Out of the Box Thinking for Successful Managers

During the author’s decades of experience consulting in the corporate world and teaching management theory at the university level, he has often questioned many modern-day management practices. For example, why do so many companies have evaluation and reward systems that force employees to compete against each other while these same organizations preach the gospel of cooperation and teamwork? Why do companies continue to downsize when this practice has proven antithetical to long-term success? Out of the Box Thinking for Successful Managers explains, in a user-friendly and sometimes humorous manner, why these practices are based on worn-out logic in some cases and complete falsehoods in others. Questioning numerous management practices that have been popular for decades, it details their weaknesses and explains why they continue to hamper attempts to improve productivity. The book reviews a range of management theories, including Six Sigma, downsizing, and management by objective. After showing where the holes lie, it offers alternative approaches that have proven effective in a growing number of private and public sector organizations, including some that enable a more positive workplace culture. Illustrating practical application with case studies, the book provides simple suggestions for change that can be highly beneficial to your organization. It addresses the major myths that managers need to examine and eventually do away with or, at least, replace with modified versions that make more sense in today’s increasingly competitive business environment.

Table of Contents:
Six Sigma: Or, Here We Go Again. Downsizing: The Cure That Can Kill. The Myth That Competition in the Workplace Is the Best Way to Increase Productivity. Is It Possibly Time for Management by Objective to Bite the Dust? Get Rid of Performance Appraisals. Doing It Wrong: Or, How Can Quality Improvement Efforts Possibly Get So Screwed Up? Doing It Right: Or, Moving Beyond the Baldrige. Who Makes the Most Productive Executive? How to Design More Profitable Businesses. The Matter of Ethics. Replacing the Protestant Work Ethic with the Development Ethic. Training for the Modern Age. Is a Better Approach to Improving Safety Possible? Unions: From Leadership to Playing Catch-Up. Reinterpreting the Concept of Laissez-Faire Economics.

About the Author :
William F. Roth, PhD is currently a professor at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania and a Senior Fellow at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, where he teaches courses in strategic planning, organization design, and management theory. Previously he taught for sixteen years at DeSales University (Center Valley, Pennsylvania). Dr. Roth earned his PhD in social systems sciences at the Wharton School, his master’s degree in social work at the University of Pennsylvania, and his bachelor’s degree in economic geography at Dartmouth College. As a management consultant, Dr. Roth has worked on design and regional planning projects in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Mexico, with The Drucker Foundation, the Deming Institute, the Association for Quality and Participation, and with a number of major corporations. Previously, he spent five years with the Poverty Program and the Civil Rights Movement in the Deep South. Dr. Roth has authored six books, as well as more than 50 articles in a wide range of professional journals. His published works include: Quality Improvement: A Systems Perspective (1998), CRC Press; The Roots and Future of Management: A Systems Perspective (1999), CRC Press; Ethics in the Workplace: A Systems Perspective (2005), Pearson; The Evolution of Management Theory: Past, Present, Future, (1994), CRC Press; A Systems Approach to Quality Improvement (1991), Praeger; and Comprehensive Healthcare for the U.S.: An Idealized Model, (2010), CRC Press. He also writes fiction and has published several prize-winning short stories.