Gibson Burrell

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Gibson Burrell (born 1948) is a British sociologist and organizational theorist, Professor of Organisation Theory at University of Manchester, [1] Honorary Professor at the University of York, and formerly the University of Leicester. He became known as writer of the 1979 book Sociological Paradigms and Organizational Analysis with Gareth Morgan, [2] and is recognized for introducing the criticalmanagement project to the University of Leicester. [3]

Contents

Life and work

Burrell studied sociology at the University of Leicester, where in 1974 he also completed his M.Phil. In 1980 he received his PhD at the University of Manchester.

Burrell started his academic career as researcher at the University of Birmingham. In the late 1970s he was appointed Lecturer in the Department of Behaviour in Organizations at the University of Lancaster. In the mid-1980s he was appointed Professor of Organizational Behaviour at the University of Warwick. In 2002 he was appointed Professor of Organisation Theory at University of Leicester, where he headed its School of Management from 2002 to 2007. According to the Carter / Mueller Dean index, Burrell ranks as the best Dean in the UK over the last two decades.

Burrell is founding co-editor of the international, interdisciplinary journal Organization, together with Linda Smircich, Marta Calàs, and Mike Reed. [4]

In 2005 Burrell was elected an Academician for the Social Sciences (AcSS), and in 2014, with Gareth Morgan, he was awarded the Academy of Management Trailblazer Award for his contributions to organization and management theory. In 2021, he was awarded the Richard Whipp Lifetime Achievement Award from the British Academy of Management. [5]

In 2021, Burrell was announced as one of the 16 staff made redundant at the University of Leicester. "The stated purpose of the reorganization is a proposed disinvestment from ‘critical management studies and political economy’ in order to refocus research expertise on data analytics, entrepreneurship, innovation, operations and logistics, with 6 new appointments to be made in these areas, by those using, we are told, only quantitative skills." [6]

Publications, a selection

Articles, a selection

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References

  1. "Prof Gibson Burrell | The University of Manchester".
  2. Morgen Witzel (2003) Fifty key figures in management. p.232-239
  3. Don Antunes, Howard Thomas (2007). "The Competitive (Dis)Advantages of European Business Schools", Long Range Planning, Volume 40, Issue 3, pp. 382-404.
  4. The Oxford Handbook of Organization Theory, At Home from Mars to Somalia: Recounting Organization Studies (Marta B. Calás, Linda Smircich)
  5. @bam_ac_uk (September 2, 2021). "Our most prestigious award, the Richard Whipp Lifetime Achievement Award, is presented to Professor Gibson Burrell…" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  6. Letter to all staff from Simon Lilley and Gibson Burrell, 11 February 2021)
  7. Also available in Japanese translation. (now published by Ashgate Publishing London and Brookfield VT)