ANTHROPOCENE, MANAGEMENT AND SOCIETIES: FOR AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL OPENING OF ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCES

Abstract

In the contemporary context of environmental and societal crisis, teaching and research in administratives sciences must contribute to providing adequate responses to the various challenges facing humanity. To do so, they are called upon to pursue three main objectives: to take into account the trans-disciplinary dimension of any fact studied, to be concerned with its managerial relevance, and its impact on societies. It is in this context that the editors of RIPCO invited the author to think about these questions and come back with a personal point of view.The point of view is based on the author’s anthropological perspective, which has recently been reiterated in two recent books. It is divided into four parts. In the first, the author addresses the context, issues and challenges of the current environmental and societal crises. In the second, he stresses the need to encourage transdisciplinarity to tackle the complex problems facing management today, and invites researchers to draw on a variety of perspectives and methodologies, and on reasoned multilingualism. In the third part, he stresses the need to rethink traditional management approaches to meet these challenges, and thus promote innovative managerial practices adapted to contemporary issues. In the final section, he highlights the current trends of management research, notably in the French field, that can make a positive contribution to the sustainability, justice and social responsibility demanded by today’s huge environmental and societal challenges.