UNIT 1. Managers, Performance, and the EnvironmentPart A. Management Classic1. The Manager’s Job: Folklore and Fact, Henry Mintzberg, Harvard Business Review, March/April 1990
This classic essay by Henry Mintzberg replaces the traditional view of management functions—to plan, to coordinate, to organize, and to control—with a look at what managers really do. Part B. Management Skills, Roles, and Performance2. Success in Management, Anne M. Mulcahy, Vital Speeches of the Day, November 1, 2002
Xerox was a company in trouble and is now coming out of it. Here is how the CEO helped to lead the way, told by the lady herself. New! 3. The New Organization, The Economist, January 21, 2006
How are organizations changing in the 21st century from the way they were in the 20th? One is the way that people work, but the organizations they work in are lagging behind. Part C. The EnvironmentNew! 4. It’s a Flat World, After All, Thomas L. Friedman, The New York Times Magazine, April 3, 2005
This article is based on the recent best seller The World Is Flat by Thomas Friedman. Times are changing very rapidly on the world stage and those who do not recognize it and act on it will be left behind. New! 5. Globalization and the American Labor Force, Fred Maidment, Journal of Individual Employment Rights, Vol. 11, No. 2, 2003–2004
The global environment for labor is changing and the American work force needs to change with it or be left behind. There are several models that have been developed over the years to address these issues and they are explored here. UNIT 2. PlanningPart A. Decision Support Systems6. Choose the Right Tools for Internal Control Reporting, Bruce I. Winters, Journal of Accountancy, February 2004
What are some of the software tools that are available to help meet the new requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002? What should you be looking for? Some of these questions are addressed here. Part B. Strategic AnalysisNew! 7. Let’s Be Friends, Alison Stein Wellner, Inc. Magazine, March 2005
One of your closest allies could be your competitor. It may sound strange, but that might be the case. Sometimes cooperation can yield more and better results than competition, especially for small businesses. New! 8. Embracing Confusion: What Leaders Do When They Don’t Know What to Do, Barry C. Jentz and Jerome T. Murphy, Phi Delta Kappan, January 2005
In a rapidly changing environment, confusion is likely to be the norm rather than the exception. How a leader handles this situation can turn what could seem to be a threat into a strength and a learning experience for the entire organization. New! 9. Why Environmental Scanning Works Except When You Need It, Brian J. Huffman, Business Horizons, May/June 2004
Environmental scanning is a regular part of strategic planning. The only problem is that people are not looking for or expecting to see the most important changes that are going to occur in their industry. 10. Six Priorities That Make a Great Strategic Decision, Mary Burner Lippitt, Journal of Business Strategy, January/February 2003
In this article by Mary Burner Lippitt, read about the six priorities for strategic thinking: (1) state-of-the-art products/services; (2) market share; (3) building systems to maintain high performance; (4) process improvement; (5) developing a competent workforce; and (6) long-term positioning. UNIT 3. OrganizingPart A. Management Classic11. Classifying the Elements of Work, Frank B. Gilbreth and Lillian M. Gilbreth, Management Classics, Goodyear Publishing Company, 1977
Time and motion studies were among the earliest results of Frederick W. Taylor’s work. In this selection, two of the pioneers in these studies discuss the ideas upon which time and motion studies are based. Part B. Designing and Changing the Organization12. The Dark Side of Change, G. Neil Karn and Donna S. Highfill, Across the Board, March/April 2004
Sometimes when a new manager comes on board, he or she has a need to put their stamp on the organization. They often do that by instituting unnecessary change. 13. The Change-Capable Organization, Patricia A. McLagan, Training & Development, January 2003
Change is the only constant. Those organizations that are able to change are the ones that are going to be successful. Mavericks are often the key to change and organizations must learn to embrace them. New! 14. Build Your Own Change Model, Robert H. Schaffer and Matthew K. McCreight, Business Horizons, May/June 2004
Change is something that every organization faces, but each change situation is different and unique. This means that organizations have to build their own unique model to change their organizations and that a change model that worked in one organization will not necessarily work in another. UNIT 4. DirectingPart A. Management Classic15. A Theory of Human Motivation, Abraham H. Maslow, Management Classics, Goodyear Publishing Company, 1977
Abraham Maslow’s theory of motivation is well known. This is the classic article in which it was proposed. Part B. LeadershipNew! 16. The True Measure of a CEO, James O’Toole, Across the Board, September/October 2005
What is it that makes a great CEO? Aristotle argued that a leader’s task is to create conditions under which all followers can reach their full human potential. How many do that? How many even try? 17. The Myth of Charismatic Leaders, Joseph A. Raelin, Training & Development, March 2003
Charismatic leaders do not always provide the best form of leadership for organizations. Some organizations, in fact, would be far better off without them. Part C. PerformanceNew! 18. Can One Man Save GM?, Alex Taylor III, Fortune, September 19, 2005
General Motors is a corporation facing many problems. It has been slowly losing market share since 1970 and now has about half the domestic market share that it had then. How can this corporate giant be turned around? Part D. Communication19. Disaster’s Future, Simon Moore, Business Horizons, January/February 2004
Information Technology is going to change the way the whole world communicates in the future. It has only recently started to make changes in the developed world, but once the rest of the world catches up, it will be difficult to have any control over it. UNIT 5. ControllingPart A. Management Classic20. An Uneasy Look at Performance Appraisal, Douglas McGregor, Harvard Business Review, May/June 1957
In this classic article, Douglas McGregor, who also wrote about the X and Y theories of management, looks at how performance appraisals can be effectively used to help management and to control the enterprise. Part B. Financial ControlNew! 21. Zero In on the Numbers, Susan Ladika, HR Magazine, January 2005
