Aisle 07, FutureU Bookstore: Management and the New Organization

Management Classics
During the 20^th century, a number of pioneers who wanted to improve both productivity and working conditions invented and refined the field of scientific management. Over the years, a handful of their concepts have stood the test of time. If you have trouble finding any of the historic volumes on this list, try your local used bookstore or contact Douglas N. Harding Rare Books at (207) 646-8785. The Hardings also respond to written inquiries sent to P.O. Box 184, Wells, Maine 04090.

Deming, W. Edwards. The New Economics for Industry, Government, Education. (Cambridge: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1993). Deming says, "Transformation is not automatic. It must be learned; it must be led." In these pages, he shows us the way.

Drucker, Peter F. Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices. (New York: Harper & Row, 1973). A landmark study of management as an organized body of knowledge, with countless examples that have as much to teach us today as they did 25 years ago.

Herzberg, Frederick. Work and the Nature of Man. (Cleveland: The World Publishing Company, 1966) The historic report on research about what motivates people to work and the detailed explanation of Herzberg's "motivation-hygiene" theory. This is the book that led to his classic Harvard Business Review article: Herzberg, F. "One more time: How do you motivate employees?" HBR, 1968, January/February (HBR Article #87507).

McGregor, Douglas. The Human Side of Enterprise. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1960). All about Theory X and Theory Y and how our assumptions affect our behavior. This book helped launch the field of organizational development and is the one Marvin Weisbord says changed his life (See Weisbord's Productive Workplaces below).

Peter, Dr. Laurence J. and Raymund Hull. The Peter Principle: Why Things Always Go Wrong. (New York, William Morrow & Company, 1969). More than just a treatise on disaster, this classic offers up proven techniques for taking creative control of any problem.

Senge, Peter M. The Fifth Discipline. (New York: Currency/Doubleday, 1990). Drawing on science, spiritual wisdom, psychology, and on his own work with corporations, MIT's Senge introduces the art and practice of the learning organization. In the process, he reinvents what it means to manage.

Senge, Peter M. The Fifth Discipline. Cassette edition (October 1, 1994) Bantam Doubleday Dell Pub (Trd); ISBN: 0553473212

Taylor, Frederick W. The Principles of Scientific Management. (New York: Harper & Row, 1915). The father of scientific management and arguably the most influential management theorist of the 20^th century, Taylor has been called both humanitarian and despot. Read, and decide, for yourself.

Weisbord, Marvin R. Productive Workplaces: Organizing and Managing for Dignity, Meaning and Community. (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1987). Proven guidelines for managing in turbulent times. Also a great source for historic perspectives on work, management and organization consulting. Handsomely written.
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The New Organization
There is no more business as usual. Organizations are reinventing themselves to accommodate continuous change, new technologies, global competition, and the need for lifelong learning. We recommend the following books as being especially valuable for understanding this widespread transformation and making it work in your own organization.

The Living Company The Living Company by Arie De Geus. (Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1997). With a forward by Peter M. Senge. The average life span of a Fortune 500 company is less than half a century, yet there also are corporations around the world that have been in business for 200, 500, even 700 years. Arie de Geus, a retired Royal Dutch/Shell Group executive, maintains after studying both extremes that the most enduring treat their companies as "living work communities" rather than pure economic machines. This book persuasively outlines De Geus' prescription for organizational longevity, based on his investigations.

The Postmodern Organization. The Postmodern Organization: Mastering the Art of Irreversible Change by William Bergquist. (San Francisco, Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1993). The ways our organizations operate have been forever changed, and only those who understand these changes will be prepared to lead their organizations into the emerging postmodern world. In this book, William Bergquist draws from a wide range of perspectives to present a unique vision of the postmodern organization--a hybrid of the old and the new--explaining what it is, how it has evolved, and the strategies necessary to manage the changing nature of organizational life in the coming years. An insightful comparative look across time at our changing view of five key dimensions of organizational life, including values and complexity, mission vs. boundaries, and the role of leadership and communication. Also, four models of the postmodern organization and their implications for the future.

