On Leadership: A Short Course

In this series of lectures, previously unpublished in English, and here translated from a French reconstruction and interpretation by noted scholar Thierry Weil, leading organizational scholar James March uses great works of literature to explore the problems of leadership.

• Uses great works of literature to explore the problems of leadership, for example War and Peace, Othello, and Don Quixote.
  
• Presents moral dilemmas related to leadership, for example the balance between private life and public duties, and between the expression and the control of sexuality.
  
• Encourages readers to explore ideas that are sometimes subversive and unpalatable but may allow organizations to adapt in a rapidly changing world.

James G. March is Jack Steele Parker Professor of International Management Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of Political Science, Sociology and Education at Stanford University. He has inspired generations of students with his work in the study of organizations. His previous publications include Decisions and Organizations (1989), Behavioral Theory of the Firm (Second Edition, 1992), Organizations (Second Edition, 1993) and The Pursuit of Organizational Intelligence (1998), all published by Blackwell Publishing.

Thierry Weil, a former physicist, is Professor of Technology Management at École des Mines de Paris, where he was the Dean of research and graduate studies from 1991 to 1995. He also advises companies and policy makers on the management of innovation. From 2000 to 2002, he acted as scientific advisor to the Prime Minister of France, Lionel Jospin.