ABSTRACT
Purpose:
The purpose of this article is to discuss the redefinition of the managerial imaginary, recovering another meaning to management, which involves creation and dialogical thinking, and represents a new dynamic for the activity, as well as challenges regarding educating administrators.
Originality/gap/relevance/implications:
In the first part, we contrast the empirical against the abstract conception of management, to highlight the practical, social and political aspects of managerial activity and analyze the traditional view of management as planning and control. In the second part, we argue that the essence of management is the dialectics and its challenge is to resort to dialogical thinking to face the contradictions.
Key considerations/conclusions:
We maintain that the strength of managerial imaginary reinforces the myth that doing business and controlling are synonyms to management, despite the empirical findings that contradict this view. Thus, rethinking managerial activity means breaking up with this imaginary, redefinying it and transforming education of administrators.
KEYWORDS
Managerial work; Managerial imaginary; Management; Dialogical thinking; Education of administrators