Discussion: View Thread

  • 1.  Classic MGT. Books

    Posted 11-14-1997 10:17
    Hello MG-ED-Dvers,

    Well ask so many people a question and you get so many different
    answers. Thank you to everyone who took the time to answer the query.
    Of the 13 replies, only one book was mentioned twice, Frederick Taylor's
    book, Scientific Management.

    Other than that, there was a diverse group of excellent books
    recommended. Here is the list (it's about a page long document, I
    apologize for its size).

    Management and the Worker, F.J. Roethlisberger and Dickson
    Yertle the Turtle, Dr. Seuss
    Images of Organization, Gareth Morgan
    The Function of the Executive, Chester Barnard
    Principles of Scientific Management, F.W. Taylor
    The Prince by Machiavelli
    Organizations in Action by J.D. Thompson (1967)
    The Social Psychology of Organizing by Karl Weick (II ed - 1979)
    Managing the Resource Allocation Process by Joseph Bower
    Strategy and Structure by Alfred Chandler
    Corporate Strategy by Igor Ansoff
    Scientific Management, Frederick Winslow Taylor
    Papers on the Science of Administration, edited by Luther Gulick and L.
    Urwick
    Dynamic Administration: The Collected Papers of Mary Parker Follett,
    edited by Henry Metcalf and L. Urwick
    The Human Problems of an Industrial Civilization, Elton Mayo.
    The Functions of the Executive, Chester Barnard
    The Modern Corporation and Private Property, Adolph Berle and Gardner
    Means
    The Practice of Management, Peter F. Drucker
    Leadership in Administration, Philip Selznick
    Management, Peter F. Drucker
    Strategy and Structure, Alfred Chandler
    The Nature of Managerial Work, Henry Mintzberg
    In Search of Excellence, Peters & Waterman
    March and Simon, Organizations
    Simon, Administrative Behavior
    Thompson, Organizations in Action
    Likert, New Patterns of Management
    Bernard, The Functions of the Executive
    March and Simon (1958) "Organizations"
    Thompson (1967) "Organizations in action"
    Crozier and Friedberg (1977) "The Social actor and the system" (my
    translation)
    Burns T./Stalker, G.M. (1961): The Management of Innovation. Tavistock
    Publications, London
    Perrow, C. (1986): Complex Organizations. A critical Essay, New York:
    Random House
    Daniel Katz & Robert L. Kahn: The Social Psychology of Organizations,
    2nd ed.
    Chris Argyris: Overcoming Organizational Defenses: Facilitating
    organizational learning.
    Peter M. Blau: Exchange & Power in social life
    Edgar H. Schein: Process Consultation Vol.II: Lessons for Managers and
    Consultants
    Karl E. Weick: Sensemaking in Organizations
    George S. Odiorne , Management and the Activity Trap
    The Balancing Act, Patterson, Grenney, McMillan & Switzler
    Peters, A Passion for Excellence
    Senge, The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook: Strategies and tools for building
    a learning organization
    Block, The Empowered Manager
    Zalenik, The Managerial Mystique
    Drucker, The New Realities
    Anything by Bennis; - Productive Workplaces by Weisbord.
    Working the Shadow Side by Gerald Egan
    Don Noer's two books - Healing the Wounds and Breaking Free
    Out of the Crisis, W. E. Deming, MIT Press, 1986
    Drucker's "The Effective Execuctive"
    The Human Side of Enterprise, by Douglas MacGregor
    Future Edge, by Joel Arthur Barker
    Essential to add Henri Fayol, Industrial and General Administration,
    IMI, Geneva, 1925
    Herbert Simon, Administrative Behaviour, Macmillan NY 1957
    James Yhompsn, Organizations in Action, McGraw-Hill, NY 1967

    Special thanks to Andre Everett who made an excellent suggestion of
    looking at well known writers vs. looking at particular books.

    Best,


    Russ Williams


  • 2.  Classic MGT. Books

    Posted 11-15-1997 03:54
    Your list has several repeats: Bernard, McGregor; does that mean
    multiple mentions besides Taylor's? Venturing a litle from the narrow
    focus on management per se, I recommend strongly two books with the same
    basic title and offer a random, eclectic list:
    Chandler: The Visible Hand: The Managerial Revolution in American
    Business
    Burnham: The Managerial Revolution
    Also,
    Drucker: The Concept of the Corporation
    Heilbroner: The Worldly Philosophers
    Anything by Erving Goffman, but especially:
    The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life.
    Adam Smith: The Wealth of Nations
    Max Weber: The Protestant Reformation and the Spirit of Capitalism
    Jules Henry: On Sham, Vulnerabilty and Other Forms of Self-Destruction
    Ralph Nader: Unsafe at Any Speed
    Pope John Paul II: Laborem Exercens (On Human Work) (A Papal Encyclical)
    Anything by Noam Chomsky on the role of what he calls the "supranational
    Corporation."
    Hope these suggestions prove to be of interest.


  • 3.  Classic MGT. Books

    Posted 11-17-1997 16:31
    Thanks for taking the time and putting this info together in such a timely
    manner! I regret I did not reply on time. It's very useful! On the OD
    Network listserv, subscribers have been writing in about OD-type movies the
    last several days and you've given me the idea to compile a list.

    Margie Summerscales
    Salt Lake City, Utah


  • 4.  Classic MGT. Books

    Posted 11-17-1997 17:27
    Apologize for my earlier error posting that the movie listing was on OD
    Network listserv when it's really on MG-ED-DV. This must be the first sign
    of listserv overdose!!! Or, could it be that it's so easy to push that
    "send" button and realize later what I did/said wrong?!