Management: (Annual Editions)

This updated twelfth edition of public press articles explores the dynamics of management in today's business environment; planning; organizing; directing; controlling; staffing and human resources; and perspectives and trends. This title is supported by the student Web site, providing study support and tools, and links to related Web sites.

Table of Contents:
UNIT 1. Managers, Performance, and the EnvironmentPart A. Management1. The Manager's Job: Folklore and Fact, Henry Mintzberg, Harvard Business Review", March/April 1990This classic essay by Henry Mintzberg replaces the traditional view of management functions"-to plan, to coordinate, to organize, and to control-with a look at what managers really do.Part B. Management Skills, Roles, and Performance2. Why Companies Fail, Ram Charan and Jerry Useem, Fortune", May 27, 2002Why do companies fail"? The reason is not that the employees did not do their job adequately or that the market went against the company. The real reason is that the senior managers of the company did not do their jobs.3. If You Think You're Hard Enough, Stefan Stern, Management Today", March 2003During the boom times of the 1990s, managers were encouraged to be more open. Now, with business more difficult than in the past, managers" need to take a more guarded, tougher approach."Part C. The Environment4. Spotting Patterns on the Fly, David Sibley and Julia Yoshida, Harvard Business Review", November 2002Patterns can be found in nature and learning to spot them can help managers to recognize patterns in business."5. Restoring Public Confidence in American Business, Murray Weidenbaum, The Washington Quarterly", Winter 2002-03During the past several years, American business" has suffered a number of blows affecting the confidence" that people have in it. Murray Weidenbaum has some ideas on what can be done to help restore people's faith.Case I. Robin Hood; Exercise: Managerial DevelopmentUNIT 2. PlanningPart A. Management Classic6. A New Look at Managerial Decision Making, Victor H. Vroom, from Readings in Management", South-Western, 1986There are many ways to make decisions." Selecting the most appropriate is the topic of this classic essay by Victor Vroom.Part B. Decision Support Systems7. Management Accounting Master: Closing the Gap Between Managerial Accounting and External Reporting, Soeren Dressler, Journal of Cost Management", January/February 2002Managers need effective and accurate information to make decisions." A globally harmonized management accounting master" can integrate multiple accounting systems, serving as a blueprint for the organization.Part C. Strategic Analysis8. Michael Porter: What Is Strategy?, Thinkers", April 2002Michael Porter is one of the leading thinkers on management, especially strategic management." This article summarizes some of his ideas.9. Six Priorities That Make a Great Strategic Decision, Mary Burner Lippitt, Journal of Business Strategy", January/February 2003In this article by Mary Burner Lippitt, read about the six priorities for strategic thinking:" (1) state-of-the-art products/services; (2) market share; (3) building systems to maintain high performance; (4) process improvement; (5) developing a competent workforce; and (6) long-term positioning.10. The Americanization of Toyota, Business Week", April 15, 2002There are few firms more identified with the Japanese automobile industry than Toyota. Yet, Toyota is changing as the Japanese economy" remains in a recession and the American market takes on greater meaning.Case II. The Fairfax County Social Welfare Agency; Exercise: NASAUNIT 3. OrganizingPart A. Management Classic11. Classifying the Elements of Work, Frank B. Gilbreth and Lillian M. Gilbreth, from Management Classics", Goodyear, 1977Time and motion studies" were among the earliest results of Frederick W. Taylor's work. In this selection, two of the pioneers in these studies discuss the ideas upon which time and motion studies are based.Part B. Elements of Organization12. Beyond Empowerment: Building a Company of Citizens, Brook Manville and Josiah Ober, Harvard Business Review", January 2003There are alternative forms of organization" to the traditional bureaucratic forms" typically found in many companies." Some of them are as old as Western civilization itself.Part C. Designing and Changing the Organization13. Creating a Learning Organization, Neal McChristy, Office Solutions", February 2002Successful organizations" in the future are going to be those that allow their employees to grow and become more productive.14. The Change-Capable Organization, Patricia A. McLagan, Training & Development", January 2003Change is the only constant. Those organizations" that are able to change" are the ones that are going to be successful. Mavericks" are often the key to change, and organizations must learn to embrace them.Case III. Resistance to Change; Exercise: OrganizingUNIT 4. DirectingPart A. Management Classic15. The Abilene Paradox: The Management of Agreement, Jerry B. Harvey, Organizational Dynamics", Summer 1988Many people in organizations" have found themselves in situations in which, because they did not say what they meant, they became caught in the web of the Abilene paradox." Jerry Harvey presents various aspects of this paradox.Part B. Leadership16. The Myth of Charismatic Leaders, Joseph A. Raelin, Training & Development", March 2003Charismatic leaders" do not always provide the best form of leadership for organizations. Some organizations, in fact, would be far better off without them.Part C. Performance17. Effective Performance Counseling, Leadership for the Front Lines", February 15, 2002Evaluating employee performance" is always a difficult task for managers. Here are some helpful hints on how to do a performance appraisal" in an effective and humane manner.18. The Myth of Synergy, James Surowiecki, MBA Jungle", May 2002Synergy" is at best an elusive concept. Often defined as 1+1=3, it is very difficult to attain. Often the rationale for mergers and acquisitions, synergy frequently fails to appear and the organization can end up with a synergy in which 1+1=1.Part