Critical in the Name of Whom and What?

Mayer Zald’s article poses an important challenge to the field of Critical Management Studies. It is based on a presentation to the Critical Management Studies Workshop (CMSW) at the 2001 Academy of Management meeting. I respond to it as someone who has helped organize the Critical Management Studies Workshop within the Academy of Management. I write here, however, not to represent the group’s views but to advance the debate about its future. When we decided to call our group the ‘Critical Management Studies Workshop’, the meaning of the term ‘critical’ was left rather vague. Our ‘mission statement’ (http://aom.pace.edu/cms/) reads: