Invisible hand and visible management
International Journal of Organization Theory & Behavior
ISSN: 1093-4537
Article publication date: 1 March 2003
Abstract
This paper explores the relevance of Adam Smith’s invisible hand and the remainder of his legacy for public management. The paper’s central claim is that, by approaching Adam Smith and his legacy, public managers can assist themselves to do what they should do - examine their latent assumptions. The first of three challenges in approaching Adam Smith’s ideas is to get Smith right, because he has been widely misunderstood. The second is to question Smith’s account of conceptual space; it is desirable to go beyond him. The third challenge is to explore in specific terms the potential for public management of an understanding of Smith and his legacy
Citation
Farmer, D.J. (2003), "Invisible hand and visible management", International Journal of Organization Theory & Behavior, Vol. 6 No. 2, pp. 244-280. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOTB-06-02-2003-B002
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2003 by PrAcademics Press