UQ Business School academic Bob Westwood draws Bruce Springstein, Blade Runner and organisational theory together in 'Critical Representations of Work and Organisation in Popular Culture'. Co-author Professor Carl Rhodes and Westwood agree that there is more to popular culture for professionals in the business world in their latest book. Westwood said, "People might think that popular culture is merely entertainment - purely mind candy to be consumed in periods of leisure. "Most people consider popular culture to be low-brow, insubstantial. Carl Rhodes and I reject this view. "We believe that popular culture is a rich source of ideas and critical interpretations of business, work and organisational life. Westwood and Rhodes examine representations in film, television and music and explore how they intersect with ideas from organization theory. "We draw on material from sources as diverse as David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross, to Blade Runner and the music of Bruce Springstein" Westwood said. He said, "Our work demonstrates how popular culture provides a fascinating site for an examination of organizational life in its many complex, contradictory and dramatic manifestations." With TV series such as "The Office" and "The Apprentice", it is apparent that work and organisational life are commonly represented in the various media of popular culture.
'Critical Representations of Work and Organisation in Popular Culture' is published as part of Routledge's Advances in Management and Business Studies series. Rhodes, C. and Westwood, R. Critical Representations of Work and Organization in Popular Culture. Abingdon, Oxford and New York: Routledge, 2008. ISBN-10: 0415359899 ISBN-13: 978-0415359894
