Managers are significant actors in contemporary organizations and yet there is very little deep-level analysis of what managers do, and how they understand their managerial selves and social situations. Instead of evaluating management techniques according to their internal logic and systematic qualities, this book advances the 'practice perspective', using behaviour and activities of successful, experienced, and skilled managers as the primary data for theorizing good management. In this book, academics review classic literature on managerial work, discuss methodological and theoretical approaches, and present empirical studies on various kinds of managers at different levels of organizations, in different roles, and different sectors, from construction site managers and CEOs of large companies to university vice chancellors and front-line health care managers. It makes the case for studies of managerial work that look beyond the rational and ordered world to the challenges presented by, inter alia, work and information overload, complexity, performance pressures, unintended consequences, and irreconcilable expectations.

Discover everything you need to know to improve your management skills, and understand key management and business theories with this unique graphic guide. Combining clear, jargon-free language and bold, eye-catching graphics, How Management Works is a definitive and user-friendly guide to all aspects of organizational management. Learn whether it is more e­ffective to lead through influence or control? Is delegation the key to productivity and how do you deal with di­fferent personalities? Drawing on the latest theories and practices - and packed with graphics and diagrams that demystify complex management concepts - this book explains everything you need to know to build your management skills and get the very best out of your team. It is essential reading if you are an established or aspiring manager, or are studying a course in business or management. Much more than a standard business-management or self-help book, How Management Works shows you what other titles only tell you, combining solid reference with no-nonsense advice. It is the perfect primer for anyone looking to start their own business, become a more effective leader, or simply learn more about the world of business and management.

Why getting results should be every nonprofit manager's first priority A nonprofit manager's fundamental job is to get results, sustained over time, rather than boost morale or promote staff development. This is a shift from the tenor of many management books, particularly in the nonprofit world. Managing to Change the World is designed to teach new and experienced nonprofit managers the fundamental skills of effective management, including: managing specific tasks and broader responsibilities; setting clear goals and holding people accountable to them; creating a results-oriented culture; hiring, developing, and retaining a staff of superstars. Offers nonprofit managers a clear guide to the most effective management skills Shows how to address performance problems, dismiss staffers who fall short, and the right way to exercising authority Gives guidance for managing time wisely and offers suggestions for staying in sync with your boss and managing up This important resource contains 41 resources and downloadable tools that can be implemented immediately.

What would the world of business be like if it were run by the Greek gods of yore? Would Apollo be the right man at the helm of Acme Widget? What sweeping changes would Athena make if she controlled an ad agency? While this might merely seem like an entertaining concept, it also happens to be an extremely valuable framework for understanding management styles and the corporate cultures associated with them. In The Gods of Management, best-selling author Charles Handy uses four Greek gods to illustrate for managers the basic approaches they can use in their own businesses. When power radiates throughout the company from a top boss, that would be an example of a Zeus or "club" organization, one that investment banks and brokerage firms often adopt for their corporate climates. An Apollo "role" culture, on the other hand, results in a stable bureaucracy, such as a life insurance company or a firm with a long history of success with a single product. The Athena "task" environment emphasizes talent, youth, and team problem-solving, as we'd find in ad agencies and consultancies. And lastly, a Dionysius "existential" design exists to let individuals achieve their purposes, as in a university or group medical practice. In this thought-provoking volume, Charles Handy shows managers how to be aware of the cultural choices they can make to create a more productive and satisfying workplace.

Today’s society is characterized by quick technological developments and constant changes to our information environments. One of the biggest changes has been on our workplace environments where technological developments have automated work processes that were previously done by manual labour whilst new professions and work tasks have emerged in response to new methods of creating, sharing and using information. Information at Work: Information management in the workplace provides a comprehensive account of information in the modern workplace. It includes a set of chapters examining and reviewing the major concepts within workplace information, from over-arching themes of information cultures and ecologies, to strategic concerns of information management and governance, and to detailed accounts of questions and current debates. This book will be useful reading for researchers in Information Science and Information Management and students on related courses. It is also suitable to be used as an introductory text for those working in allied fields such as Management and Business Studies.

The Work of Management demonstrates how the concepts, models and tools of Systems Leadership can be applied, enabling you to become a more effective manager by improving your own work to create a more positive and effective organisation. Positive organisations, where people come together to achieve a productive and personally satisfying purpose, and which provide the basis for a good society, do not occur by chance. They are created by the work of leaders and members who are dependent upon the way the organisation is designed and operates – its structure and systems. While the theory is explained, this book primarily presents the practical aspects – the specific values, methods and tools – that can be used to improve work and the work performance of direct reports. Building on the bestselling book Systems Leadership, this book provides leaders with a manual for the application of concepts as well as an introduction to Systems Leadership Theory, a method that has been used successfully by businesses from large multinational firms and banks, to SMEs, public agencies and NGOs. It provides a predictive capability, allowing a leader to predict what will work well and what is likely to fail, according to the context. It gives the benefit of foresight as decisions must be made. Designed as a leader’s manual for the application of the concepts around Systems Leadership, this book is for people who want to improve their own, and their organisation’s, work practices and performance.

Winner of a Shingo Research and Professional Publication AwardThe new edition of this Shingo Prize-winning bestseller provides critical insights and approaches to make any Lean transformation an ongoing success. It shows you how to implement a sustainable, successful transformation by developing a culture that has your stakeholders throughout the o

This work explores differing historical patterns in the adoption of the three major models of organizational management: scientific management; human relations; and structural analysis. The author takes a fresh look at how managers have used these models in four countries during the 20th century.

`The authors bring a spark of vitality and life to an area that could be cynically viewed as a series of conflicting fads and fashions....I would recommend anyone in the process of reviewing or designing an entrepreneurship development course to consider the benefits that this book would bring to the teaching process′ - Entrepreneurship and Innovation `Using fiction in the classroom as an approach to stimulating the study of people in organizations is well-established. What this book contributes is a way of exploring some of the existential elements of life in organizations, which are typically difficult to study. It will be on my reading lists. Hopefully, this example, and regrettably few others which exist, will contribute in the long term to the reformulation of how the lived experience of organizational life may be explored in the classroom′ - Leadership & Organization Development Journal Based on courses taught by the authors over many years, this innovative text is a lively and accessible analysis of people at work and the problems they have to confront. The student is introduced to a range of key themes in management such as: power and identity; consumption and bureaucracy; rational choice and meaning all through the medium of characters and situations in contemporary literature. The clear theoretical framework, supported by footnotes, summaries and further reading guides, makes this an introduction to management the student will find useful as well as enjoyable.