Management Gurus, Revised Edition


Book Description

Management gurus have existed for as long as the leaders of large, complex organizations have had intractable problems to solve. This seminal text asks key questions such as: What is the secret of the success of management gurus and how can it be emulated? In this revised edition, Andrzej Huczynski brings his analysis of gurus into the twenty-first century. He identifies the essential ingredients of popular management ideas and contends that company managers, business school academics and management consultants all have the possibility of attaining guru status by following the guidelines contained in this book. It includes an additional chapter by Brad Jackson (Department of Management and Employment Relations, The Auckland University Business School, New Zealand) and Eric Guthey (Department of Intercultural Communication and Management, The Copenhagen Business School, Denmark). Management Gurus is a must read for all those studying organizational behaviour, leadership and organizational psychology or for those who wish to attain guru status.




Management Gurus


Book Description

For over a hundred years organisations have sought the advice of gurus such as Taylor, Fayol, Mayo, Maslow and Peters, and have been willing to pay handsomely for it. Why have the ideas of these consultants become so popular and profitable? What is the secret of their success and can it be emulated? Andrzej Huczynski identifies the essential ingredients of the few popular management ideas of the twentieth century. He shows how company managers, business school academics and management consultants all have the possibility of attaining guru status by following the guidelines contained in this book.




Management Gurus and Management Fashions


Book Description

Since the 1980s, popular management thinkers,gurus have promoted a number of performance improvement programs and management fashions which have greatly influenced both the everyday conduct of organizational life and the preoccupations of academic researchers. This book provides a rhetorical critique of the management guru and management fashio




Management Gurus


Book Description

Building on the success of the first edition, Huczynski identifies the essential ingredients of popular management ideas and brings his analysis of gurus into the twenty-first century.




Guide to the Management Gurus 5th Edition


Book Description

The fifth edition of the original, best-selling guide to the ideas of leading management thinkers. The ten additional full-length entries range from classic gurus such as Henry Gantt and the Gilbreth time-and-motion pioneers to the latest thinkers influencing 21st-century business, including Clayton Christensen, master of innovation theory, and Karen Stephenson with her ground-breaking insights into human networks. The lives and work of more than 55 gurus are covered in clear and accessible style, along with penetrating analysis of their ideas and influence on management. Guide to the Management Gurus has sold around the world since its first publication in 1991, and has been translated into more than 15 languages, including Russian, Chinese, Korean and Japanese.




Reinventing Management


Book Description

The economic crisis was not just caused by a failure of regulation or economic policy; it was a story of the failure of management in a fundamental sense—a deeply flawed approach to management that encouraged bankers to pursue opportunities without regard for their long-term consequences, and to put their own interests ahead of those of their employers and their shareholders. The revised edition of this best-selling book shows convincingly that many of today’s major economic problems in the west can be traced to a failure of management. In this updated edition the author draws our attention to new examples of failed management, from Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, and the disaster at BP, to the ongoing problems in financial services companies such as UBS and RBS. Throughout the book the references and statistics have been updated, to make this a current, highly relevant analysis of the problems besetting modern business and how managers need to tackle them.




Masters of Management


Book Description

In 1996, having completed a two-year research study, longtime Economist journalists and editors John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge published The Witch Doctors, an explosive critique of management theory and its legions of evangelists and followers. The book became a bestseller, widely praised by reviewers and devoured by readers confused by the buzzwords and concepts the management “industry” creates. At the time, ideas about “reengineering,” “the search for excellence,” “quality,” and “chaos” both energized and haunted the world of business, just as “the long tail,” “black swans,” “the tipping point,” “the war for talent,” and “corporate responsibility” do today. For decades, since the rise of MBA programs on campuses across the country, the field of management has operated in a dubious space. Many of its framers clamor for respect within the academy while making millions of dollars pedaling ideas, some brilliant and some nonsensical, in speeches, consulting arrangements, and books. Although The Witch Doctors was a damning critique (“a scalpel job,” according to the Wall Street Journal), it also argued that much of management theory is valuable—making companies more effi-cient and productive, improving organizational life for workers, and providing sound ways for companies to innovate while defending more entrenched plans. Building upon all that made the original such a phenomenal success, this fully revised and updated edition, Masters of Management, takes into account the rise of the Internet, the growing power of emerging markets, the Great Recession of 2008, and the more recent developments in management theory. The result is an indispensable volume for any manager.




