Sherlock Holmes and the adventure of the rational manager: Organizational reason and its discontents

SummaryRationality has since long been one of the central been issues in the discourse of management. Among the classics voices propagating a reductionist rationalism dominated and there are still many contexts where such a view is taken for granted. On the other hand, critics since the times of classics have been arguing for a less linear approach to management and management thinking. However, little attention has been paid to some of the different dimensions of management rationality, such as imagination. This paper sets out to address this gap in knowledge through presenting a narrative study focused on a literary character well known for his rationality, Sherlock Holmes, and revealing that this, to many, very epitome of rationality is actually an example of an extended type of rationality, including imagination. Following the fictional protagonist of our study, we consider some aspects of its relevance for management thought and practice.

► This paper problematizes the notion of rationality.
► It proposes to view rationality as complex rather than linear.
► We demonstrate non-linear rationality with the help of detective fiction.
► We show how imagination fulfills a fundamental role in organizations.
► We argue, following Bateson, for non-linear rationality in organizational thinking.