Purpose

Taking issue with the predominance of reviews of James March’s writings that focus on his technical contributions to organizational studies, this study aims to emphasize the central significance and contemporary relevance of his critical reflections on the meaning of life and work in modern organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses a novel framework illustrated by extensive original quotations for capturing and making more accessible March’s profound contribution to organization studies. His work on organizational behaviour and decision-making is viewed as identifying and grappling with three key paradoxes of modernity: of rationality, performance and meaning. His prescriptions on how to handle and address these paradoxes are explored through a focus on his reflections on the poetry of leadership.

Findings

Whilst March himself emphasized that not all of his insights can be captured in an article level overview, March, his collaborator Olsen and others who worked with and studied under him have confirmed the accuracy of the review and the value of the enterprise.

Practical implications

Capturing March’s advocacy of sensible foolishness and playful seriousness in the face of ambiguity, uncertainty and contestation hopefully contribute to enhancing practitioners’ “lightness of being” in coping with and finding meaning in challenging environments.

Originality/value

Through the range of ideas covered, the framework used and the extensive use of March’s own worlds, the study, hopefully, communicates the depth and richness of March’s humanitarian enterprise and the “playfully serious spirit” that he advocates and exemplifies – in a way that is often omitted from narrower, more technical and somewhat dry treatments of his work.

中文翻译：

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詹姆斯·马奇和领导力之诗

目的

针对詹姆斯·马奇 (James March) 着作的主要评论集中于他对组织研究的技术贡献的评论，本研究旨在强调他对现代组织中生活和工作的意义的批判性反思的核心意义和当代相关性。

设计/方法/方法

这篇论文使用了一个新颖的框架，并通过大量的原始引文来说明马奇对组织研究的深刻贡献，并使其更容易理解。他在组织行为和决策方面的工作被视为识别和解决现代性的三个关键悖论：理性、绩效和意义。通过专注于他对领导之诗的反思，探索了他关于如何处理和解决这些悖论的处方。

发现

虽然马奇本人强调，并非他所有的见解都可以在文章级别的概述中得到体现，但马奇和他的合作者奥尔森以及与他一起工作和学习的其他人已经证实了评论的准确性和企业的价值。

实际影响

捕捉马奇在面对模棱两可、不确定性和争论时所倡导的明智的愚蠢和顽皮的严肃性，有望有助于增强从业者在应对和寻找挑战性环境中的“存在之轻”。

原创性/价值

通过涵盖的思想范围、所使用的框架和对马奇自己世界的广泛使用，该研究有望传达马奇人道主义事业的深度和丰富性以及他所倡导和体现的“严肃认真的精神”——以一种方式在对他的作品进行更狭隘、更具技术性和有些枯燥的处理时，经常会被省略。