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This paper seeks to understand administrative action, to know its deeper and excellent roots. Such roots, for the West, are based in the concept of reason and its derivatives.

Initially the paper presents the basic relationship between administrative action, organizational theories and its roots. It then develops an archaeological process of historical recovery of the concepts and ideas associated with the reason, and concludes by clearly pointing out the remaining challenge: the development of an administrative boarding that respects the human being per se and not as a recourse thing, at the same time making if possible for organizations reach their objectives.

Taking into consideration comparative traces of the diverse characteristics of organizational theories, this research has empirical findings which provide new comprehension and insights about the main product of any organization – people.

This paper presents a new view and a deep comprehension about the roles that people develop in an organization, particularly from an administrative focus.

Professionals' accounts of working in challenging service environments bring into relief the tensions they experience in their work. An ethical dilemma where the wellbeing of a severely or profoundly learning disabled (LD) and highly dependent person is at stake is conceptually and emotionally challenging to those responsible for finding some resolution. This report develops the findings of empirical research described in an earlier paper on professionals' experiences of addressing serious ethical issues within their work with people with LD. We attempt to make clear how the ethical and policy frameworks to which they are accountable, their personal desire to improve the lives of people with LD and the relational aspects of their work raises strong feelings that make the work, at times, intolerable and at other times richly rewarding. Regardless, being in relation to the person with LD is prerequisite to making changes in their lives; therefore, the relational as well as procedural aspects of services provided by professionals need to be theorised. We offer a critique of these professionals' perspectives based on a distinction between instrumental and substantial rationalities, the latter being relatively absent in the managerial and scientific discourses within the NHS. This absence risks dehumanising clients and professionals and neglecting what is core to their work: the privilege of being with unique others, bearing witness to their histories and supporting them to live their lives.

Purpose – This chapter aims to construct a scientific microworld to explain the management strategy of yang-ru yin-fa (Confucianism in public and Legalism in private) in Chinese organizations by an emic approach of indigenous psychology.

Design/Methodology/Approach – In consideration of the difficulties faced by either an imposed etic approach or a derived etic approach, this chapter advocates for an emic approach that argues that, in order to understand the specific features of organizational dynamics in China, it is necessary for us to construct an objective system of knowledge (epistemology) on the basis of Chinese cultural values (ontology), which can be examined by methods of social sciences (methodology).

Findings – Based on the theoretical model of Face and Favor, a conceptual scheme was proposed to highlight the contrast between Confucianism and Legalism in traditional as well as contemporary Chinese society. Findings of pervious empirical researches on two types of guanxi, along with two types of official and ethical leadership in Chinese organizations were reviewed to demonstrate the usage of yin/yang balance in strategic management.

Originality/Value – Taking the discourse of this chapter as an example, it is expected that the author's approach may initiate a scientific revolution against the Western paradigms of psychology that had been constructed on the presumption of individualism (Evenden & Sandstrom, 2011; Hwang, 2012).

There is a strong tradition among land‐use planners to conceive of their task as one of inserting rationality into public decision making. The idea of the rational selection of ends as well as means makes land‐use planners reluctant to take goals as given even if they insist on a difference between planning and politics. A retrospective outline shows how three prominent planning theorists handle the controversial question of rational ends. By applying Habermas’ communicative rationality and the bounded/unbounded distinction, the range of rationality concepts becomes sufficiently wide to serve as a basis for classifying most popular planning modes. With multiple forms of rationality, some new problems arise. How are we, for instance, to rationally choose among forms of rationality in a given situation, and how can the various forms be applied simultaneously?

An ancient, and most influential, concept in management thought is the idea of rationality. Criticism with regard to a rational approach to management seems to focus on the importance of value issues. It is argued in this article that from a historical‐philosophical perspective values and rationality are not simply each other’s opposites, but closely related. The article sketches the conceptual development of the idea of rationality in philosophical thinking. The adopted focus is to consider the major changes in the meaning of the idea of rationality, and the kind of criticism the idea has encountered. Schematically, the article approaches the conceptual development of a current‐day comprehension of “rationality” by using four episodes: ancient thinking towards wise leadership; the Greek idea of logos; the nineteenth century modernist belief in positivism; and the twentieth century “postmodernist” debate which culminates in Habermas’ “communicative” rationality. An assessment of the meaning of rationality in management thought is undertaken by an initial appraisal of the roots of management thought prior to the emergence of rationality as an idea. This illustrates the often neglected normative basis of management thought, and stresses the importance of managerial “values”. It enables a perspective on the ancient Greek development of meaning for logos, which is the classical precursor for modern day rationality. By appraising the development of rationality as a particular conceptual type, rather than a specific philosophical idea, the non‐normative approach adopted in modernist management writings emerges as being a severely constrained concept. From a philosophical perspective, a reduction of rationality to some kind of “goal‐oriented” action is inadequate. This is because rationality and valuation have traditionally been, and remain, closely linked. As such, the three Es of goal‐rationality (economy, efficiency, and effectiveness) acquire a counterpart that refers to value‐rationality ‐ ethics.

