Against Amnesia: French Speaking Administrative Sciences from Saint-Simon to the Present Day

Against Amnesia provides a personal perspective on the French-speaking tradition in administrative sciences. Exploring the evolution of the field, Jean-François Chanlat highlights the originality, influence and challenges that have emerged in the context of globalisation and the Anthropocene. Chapters evaluate the first reflections from the 19th century by great figures (such as Saint-Simon, Comte, Fourier, Proudhon, Courcelle-Seneuil & Leplay), tracing how they shaped the classics of the early 20th century such as Le Châtelier, the introducer of Taylorism in France and Henri Fayol, the 'father' of administrative theory. Chanlat then analyses French industrialists, such as André Citroën and Louis Renault, the French Fords, Charles Gide, the father of social economy thinking, Simone Weil, the philosopher of work, and the main currents that emerged after the Second World War, contextualising the nature and influence of contemporary French research. He also assesses the emergence of contemporary French language studies across the disciplines of sociology, psycho-sociology, economics and technology. The book seeks to develop a broad culture in the social sciences and encourage a multilingualism scholarship. This important and unique book is a valuable resource for students and scholars of business and management, organization studies and sociology. It will also benefit researchers and business consultants looking to globalise their knowledge of administrative sciences and to discover or rediscover the richness of the French speaking tradition in organization and administrative sciences.