Reinventing Management: Smarter Choices for Getting Work Done

by Julian Birkinshaw

Overview

The recent economic crisis was not just caused by a failure of regulation or economic policy; it was a story of the failure of management in a fundamental sense—a deeply flawed approach to management that encouraged bankers to pursue opportunities without regard for their long-term consequences, and to put their own interests ahead of those of their employers and their shareholders.

And looking more widely, there is a creeping disenchantment with management as a profession: surveys show that managers generate less respect than lawyers and bankers in the eyes of the general public, and there are few if any positive role models for management.

"Change isn't just for the rank-and-file anymore; it's coming for you. Instant access to information and global resources have changed the world we live and work in. Julian Birkinshaw shows that 19^th century industrial management won't work in a 21^st century fluid workplace. Read this, or prepare to be 'game-changed' by someone who has."
—Jack Hughes, CEO, TopCoder

"Technological and social changes are having an enormous impact on the world of business, and on the way companies are managed. In this book, Julian Birkinshaw provides a roadmap for making sense of how the world of management is changing, and he provides useful advice for companies who want to harness the potential that Web 2.0 has to offer."
—PV Kannan, CEO, 24/7 Customer

"Julian Birkinshaw helps us look beyond our legacy management practices, and imagine bold new ways of leading, managing and organizing. Filled with mind-expanding examples, Reinventing Management is a must read for managers who want to build an organization that's truly fit for the future."
—Gary Hamel, bestselling author of The Future of Management

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780470662311
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	02/22/2010
Sold by:	JOHN WILEY & SONS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	314
File size:	810 KB

About the Author

Julian Birkinshaw is Professor of Strategic and International Management and Deputy Dean at the London Business School. He is also co-founder of the Management Lab (MLab), whose mission is to accelerate the evolution of management. Julian has published ten previous books on aspects of strategy and management, including Giant Steps in Management and Inventuring, and more than 70 articles in academic journals. He previously worked at the Stockholm School of Economics and the University of Toronto.

Read an Excerpt

Click to read or download

Table of Contents

Preface.

Acknowledgements.

About the Author.

Chapter 1 Why Management Failed.

Chapter 2 What's Your Management Model?

Chapter 3 Coordinating Activities: From Bureaucracy to Emergence.

Chapter 4 Making and Communicating Decisions: From Hierarchy to Collective Wisdom.

Chapter 5 Setting Objectives: From Alignment to Obliquity.

Chapter 6 Motivating Employees: From Extrinsic to Intrinsic Motivation.

Chapter 7 Four Models of Management.

Chapter 8 The Change Agent's Agenda.

Chapter 9 The Leader's Agenda.

Epilogue Broadening the Debate on Reinventing Management.

Notes.

Index.

Editorial Reviews

"He discusses important issues and provides invaluable insights and suggestions that can help to develop a distinctive management model." (Professional Manager, September 2010)

"... this book is a major contribution to efforts at re-igniting the debate on the way we do things at work." (People Management, September 2010)

"This is an excellent, absorbing and thought provoking book. A must read." (Edge, September 2010)

"... issues both a practical outline of novel management approaches... and a rallying cry: Put leadership and management back on equal footing." (Harvard Business Review, July/August 2010)

"... a stimulating new book...." (BNET.co.uk, May 2010)

"This book equips readers with a framework to start getting better at making smarter choices as to how they organise and manage." (Director, March 2010)

"... a thoughtful, practical and readable tour that encourages the reader to reflect on the prosaic role of sleeves-rolled-up management." (Management Today, March 2010)

From the Publisher