The administrative state is situated in a physical and ecological context that requires a conceptualisation of rationality broader than the instrumental rationality that characterizes most administrative theorising. Various scholars have contributed to clarifying some aspects of the needed broader conceptualisation, particularly with respect to focuses (system, substance, procedure) and form (social, legal, political, and ecological). But unlike the classical Aristotelian conception of rationality, the goal‐blindness of contemporary rationality still distinguishes it from reasonableness. Rawls and Habermas suggest the recoupling of reasonableness and rationality through political discourse and pursuit of social action that requires reasoning about ends as well as means. The opportunities for deliberative democracy and for furthering environmental justice provided by environmental impact assessment illustrate how rationality, justice, and ecological sustainability can be integrated by breaking down distinctions between decision‐making processes and the substance of decisions. Administration can thus move beyond proverbs to proceed on the realization that the only ecologically rational organization is a broadly reasonable one.

This paper aims to reflect on the Sámi reindeer industry, which, in spite of a low economic return, contrasts with other primary industries in not displaying a population decline.

The project in this paper is based on two major hypotheses: the life form hypothesis: reindeer management has a particular value for the performers, being the condition for an active choice of staying within the industry; the capital hypothesis: lacking recognition of the resources of the reindeer‐managing Sámi is/has been limiting their establishment in capital requiring undertakings.

In the paper there are indications that the reindeer‐managing Sámi practices are in a Weberian sense a substantial rationality. Analysis at hand indicates close connections between landscape, management type, and type of rationality in reindeer management.

The project in the paper analyses the economy of reindeer management in chosen regions by both quantitative and qualitative studies, focusing on the household level. For the quantitative analyses the creation and extent of value streams in the households of reindeer management and near surroundings are focused. In the qualitative analyses the point of departure is decision situations and strategic choices with reindeer‐managing Sámi. Comparative analyses will be undertaken to explore representation of the regional studies.

The paper shows that the design is original and the outcome is expected to have a potential for changing the focus of current policies.

The aim of this chapter is to promote a reflection on how the smart mobs are established, despite the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, that took place in Brazil from June 12 to July 13, 2014, in comparison with the organizational model of the contemporary Brazilian public management, emphasizing that, in spite of “major reforms” carried out and of the progressive speeches, the focus continues to be the way to control the resources and the people, including the construction of Infrastructure for 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, especially based on Principle 10 (Anti-Corruption) of UN Global Compact initiative.

This chapter draws both on primary and secondary qualitative data, especially the literature of smart mobs, as well as public management models in Brazil, mainly based on Guerreiro Ramos, which constitutes the theoretical framework for the analysis, as well as “deep interviews” with citizens, which was protesting against the FIFA World Cup, that was analyzed through an interpretative approach, the phenomenography, based mainly on “International business, corruption and bribery” topic to develop a cross line framework.

The chapter provides an analytical framework to reinforce the growing practice of social control that can improve the public management model in Brazil through the development of the societal administration (substantive rationality); presenting that to the extent that the Brazilian government organizational model was not intended to “interact” with society, it has contributed to generate an unsatisfied demand for democracy in Brazilian citizens, whom support the United Nations Global Compact initiative and do not support the current model of the Executive Branch.

Given the recent smart mobs in Brazil and the lack of clear analytical axes for the orientation of research in organizational studies regarding the Brazilian public administration, as well as fragmentation in their respective academic production, it is hoped that these theoretical reflections and empirical results can contribute to promote academic progress for the Public Management in Brazil, as well as for the Corporate Citizenship all over the world.

The chapter introduces a general reflection on the relations between these study objects, in order to foster new research. It is expected that this work will help to increase the debate about the importance of the Brazilian public management, in particular, but the international public administration too (mainly the United Nations [UN] members states), to include substantive rationality for managers, so they can better understand and respond more effectively to the needs of citizens, companies, and organizations.