Annotated Management Bibliography

Snap Shots of Major Theory in Practice

Blanchard, Kenneth. The One Minute Manager. NY: Berkley Group, 1988.
Description of the context of the popular 60-minute approach to understanding the characteristics of management performance including purposes, empowerment, relationships, communication, optimization, and worker morale. Identifies phases of employee orientation, satisfaction level, problem resolution, and productive effort.

Bolles, Richard N. What is the Color of Your Parachute? Berkley, CA: Ten Speed Press, 1994.
A rather whimsical and humorous, yet deliberately instructive and practical approach to the rigors of job hunting and career development. Reviews self processes and motivation, life style games that stall workplace and individual growth, and the complete ins and outs of management requirements and practices. The 22nd successive printing of the original is updated yearly to keep up with changes and technology.

Carr, Clay. Choice, Chance, & Organizational Change: Practical Insights from Evolution for Business Leaders and Thinkers, NY:Amacom, 1996.
An interesting application of evolution theory to corporate "organisms", those elements fighting for survival of the fittest in business and industry. Reviews the concepts of niches, environment, selection, and re-gaining strength through adaptation and accommodation and their utilization in organizational change.

Farson, Richard. Management of the Absurd: Paradoxes of Leadership, NY:Simon and Shuster, 1991.
A management text with pizzazz! From the foreword by Michael Crichton to the cross index of management parodies, errors both comic and tragic, and throughout the highly exhilarating descriptions of meaningless as well as devious leadership practices, the author keeps the reader tuned to his examination of leadership faults and faux pas...and helps us circumvent the inevitable.

Fisher, B. Aubrey. Small Group Decision Making: Communication and the Group Process. NY: McGraw-Hill, 1974.
Summarizes research in the area of communication related to decision making and small group processes in detail and interprets some of the implications for management.

Halal, William E. The New Management: Democracy and Enterprise are Transforming Organizations, Pittsburgh, PA: Barrett-Koehler, 1996.
Stresses management activities built on new management principles of fair participation in profits, shared enterprise, democratic approaches to tasks and responsibilities, and a reprieve from accountability without authority. Gives many examples, case descriptions, anecdotes, and clarifications.

Haney, William. Communication and Organizational Behavior: Text and Cases. 3rd ed. Homewood, IL : Irwin, 1973.
Concentrates on a distinctive conceptual framework for organizational communication and describes how it affects human work behavior. Analyzes the case approach and application to communication behavior in groups.

Likert, Rensis. The Human Organization, NY: McGraw-Hill, 1967.
Expounds the classical thesis that participatory leadership is valued in examining the behavioral applications of management style. Two important ideas are fostered: Tight supervision produces immediate results but negatively impacts morale and independence and employees are important assets that must be represented on the balance sheet.

McCormack, Mark H , What They Don't Teach You at Harvard Business School,Bantam Books:NY,1984.
A straight-forward, no-nonsense approach at sharing the lessons of everyday business life by a super-successful entrepreneur. The emphases are on dealing with people, the phases in and negotiations required in selling or marketing anything, task analysis skills for helping others succeed, and delegating responsibility for following up on plans and strategies. The advice cuts across all business concerns and is excellent reading for any executive or manager.

Macgregor, D. The Human Side of Enterprise, NY: McGraw-Hill, 1960.
Views of the X (worker must be manipulated and driven) and Y (worker must be helped to engage in natural fulfillment) theorist are described in detail with examination of motivation, attitude, skill development, and other characteristics viewed from a human resources utilization perspective.

Miles, R. Theories of Management, NY: McGraw-Hill. 1975.
Compares and contrasts the early development of three schools of management thought; traditional, human resources and human relations. The book provides an excellent summary of management theory and origins from the 1800's. ( See an excerpted outline of the schools on another page.)

Mintzberg, Henry. The Nature of Managerial Work, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1980.
Summarizes research on the work activities of managers and the implications of the studies. Emphasis is on what managers actually do, not on what they might do.

Plas, Jeanne M. Person-Centered Leadership: An American Approach to Participatory Management, Portland, OR: Sage Publications, 1987.
Examines America's cultural emphasis on individualism as a negative factor in management and offers an alternate leadership style built on psychological based management techniques. A historical overview of the relationship of individuals to the corporate structure is given with specific person-oriented strategies for management developed.

Schein, Edgar. Organizational Psychology, 3rd ed. Englewood Heights, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1980.
Examines the behavioral aspects of management within the framework of principles and theories of group processes, the dynamics of labor utilization and organizational psychology.

Wren, Daniel. The Evolution of Management Thought. 2nd ed. NY: Wiley, 1979.
Provides a comprehensive overview and excellent reference to management thought and the development of management principles from the earliest inceptions of the industrial revolution to the present.

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