Discovering the What of Management: The Complete Guide to the Kenning Principles of Management - Hardcover

Martin, Paula K.; Kenning, George

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0943811015 ISBN 13: 9780943811017

Publisher: Renaissance Educ Serv, 1990

Synopsis

Book by Martin, Paula K., Kenning, George

About this title

About the Author

Paula K. Martin is CEO of the International Matrix Management Institute (MMI). She is the author of the Matrix Management 2.0™ Body of Knowledge and the developer of the Matrix Management 2.0™ (MM 2.0™) organizational operating system. Paula is the author of the Matrix Management Reinvented book series, Managing Projects in a Matrix and more than 10 other books on topics related to matrix management. 
Paula has worked with matrix organizations for 25 years helping them define matrix structures that work, create management systems that support their business strategies, create project systems and define accountability. She has realigned and re-engineered their business processes, and worked with their leadership teams to enhance performance. As the Director of Product/Service Development for the Institute, Paula focuses on discovering and meeting the needs of matrix organizations around the globe.

Review

The beauty of the Kenning principles of management is that they don't ignore reality. As Martin says early on, "The principles address what can and should be, not what is." Yet by describing how managers sbould operate, the principles inspire them to see management as a talent separate from - and equally important to functional skills. Whether a beginning or experienced manager, you won't find a better guidebook for achieving managerial effectiveness. George Kenning, who died in 1988, was a management consultant and former General Motors executive who worked extensively with Norwegian companies. In particular, his principles address a concept that doesn't begin to receive meaningful treatment in an era of turf-building and blamefixing - the concept of accountability. The Kenning definition of accountability excludes fault. A manager is "answerable for whatever happens within an area of activity, regardless of cause." Equally important, accountability belongs exclusively to managers. In the Kenning system, managers can't put the blame on hapless subordinates. That makes delegation "the creation of an opportunity" for subordinates to help managers fulfill their accountability. The Kenning principles come full circle, then, by ultimately empowering subordinates - creating opportunities for them to become effective managers as well. -- From Independent Publisher

Edition details

• Publisher: Renaissance Educ Serv
• Publication date: 1990
• ISBN 10: 0943811015
• ISBN 13: 9780943811017
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 203