The budget is one of the chief devices for controlling expenses and planning for the future. How the budget is approached and how people can be prepared for it is discussed here. Part C. SecurityNew! 22. Corporate Security Management: What’s Common? What Works?, Security Director’s Report, August 2005
This is a report of a survey that analyzed security operations at hundreds of companies conducted by Security Director’s Report. This is what companies do to try to protect themselves from possible theft and other security problems. Part D. Total Quality ManagementNew! 23. Quality Is Easy, David C. Crosby, Quality Magazine, January 2006
Zero defects is an approach to quality management. This article outlines the seven laws of defect prevention to achieve zero defects. 24. Mail Preparation Total Quality Management, Richard W. Pavely, Office Solutions, April 2002
The U.S. Postal Service is trying to improve its service while at the same time keeping costs under control. One of the techniques they are using is the Mail Preparation Total Quality Management (MPTQM) program. UNIT 6. Staffing and Human ResourcesPart A. Management Classic25. Management Women and the New Facts of Life, Felice N. Schwartz, Harvard Business Review, January/February 1989
This is the article, first published in 1989, that started all the discussion of the “Mommy Track” and the “Daddy Track” for employees. Part B. Developing Human ResourcesNew! 26. The Health-Care Tussle, David Glenn, The Chronicle of Higher Education, January 21, 2005
The cost of health care affects everyone, not the least of which are educational institutions that must try to address the increases in these costs while at the same time trying to keep expenses under control. This is not an easy task and it is becoming more difficult. 27. Who Are You Really Hiring?, Shari Caudron, Workforce, November 2002
Background and reference checks are an important part of the hiring process. Not doing an adequate job of checking a potential employee’s references can lead to many problems down the road that could have been prevented. 28. The Next Bubble?, Rebecca Fannin, Chief Executive, January/February 2004
There has been a great deal of discussion of the outsourcing of jobs to India and China as well as to other countries in the developing world. But there is a downside that may be coming to this activity if you are not careful. Part C. Maintaining an Effective WorkforceNew! 29. Turning Boomers Into Boomerangs, The Economist, February 18, 2006
Older workers are going to be a resource that will have to be taped in the future if organizations are going to have an adequate labor supply. The question is how to do it and make the workplace friendly to retired workers who want to return to the workplace. 30. Do Americans Work Too Hard?, Fred Maidment, Human Resource Executive, October 2003
According to a recent UN study among industrialized countries, only the Koreans and the Czechs put in more time on the job than Americans. In fact, the United States is the only developed country where the number of hours on the job has actually increased since 1990. This could result, for some, in what the Japanese have named “Karoshi” or “Death-by-overwork!” UNIT 7. Perspectives and TrendsPart A. Management Classic31. The Discipline of Innovation, Peter F. Drucker, Harvard Business Review, August 2002
Peter Drucker identifies several kinds of opportunities that can be used to help develop innovation in this classic article from the Harvard Business Review. Part B. The Multinational CorporationNew! 32. Thinking Locally, Succeeding Globally, Elizabeth Esfahani, Business 2.0, December 2005
LG Industries is a manufacturer of consumer appliances that has been very successful in tailoring its products to local markets. As a result, it has often found itself as the leader in the product category. New! 33. The Great Wal-Mart of China, Clay Chandler, Fortune, July 25, 2005
Wal-Mart may have gotten started late in China, but it is now starting to catch up, and the Chinese like Wal-Mart’s “Everyday low prices.” 34. American Corporations: The New Sovereigns, Lawrence E. Mitchell, The Chronicle of Higher Education, January 18, 2002
Corporations are growing in power and there doesn’t seem to be any real accountability for them. This would seem to be true on both the international and domestic levels. Part C. Corporate CultureNew! 35. The Real Reason You’re Working So Hard…and What You Can Do About It, Michael Mandel, BusinessWeek, October 3, 2005
Americans are working harder than ever while most people in the developed world are actually working shorter hours. Better communication and the demands of the job have all led to more rather than less work for managers. 36. For New “Old Boys” Only, Stewart Crainer and Des Dearlove, Across the Board, November/December 2002
The gentlemen’s club, once the symbol of the white male establishment, is now becoming the model of the new business world where everything is done based on an informal network of contacts. But, instead of being exclusionary, these new networks are inclusionary. Part D. Ethics and Social ResponsibilityNew! 37. The Tone at the Top and Ethical Conduct Connection, Barbara Lamberton, Paul H. Mihalek, CPA, and Carl S. Smith, CMA, CFM, CPA, Strategic Finance, March 2005
A company’s ethical climate is set by senior management. If the company’s top mangers are seen as being unethical then the rest of the employees will take their cue from them. As the saying goes, “The fish stinks from the head down.” 38. The Road to Stronger Corporate Governance, Linda Zong, Corporate Board, March/April 2004
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 has mandated a stronger role for outside directors on the boards of corporations. This is particularly true in the financial and executive compensation area of the board’s responsibility. Part E. Small Business and EntrepreneurshipNew! 39. Up to the Challenge, Mark Henricks, Entrepreneur, February 2006
Here is the story of three entrepreneurs who got the opportunity to grow their businesses to the next level by getting some of the best advice possible. They still face challenges, but they are making great progress. 40. Determining the Strategies and Tactics of Ownership Succession, James Ahern, National Underwriter Life and Health, February 10, 2003
Every entrepreneur will eventually have to make a plan for getting out of the business. Retirement includes many options, and every entrepreneur should consider transition plan options from the beginning. Part F. The War on TerrorNew! 41. In Fourth Year of ‘War on Terror’: Successes, Failures, Blowback from Iraq, Charles J. Hanley, The America’s Intelligence Wire, December 15, 2005
The War on Terror continues with successes, failures, and no real end in sight. The situation from 2005 is examined.
