What Management Is : How It Works and Why It's Everyone's Business - Softcover

Joan Magretta

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1861976453 ISBN 13: 9781861976451

Publisher: Profile Books, 2003

Synopsis

This is a book about management, described by guru Peter Drucker as 'a first rate as an introduction for the non-manager and especially for the beginner, but equally excellent as a rounded, complete, and comprehensive 'refresher course' for the most experienced executive.' It is both a beginner's guide and a bible for one of the greatest social innovations of modern times: the discipline of management. Leading business editor Joan Magretta distils the wisdom of a bewildering sea of books and articles into one simple, clear volume, explaining both the logic of successful organisations and how that logic is embodied in practice by management. Newcomers will find the basics demystified. More experienced managers will recognise a store of useful wisdom and a framework for improving their own performance. In general, the book defines a common standard of managerial literacy that will help all of us to lead more effectively.

About this title

Review:

What Management Is, by former Harvard Business Review editors Joan Magretta and Nan Stone, identifies management as the driving force behind key innovations of the past century and presents a jargon-free look at the way its core principles work. Designed to promote "managerial literacy" up and down the business food chain, as well as among those who simply "want better communities and a better world for our children," the book uses concrete examples to explain fundamental concepts and practices like value creation, the 80-20 rule, and decision analysis in a way that sheds light on them for the uninitiated while providing needed perspective for the more experienced. "Think of this book as everything you wanted to know about management but were afraid to ask," Magretta and Stone write. A comprehensive exploration of the overall process rather than a traditional how-to, in its first section What Management Is examines why and how people work together; the second section shows how ideas are translated into action. With case studies ranging from Old Economy stalwarts like Ford to New Economy upstarts like Dell, along with pioneering nonprofits such as the Nature Conservancy and India's Aravind Eye Hospital, the authors explicitly lay out the basics along with a framework for employing them in a wide variety of situations. --Howard Rothman

From the Author:

If you’re trying to decide whether this book is worth your time, take a minute to read John Byrne’s review in Business Week ("A Road Map Back to Business Basics," May 27, 2002). Here’s the summary: "Rarely has anyone so succinctly and engagingly presented the core principles of managing in a single book." Byrne praises the book’s clear depiction of the power of good management, noting that What Management Is packs a "potent message" in this disillusioning time.

Here's what other top thinkers and executives had to say:

From Peter Drucker : "First-rate as an introduction....Excellent as a ...comprehensive ‘refresher course’ for the most experienced executive in businesses and non-profits alike."

From Michael Porter: Magretta and Stone are "superb writers and clear thinkers." This book, he says, "exposes the discipline of management and the enduring principles of organizational success."

From Jim Collins, author of Good to Great: The book "effectively distills key concepts that every executive should know into a useful toolkit." That, says Collins, offers readers a "wonderful service."

From Michael Dell: "This is a book we'll want every executive-in-training at Dell to read....Well done!"

From David Pottruck, co-CEO of Schwab: "This is a terrific introduction for anyone trying to get their arms around managerial issues. It’s comprehensive, well-written, easy-to-grasp."

About this edition

• Publisher: Profile Books
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 1861976453
• ISBN 13: 9781861976451
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256