STEPHEN ACKROYD is Professor of Organizational Analysis in Lancaster University Management School where he is Head of the Department of Organization, Work and Technology. He has conducted various research projects in the NHS over the last twenty years (both alone and with doctoral students). Most of this research in the NHS has shared a focus on the organisation of professional groups within hospitals. This is only one of his research interests, however, and his recent books include: Organizational Misbehaviour (with P. Thompson), Realist Perspectives on Management and Organizations (edited with Steve Fleetwood), The Organization of Business and New Managerialism and Public Service Professions (edited with Ian Kirkpatrick and Richard Walker).