions take place?

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 1998

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