Este documento analiza la Teoría del capital humano y sus consecuencias en la gestión humana, donde cobran relevancia los planteamientos de Foucault y sus análisis de las formas de gobernar a sujetos y poblaciones, que interesan al estudio de las organizaciones. La presente revisión surge de la preocupación por discursos convertidos en mandatos en el mundo empresarial que plantean retos y objetivos a las empresas y las áreas de gestión humana, sin que se visibilicen los aportes críticos surgidos en el ámbito académico que establecen los riesgos de seguir trabajando desde miradas reduccionistas y pragmáticas, donde los sujetos son asumidos como absolutos responsables de sus éxitos, en un ámbito donde pareciera innecesaria la construcción de sentidos de comunidad.

Purpose This paper aims to present the Colombian Alejandro López Restrepo as a classic management thinker from the first half of the twentieth century and discuss his ideas in the light of Anglo-Saxon authors at that time and his contributions as a professor, manager and public servant. Design/methodology/approach Bibliographic material including López’s books and essays and their biography published by Mayor (2001) are reviewed to organize a new reading of López as a management thinker and practitioner. Findings Beyond several classical managerial thinkers, López reconceptualized scientific management with a critical discussion of classical economic theory using sociology and psychology to present a unique conception of work, enterprise and efficiency as a public service that gives sense to individual and social realization to face the future and create development. Research limitations/implications Techniques as critical biography and interpretation of data have not been used, instead the aim to contribute to the literature of management history a Latin American’ thinker. Practical implications Including López as a classical management thinker can improve the study of management history. His life and ideas give new reflexive insight to understand the development of management in Colombia and serve to inspire administrators to seek improvements in society. Originality/value The paper offers a new approach toward studying Alejandro López beyond previous sociological work by Mayor (2001) with the discussion of the contributions in the lenses of managerial practices and theoretical insights at that time.

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Based on a case study from a company within the Engineering sector with presence in Colombia an organizational culture model for innovation is proposed. Organizational culture is important for innovation since the capacity to innovate demands a taste for risk and willingness to carry out entrepreneurship, which become stronger by an appropriate climate and environment that motivates individuals to create and develop new ideas. The proposal set forth herein parts from diagnosis of the organizational culture present within a company, which allows to identify the existing breach between the basis organizational culture and organizational culture for innovation. The breaches to act upon are identified, with the purpose of reaching an organizational culture of innovative characteristics, and some recommendations for its intervention are proposed. The assumptions on organizational culture typology are confirmed, and the importance of integrating creativity, taste for risk and willingness for entrepreneurship within organizational culture for innovation is highlighted.

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