2nd ENEO - RAE. Structure and agency in organizations: some sociological perspectives

Abstract

This paper presents a critical reflection about objectivity-subjectivity relationship and its presence in the organizational studies, aiming an analysis of the theoretical synthesis of Giddens and Bourdieu and its possible impact in organizational theory (OT). The paper presentssome classical OT contributions, it deepens the analysis of subjective thought and its status in organizational field, singularizing the importanceof methodological individualism and its expressive presence in OT. Giddens and Bourdieu theoretical contributions are examined, considering thatthey express a synthesis of objectivity-subjectivity debate. At last, some possible applications of this theoretical perspective in OT are accuratelystudied, based on the critical vision of post-modernism, aiming to identify possible perspectives and limitations of this synthesis to organizationalfield.