Methodological School of Management

A comprehensive guide for business people, government administrators and specialists in management methodology, Methodological School of Management details the original and applied thinking, methods and approaches established by the school in the Soviet era and still operating successfully in modern Russia today.

The Methodological School of Management is not an educational institution, but a range of management tools, which evolved as a part of the 'systems movement' during the second half of the twentieth century. The school was created by the pupils of Georgy Petrovich Shchedrovitsky (1929–1994) under whose leadership a body of knowledge – the 'starting capital' of the Methodological School of Management – took shape. The management tools developed by the school are used by its leaders in their current managerial practice. This practice extends to a number of fields: government administration, management of economic sectors, corporate governance and the management of individual corporations.

Although the school is less well known to Western specialists in systems engineering methodology and management, this book aims to secure the school a place in the global systems engineering landscape. Its ideas have entered the tool kits of most major control systems and corporations in the world's leading economies, from NASA and Toyota to retail chains – a clear testimony to the value of Georgy Shchedrovitsky's research, ideas and the body of knowledge he left behind.

Shortlisted for the CMI Management Book of the Year award, Methodological School of Management offers solutions for resolving tricky managerial situations and achieving organisational targets – essential reading for anyone learning how to manage people and issues alike.

V. B. Khristenko is Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission (from 2012) and was the Russian Minister of Industry and Trade from 2008 until 2012. He was the Russian Minister of Industry and Energy from 2004 until 2007, and first Deputy Prime Minister of Russia. He has more than 15 years' experience in senior posts in the Russian Government.

A. G. Reus was Director of UIC Oboronprom (2007 - 2012) and has headed some of Russia's largest machinery-building enterprises. He was formerly Deputy Minister of Industry and Energy of the Russian Federation (2004 - 2007).

A. P. Zinchenko is Head of the Management Department at the Togliatty Academy of Management (from 1992). He has set up a number of innovative educational institutions.