Walking and talking chester I. Barnard

The influence of Chester Barnard in contemporary management and organization theorising is substantial but often barely acknowledged. Contemporary authors sometimes ‘borrow’ a fragment to support their case but his was a fundamentally holistic work which sought to interweave and integrate rather than dissect and disintegrate. The research data reported in this paper were not generated to test Barnard's work but in the process of analysis, it emerged that Barnard spoke in a voice which echoed closely the comments of senior executives. Indeed, he is the only theorist to do so in such a comprehensive way. On further reflection, it was found that his work embraces a breadth and depth of conceptual thought which remains unequalled in our vast literature. His intellectual foundations were quite radical for his time, again in a way which does not find contemporary parallel. In what remains a rare gestalt analysis of organization, he manages to blend the contradictions and conflicts of individual and organization and inherent fickleness and ambiguity of social life together with a dexterity and integrity which resembles the practitioners of executive arts rather more than contemporary theorists. This paper seeks to highlight some of the areas in which his work still exposes our current lack of conceptual imagination and ability.