Gibson Burrell (born 1948) is a British
sociologist and
organizational theorist
Organizational theory refers to the set of interrelated concepts that involve the sociological study of the structures and operations of formal social organizations. Organizational theory also attempts to explain how interrelated units of organiz ...
, Professor of Organisation Theory at
University of Manchester
, mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity
, established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univ ...
, Honorary Professor at the
University of York, and formerly the
University of Leicester
, mottoeng = So that they may have life
, established =
, type = public research university
, endowment = £20.0 million
, budget = £326 million
, chancellor = David Willetts
, vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah
, head_lab ...
. He became known as writer of the 1979 book ''Sociological Paradigms and Organizational Analysis'' with
Gareth Morgan,
[ Morgen Witzel (2003) ''Fifty key figures in management''. p.232-239] and is recognized for establishing a ''critical'' ''management'' school at the University of Leicester.
Life and work
Burrell studied sociology at the
University of Leicester
, mottoeng = So that they may have life
, established =
, type = public research university
, endowment = £20.0 million
, budget = £326 million
, chancellor = David Willetts
, vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah
, head_lab ...
, where in 1974 he also completed his M.Phil. In 1980 he received his PhD at the
University of Manchester
, mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity
, established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univ ...
.
Burrell started his academic career as researcher at the
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingha ...
. In the late 1970s he was appointed Lecturer in the Department of Behaviour in Organizations at the
University of Lancaster
, mottoeng = Truth lies open to all
, established =
, endowment = £13.9 million
, budget = £317.9 million
, type = Public
, city = Bailrigg, City of Lancaster
, country = England
, coor =
, campus = Bailrigg
, faculty = ...
. In the mid-1980s he was appointed Professor of Organizational Behaviour at the
University of Warwick
, mottoeng = Mind moves matter
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £7.0 million (2021)
, budget = £698.2 million (2020â ...
. 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
Linda Smircich (born 1948) is a Professor of Management in the Isenberg School of Management, University of Massachusetts Amherst where she teaches Organizational Alternative Paradigms. , Marta Calà s, and Mike Reed.
[The Oxford Handbook of Organization Theory](_blank)
At Home from Mars to Somalia: ''Recounting Organization Studies'' (Marta B. Calás, Linda Smircich)
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.
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."
[Letter to all staff from Simon Lilley and Gibson Burrell, 11 February 2021)](_blank)
Publications, a selection
* Gibson Burrell and Gareth Morgan (business theorist), Gareth Morgan
(1979) ''Sociological Paradigms and Organizational Analysis'', London and Exeter: NH. Heinemann.
[Also available in Japanese translation. (now published by Ashgate Publishing London and Brookfield VT)]
* Burrell, Gibson, and Jeff Hearn. ''The sexuality of organization.'' (1989).
* Burrell, Gibson. ''Pandemonium: Towards a retro-organization theory.'' Sage, 1997.
* Dale, Karen, and Gibson Burrell. ''The spaces of organisation and the organisation of space: Power, identity and materiality at work.'' Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.
;Articles, a selection
* Burrell, Gibson. "Sex and organizational analysis." ''Organization Studies'' 5.2 (1984): 97-118.
* Cooper, Robert, and Gibson Burrell. "Modernism, postmodernism and organizational analysis: An introduction." ''Organization studies'' 9.1 (1988): 91-112.
* Burrell, Gibson. "Modernism, post modernism and organizational analysis 2: The contribution of Michel Foucault." ''Organization studies'' 9.2 (1988): 221-235.
* Burrell, Gibson. "Back to the future: time and organization." ''Rethinking Organization. New Directions in Organization Theory and Analysis'' (1992).
* Burrell, Gibson. "Discourses and Genealogies of Analysis." ''Studying organization: Theory and method'' (1999): 388.
References
External links
* Last version o
Professor Gibson Burrells homepage at the University of Leicester, date 31 July 2017.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burrell, Gibson
1948 births
Living people
British business theorists
British sociologists
Alumni of the University of Leicester
Academics of the University of Leicester