Re-connecting histories: modernity, managerialism and development

Purpose – The aim of the paper is to connect the field of health management to other related academic discourses (critical management studies and critical development studies) that can contribute to a more interdisciplinary approach to understanding health organizations and management. Design/methodology/approach – The paper’s design is theoretical critique that blends post-structural, critical management and critical development approaches into a focused discussion of modernity and its relevance to contemporary health management issues. Findings – Modernity proliferates through a variety of rhetorical tropes that go unnoticed or remain invisible. Through a brief analysis of historical definitions of management and development, the findings suggest that health management could also be critiqued as a cultural and social construction, enriching anthropological studies as well as informing practical critiques of health projects in the development sector. Research limitations/implications – The conceptualisation of health-management as a cultural construct of modernity opens up the prospect for some rich empirical studies into what management practices support the scientific-rational claims on which it rests. Practical implications – The critique informs a re-appraisal of health management practices that are often taken for granted and ritualistic parts of organizational life. Such a re-evaluation could lead to the implementation of more nuanced and appropriate health practices. Originality/value – Connecting management and development discourses in this way has not been done before and its relevance to health management remains under-researched. This paper highlights the way these discourses can enrich the study of health organizations and create a truly interdisciplinary understanding of health.