THE COMING CRISIS OF WESTERN MANAGEMENT EDUCATION

The aim of this paper is to explore the contention that Western Manage ment Education has entered a period of ''crisis'' and to examine the i mplications of such a development. Drawing on historical studies of ma nagement education in America and Europe, four modes of management ''f ormation'' are identified, each of which has been dominant in a partic ular period. From its preparadigmatic beginnings, management education has been successively transformed under an ''old'' and latterly a ''n ew'' paradigm. Current changes in and critiques of the ''new'' paradig m imply that Western Management Education is entering a postparadigmat ic mode. The implications of this postparadigmatic turn are considered in relation to management practice, management knowledge, and managem ent ''formation.''