Bureaucratic ambiguity
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2159598 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jacqueline Best (0000-0001-5235-2057, Schlumberger (Ireland), corresponding author) |
| Year | 2012 |
| Volume | 41 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 84-106 |
| Publication date | 2012-02-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Economy and Society (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0308-5147 • E-ISSN: 1469-5766 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/03085147.2011.637333 |
| OpenAlex | W4243427778 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 77 |
| References cited | 37 |
We live in a world in which ever-greater arenas of social life are shaped by standardization and bureaucratic rationalization, as the pursuit of 'measurable results' sweeps everything from universities to hospitals to international organizations. Yet intuitively we understand that much of our collective and individual existence escapes these efforts of rationalization. How then do we develop a conception of the social world that appreciates both the powerful drive towards rationalization and the things that escape or overflow? This article seeks to answer this riddle by examining the central role of ambiguity in social life in general – and in organizational practice in particular. The concept of ambiguity is implicit in much social theory. Yet, over time, as theories become established, much of their openness to tension and ambiguity tends to be closed off. This article seeks to recapture some of that messiness, to shift the focus of attention slightly and to look at what slips out, does not fit or gets lost in translation. Drawing on the examples of two international organizations – the IMF and the World Bank – I explore the ways in which bureaucracies seek not only to contain ambiguity through various forms of quantification and standardization, but also to foster it
Ambiguity · Bureaucracy · Economics · Epistemology · Law and economics · Openness to experience · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Positive economics · Rationalization (economics · Sociology · Standardization · Law · Management and Organizational Studies · Philosophy · Psychology · Public Policy and Administration Research · Social Policy and Reform Studies · Social Psychology
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Operationalizing and navigating ambiguity – Land-making and fisherfolk negotiations in the land-water frontier of Karachi
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Qué evalúan las evaluaciones de las políticas públicas? Análisis de las políticas de inclusión de la "población gitana" desde la antropología de las políticas públicas
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Legitimacy dilemmas
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| Unique citing works | 77 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 5,92 |
| Citation span | 2013 - 2027 (15) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 76 |