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The 1980s and 1990s have witnessed rapid transformations in our social practices and institutions. Structural adjustment, the role of the state, privatisation and new modes of organising and management have brought forth 'new' perspectives and the engendering of new techniques and analyses of management theory and practice. Feminism and the import of postmodernist analyses have focussed on the silences and absences within management theory. This paper is part of the attempt to examine absence, in particular, that of 'race' and 'differences' within management theory and practices. It argues that the base of management theory, its positivism, is flawed and neglects history, dimensions of power, domination and identities. The paper locates management theory within the discourse of modernity and suggests that an altemative epistemology can be created. The paper moves on to attempt to synthesise approaches derived from alternative theoretical perspectives and practices, arguing that a more informed management theory can be created from such a fusion.

Increasingly a number of writers have written about the impact of the service sector on the overall growth and performance of economies. Generally addressing knowledge based industries and their importance for the future of any economy they often overlook the unskilled aspect of the service sector and its importance in providing work for unskilled labour. Set against this background this paper seeks to provide a historical perspective on the changing nature of occupations and the employment relationship embodied in that occupation. It does so by looking at the role of domestic workers (also known as domestic servants, housekeepers, maids, household technicians) and their employers. Viewed traditionally in a negative light as a "dead end" blue collar occupation with low remuneration, unpleasant working conditions and little opportunity for career advancement, it has failed to achieve the advancement made by other blue collar industries in terms of pay and conditions. This can be attributed due to its solitary nature, lack of collective organisation and semi formal existence ie: lack of registration within the formal employment framework. This has changed in recent times due to a concerted effort by housekeepers to redefine their role to that of an independent service provider. The nature of work performed by the domestic worker in the early to middle part of this century has been characterised by fragmented tasks completed on a repetitive basis whilst being overseen by the employer. This has evolved into a situation where the work takes on a sub-contracting nature, offering flexibility and specialisation. However this paper argues that this notion of independence may be threatened by the mass recruitment of domestic servants from the Third World. What is evident as a result is that the housekeeper who has attained certain pay and conditions and works independently is now being displaced by cheaper imported labour. This paper then seeks to address some of these issues which have arisen out of the evolution and dynamics of the occupation, and the important implications and ramifications it has for the division of labour within the domestic help economy.

Most of the research on environmental issues have focussed on technical solutions and very few have focussed on the relationship between the state and businesses. The recent fires, haze and oil spills in Southeast Asia have drawn our attention to the need to examine the linkages between governments and businesses. This paper attempts to provide such an analysis via an examination of the timber industry in Malaysia. It argues that an understanding the current ecological crisis needs to be grounded in the unravelling of the dynamics and contradictions inherent within the political economy of the industry in Malaysia.

Postmodernism has been widely used and abused in contemporary analyses within the social sciences. In management sciences, it tjas made some inroads but in the main, postmodernism has been seen as an esoteric exercise. This paper starts with a discussion of the concept of postmodernism and how it has been used in organisational and managerial analyses. The paper moves onto a discussion of contemporary discussions of the 'new manager*, in particular, its relationship with cultures and new work practices. The paper argues that culture has been appropriated and pressed into the service of a new 'neoliberal' discourse of individualism. The paper suggests that adopting a postmodernist approach enables cultures and differences to be re-examined; more importantly, it provides an alternative basis to further develop management theory and practices, where 'differences' are not simply tolerated but also appreciated.