Jumping the Curve Jumping the Curve: Innovation and Strategic Choice in an Age of Transition by Nicholas Imperato and Oren Harari (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1994). One of the biggest challenges facing organizations today is how to avoid business decline by taking advantage of the core competencies within and new market opportunities without. These two business professors outline their guiding principles for replacing "the way we do it around here" behaviors with behaviors that demonstrate innovation and produce strategic advantage.

The Web of Inclusion by Sally Helgesen (New York, Currency/Doubleday, 1995). Profiles of five American companies that have taken steps to include employees in decision making, encourage flexibility, and build collaborations beyond their own walls.

Competing for the Future Competing for the Future by Gary Hamel and C.K. Prahalad. (Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1994). So, you're all restructured and reengineered. Now what? Here's your blueprint for long-term organizational success. This is the book where Prahalad and Hamel explain their concepts of "strategic intent" and "core competencies" in detail, using plenty of real-world examples from major corporations.

Team Talk Team Talk: The Power of Language in Team Dynamics by Anne Donnellon. (Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1996). The role of language in building effective teams. Listening between the lines to improve team performance.

Rekindling Commitment: How to Revitalize Yourself, Your Work, and Your Organization by Dennis Jaffe, Cynthia Scott, and Glen Tobe. (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1994). A road map for securing your own future, and the future of your organization, by responding actively, creatively, and effectively to the new demands of a changing work environment.

The Inventive Organization: Hope and Daring at Work by Jill Janov (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1994). Inspiration, frameworks, and practical applications for sustaining success in a changing economy, redesigning work processes for optimal effectiveness, and realigning roles and relationships for a flattened hierarchy.

Developing a Learning Culture: Empowering People to Deliver Quality, Innovation and Long-Term Success by Sue Jones (London: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1996. Practical ideas for trainers and managers who want to empower their people to deliver quality, innovation and long-term success.

The Age of Heretics: Heroes, Outlaws, and the Forerunners of Corporate Change by Art Kleiner (New York: Currency/Doubleday, 1996). During the radical 1960s, "corporate heretics" were fighting for change inside Shell Oil, General Foods, and other major corporations. Journalist Kleiner shows how their struggle paved the way for the ideals of democracy found in more and more of today's Fortune 100 companies.

The Knowledge-Creating Company. by Ikujiro Nonaka and Hirotaka Takeuchi (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995) An inside look at how Japanese companies create new knowledge and use it to produce successful products and technologies. From two of Japan's leading business experts.

The Intelligent Organization. by Gifford and Elizabeth Pinchot (San Francisco: Berrett Koehler Publishers, 1996). How to replace bureaucracy with more humane and effective systems of organization.

The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook: Strategies and Tools for Building a Learning Organization by Peter Senge, Art Kleiner, Charlotte Roberts, Richard Ross, and Bryan Smith (New York: Currency/Doubleday, 1994). The standard guide for creating a learning organization.

Future Search. by Marvin Weisbord and Sandra Janoff (San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 1995). The inventors of the acclaimed future search process created this action guide for organizations and communities whose members want to bring the "whole system" into the room to work together on a task-focused agenda. An Internet special interest group on Future Search can be visited at www.futuresearch.net Use your Back button to return here.

Wycoff, Joyce, and Tim Richardson. Transformation Thinking: Tools and Techniques That Open the Door to Powerful New Thinking for Every Member of Your Organization by Joyce Wycoff and Tim Richardson (New York: Berkeley Books, 1995). Simple techniques for managers and leaders who want to transform the way they make decisions, set goals, inspire teamwork, encourage communication, and stimulate new ideas.

The Culture of Education by Jerome Bruner (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1996). An eminent psychologist makes a forceful case for the role of narrative in equipping individuals to participate in the culture on which their life and livelihood depend. Both an unsettling criticism and a wise perspective. | Back To Top |

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