The Ultimate Business Guru Guide


Book Description

A seemingly endless parade of consultants, academics and journalists continue to pontificate about management, leadership and the dream of the perfect organization. But only a tiny fraction have really changed the way business works. These are the gurus. In this new edition of worldwide bestseller, The Ultimate Business Guru Book, the authors have assembled the greatest business gurus in a unique, one-stop guide. The book keeps business leaders ahead of double-speaking colleagues and consultants by bringing them rapidly up to speed with the very best that the world's business thinkers currently have to offer.




Becoming A Better Boss


Book Description

An employee's-eye view of what makes a great boss—and how you can become one Whereas most books on managing people approach the subject from the perspective of a manager of an idealised organisation, Becoming a Better Boss takes a real-world approach, looking at the topic from the perspective of an employee in a real-world organisation—dysfunctions, warts, and all. Focusing on the choices individual employees make every day in getting work done, this book reinvents the practice of management one employee at a time. Author Julian Birkinshaw stresses the importance of taking management seriously, reveals where management practice often goes wrong, and dives deeply into the worldview of employees. He then explores the common personal biases and frailties of managers and discusses the vital importance of experimentation to overcome the limitations and idiosyncrasies of a particular organisation. Throughout, he supports his assertions with case studies from a wide and varying range of management experiments and situations at real companies. Written by a leading authority on strategy, management, and innovation who is also the author of eleven books, including Reinventing Management Introduces a new approach to management focused on real employees and actual situations Includes case studies from real organisations Between the stress of deadlines and the demands of today's business environment, it's easy for managers to lose sight of the importance of people management. Becoming a Better Boss not only shows managers how to lead effectively, but why doing so is vitally important to every organisation's success.




Gung Ho!


Book Description

Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles, co-authors of the New York Times business bestseller Raving Fans, are back with Gung Ho! Here is an invaluable management tool that outlines foolproof ways to increase productivity by fostering excellent morale in the workplace. It is a must-read for everyone who wants to stay on top in today's ultra-competitive business world. Raving Fans taught managers how to turn customers into full-fledged fans. Now, Gung Ho! brings the same magic to employees. Through the inspirational story of business leaders Peggy Sinclair and Andy Longclaw, Blanchard and Bowles reveal the secret of Gung Ho--a revolutionary technique to boost enthusiasm and performance and usher in astonishing results for any organization. The three principles of Gung Ho are: The Spirit of the Squirrel The Way of the Beaver The Gift of the Goose These three cornerstones of Gung Ho are surprisingly simple and yet amazingly powerful. Whether your organization consists of one or is listed in the Fortune 500, this book ensures Gung Ho employees committed to success. Gung Ho! also includes a clear game plan with a step-by-step outline for instituting these groundbreaking ideas. Destined to become a classic, Gung Ho! is a rare and wonderful business book that is packed with invaluable information as well as a compelling, page-turning story. Management legend Ken Blanchard and master entrepreneur Sheldon Bowles are back with Gung Ho!, revealing a surefire way to boost employee enthusiasm, productivity, and performance and usher in astonishing results for any organization. Raving Fans brilliantly schooled managers on how to turn customers into raving fans. Gung Ho! now brings the same magic to employees. Here is the story of how two managers saved a failing company and turned in record profits with record productivity. The three core ideas of Gung Ho! are surprisingly simple: worthwhile work guided by goals and values; putting workers in control of their production; and cheering one another on. Their principles are so powerful that business leaders, reviewing the manuscript for Ken and Sheldon, have written to say, "Sorry. Ignored instructions. Have photocopied for everyone. I promise to buy books, but can't wait. We need now!" Like Raving Fans, Gung Ho! delivers.