Synopsis
Interesting and easy-to-read, The Roots and Future of Management Theory: A Systems Approach provides a comprehensive overview of today's workplace -past, present ,and future. The author brings the key characters in the evolution of management theory to life. Not only will your students understand the roots of our current situation, how workplace change happens, and what forces are involved - they will see how it fits into changes in society as a whole.
There have obviously been many changes in the workplace from the Medieval Period to the present, and there will certainly be even more changes in the future. This book explores these changes and connects them to changes in: general philosophy (rationalism, empiricism, pragmatism); religious philosophy (Catholicism, Protestantism); social philosophy (Machiavellian Humanism, Christian Humanism); economic philosophy (laissez faire, Communism); and workplace philosophy (technology as a friend, technology as an enemy).
Battles have raged through the ages between these opposing forces, affecting management systems, the quality of working life, and life in general. The author discusses how this has lead to today's quest for a synthesis of the strengths of these forces, and suggests that it has been found in the systems approach. He describes what this synthesis - combined with the powers of the computer - could and should lead to in the future.
Written at a level that both graduate and undergraduate student will understand, The Roots and Future of Management Theory provides an overview of management theory. Comprehensive but not overwhelming, this textbook will give your students an understanding the changes in the workplace since the beginning of the industrial age, and offer them some insights into the changes most likely to occur in the 21st century.
About the Author
William Roth is professor in the business department at Allentown College St. Francis de Sales. Along with Russell Ackoff, he is currently designing a Ph.D/DBA program in The Systems Approach to Organization Development. Recently, Roth was asked by the Association of Quality and Participation to take the lead in designing a national program that provides comprehensive training in the systems approach to quality improvement. He is also currently facilitating an effort to network systems thinkers and practitioners globally, as well as one to help integrate the efforts and resources of the Deming Institute, the ASQ, and the AQP in terms of community development.
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