This volume presents 50 short biographies of key individuals who have helped make management what it is today. According to Witzel, this is not a book about “the great and the good”. Instead it is a book about individuals who “have changed our perception of management and helped, even if only in subtle ways, to improve managerial practice around the world”.
In addition, the individuals included have also helped to develop management as a whole and not just some function or aspect of it. The only functional specialists included are those whose influence and ideas have extended beyond their particular specialism to the entire body of thinking about the purpose and nature of management. Hence, we do find, for example, Philip Kotler whose views on marketing moved it from a peripheral to a core business activity; and also Henry Mintzberg, whose “emergent strategy” theories more realistically reflect the actions of managers. In selecting individuals for inclusion in this book, Witzel recognises that “management” begins long before the Industrial Revolution. Hence, we find included Sun Tsu, Cosimo dei Medici and Machiavelli. Two of the earliest entrepreneurs – Richard Arkwright and Robert Owen – also merit entries. More modern captains of industry included are Bill Gates, Andrew Grove and Jack Welsh. There are also entries for J.P. Morgan, Henry Heinz, William Lever, Henry Ford, Toyoda Kiichiro and Edward Cadbury – founders and developers of what are still some of the world’s largest companies.
Numerous management academics and writers feature. These include Peter Drucker with his ability to demystify the complexities of management; Charles Handy, who has helped us to understand the changing organization; Michael Porter with his five forces approach to competitive advantage; Nonaka, who focuses on the creation of knowledge within organizations; and Mintzberg, who challenges every aspect of managing. Only one woman merits a full entry. This is Mary Parker Follett, whose approach to managing emphasised relationships, communication and co‐ordination. The only other woman to be included is Lillian Gilbreth, who shares her husband’s entry.
Each entry is similar in format. They stretch across approximately six pages, beginning with a short biography and then leading in to the individual’s thinking and contribution to management. A short critique concludes each entry, which helps to introduce the ideas of others. The main authored books are listed and a list of further reading allows either a follow‐up of the theories and ideas of the individual under discussion or a lead‐in to alternative theories.
In today’s world of constant change, management thinkers have much to tell us, as they can stimulate and offer different perspectives on issues. With its very readable entries, this volume can act as a short‐cut into the thoughts and ideas of those who have helped to develop management as a discipline. It will therefore be a useful tool in both the academic and the public library.
