Future Languages for Theories of Management: Beyond contingency planning

What is the future language of theories of management on a global scale? In this article, we re-describe the basic premise of organization and management in the language of contemporary social systems theory. The re-description makes management theory capable of connecting to new findings and analytical approaches from other strands of theorizing on social phenomena and test it towards basic concepts of crisis and a non-western, Chinese tradition of management. The re-description offers an analytical tool to grasp the challenges posed by global circulation of managerial elites, theories and philosophies on good practice in management. In conclusion, this article argues for a renewed interest in hybrid forms of management and paradoxical forms of leadership and organizational boundary management in between competing identities and structural premises.