D. Communication19. When You Disagree With the Boss's Order, Do You Tell Your Staff?, Carol Hymowitz, Wall Street Journal", April 16, 2002How do you handle a situation where you disagree with what the boss" has ordered? Do you let your employees know? Do you act as though you agree?Case IV. Cub Scout Pack 81; Exercise: ListeningUNIT 5. ControllingPart A. Management Classic20. An Uneasy Look at Performance Appraisal, Douglas McGregor, Harvard Business Review", May/June 1957In this classic article, Douglas McGregor, who also wrote about the X and Y theories of management, looks at how performance appraisals" can be effectively used to help management and to control the enterprise.Part B. Financial Control21. The Cost of Failure, Edward S. Robins, Intelligent Enterprise", March 1, 2003What happens when a firm fails, not slowly and gradually, but suddenly, when nobody is expecting it? To avoid this kind of financial catastrophe, Edward Robins suggests incorporating management and analytic capabilities to assess risk."Part C. Security22. How Safe Is Your Job? The Threat of Workplace Violence, Laurence Miller, USA Today Magazine (Society for the Advancement of Education)", March 2002Violence in the workplace" is a continuing problem that all companies must face. Doing something about it before it happens is the subject of this article.Part D. Total Quality Management23. Mail Preparation Total Quality Management, Richard W. Pavely, Office Solutions", April 2002The U.S. Postal Service is trying to improve its service while at the same time keeping costs under control. One of the techniques they are using is the Mail Preparation Total Quality Management" (MPTQM) program.Case V. Evaluation of Organizational Effectiveness; Exercise: Win as Much As You Can!UNIT 6. Staffing and Human ResourcesPart A. Management Classic24. Management Women and the New Facts of Life, Felice N. Schwartz, Harvard Business Review", January/February 1989This is the article, first published in 1989, that started all the discussion of the "Mommy Track" and the "Daddy Track" for employees.Part B. Developing Human Resources25. Who Are You Really Hiring?, Shari Caudron, Workforce", November 2002One of the necessary parts of any hiring" process is a background check." This is especially true the higher one goes in the organization. Yet, some companies think they are saving money when they don't do these checks. Later they could find that they should have.26. Secrets of Finding and Keeping Good Employees, Jim Sirbasku, USA Today Magazine (Society for the Advancement of Education)", January 2002If you are going to hire and keep good employees," you must, after hiring them, make them feel that it is worth their while to stay. Remember, your competitors are always seeking your good employees, and it is up to you to keep them.Part C. Maintaining an Effective Workforce27. Pay It Forward, Patricia K. Zingheim and Jay R. Schuster, People Management", February 7, 2002Modern and sophisticated reward systems" not only reward at the individual level, but at the company, business unit, and team level. This article has some insights on how to do that.Case VI. The "Homes" Is Where the Union Is; Exercise: Assumptions About People at WorkUNIT 7. Perspectives and TrendsPart A. Management Classic28. The Discipline of Innovation, Peter F. Drucker, Harvard Business Review", August 2002Peter Drucker identifies several kinds of opportunities that can be used to help develop innovation" in this classic article from the Harvard Business Review."Part B. The Multinational Corporation29. American Corporations: The New Sovereigns, Lawrence E. Mitchell, The Chronicle of Higher Education", January 18, 2002Is there too much power in multinational organizations"? At what point do corporations reach a condition where no single government or other entity has any jurisdiction over them? Would they effectively become sovereign states?30. The Need for a Corporate Global Mind-Set, Thomas M. Begley and David P. Boyd, MIT Sloan Management Review", Winter 2003Corporations need to balance global consistency with local needs and the necessity to be able to respond to those needs. A company-wide global mind-set" is necessary to do this successfully.Part C. Corporate Culture31. Helping Organizations Build Community, Tracy Mauro, Training & Development", February 2002Using corporate culture" to build and develop a firm is this article's subject.Part D. Ethics and Social Responsibility32. Ensuring Ethical Effectiveness, Randy Myers, Journal of Accountancy", February 2003Companies need a code of ethics" if they are going to have a guide for behavior, and now the new Sarbanes-Oxley Act" requires such a code.33. The Competitive Advantage of Corporate Philanthropy, Michael E. Porter and Mark R. Kramer, Harvard Business Review", December 2002Companies have not used their corporate giving" very effectively to advance their strategic agendas. This article by Michael Porter and Mark Kramer gives some guidance into how organizations might do a more effective job of using their philanthropy more to their competitive advantage."34. Who Cares Wins, Stephen Cook, Management Today", January 2003Organizations that take an active role in addressing their corporate social responsibility" tend to be more profitable. Investors, customers, and other stakeholders are beginning to recognize this, and those companies are reaping the benefits.Part E. Small Business and Enterpreneurship35. Determining the Strategies and Tactics of Ownership Succession, James Ahern, National Underwriter Life and Health", February 10, 2003Every entrepreneur will eventually have to make a plan for getting out of the business. Retirement" includes many options, and every entrepreneur should consider transition plan options" from the beginning.Part F. The War on Terror36. Hearts, Minds, and the War Against Terror, Joshua Muravchik, Commentary", May 2002The war on terror" will not be won on the battlefield. The greater war on terror will be to capture the hearts and minds of the people in the Middle East and other parts of the world.Case VII. The Trip to Denver; Exercise: The Resume--A Career Management Tool