From: Caproni, Paula [mailto:
pcaproni@bus.umich.edu]
Dear Nick and Steve:
As the author, I'm always interested in hearing what people have to say
about the book. Here are a few comments based on your messages below.
I wrote the book because I wanted an MBA textbook that was very practical,
readable, and based on up-to-date theory that would help students succeed in
today's diverse, global, technology-driven social and economic environment.
I frame success as job effectiveness, career success (promotions, salaries,
job satisfaction), and general well-being (health, longevity, family, and
happiness).
As for the academic integrity of the book, I believe it's one of the most
theoretically rich management textbooks available. I strongly believe in
the late sociologist Kurt Lewin's famous phrase: "There's nothing as
practical as a good theory." And I agree wholeheartedly with Nick who says
that it's hard to think critically when you have limited information and I
wanted to expose readers of the book to a broad and diverse body of
knowledge. I, too, am tired of platitudes and generalizations that can be
misleading rather than helpful to students and managers. So, the book has:
1. Substantial References: The book uses at least as many references as
the other management and OB textbooks. For example, the chapter on
self-awareness has 98 references; the chapter on managing cultural diversity
has 117 references; and the chapter on Diverse and Virtual Teams has 122
references.
2. Academic Rigor: As an academic myself, I took special care to make sure
that the traditional academic journals represent the majority of the
citations, both within the field of OB and management (e.g., Academy of
Management Journal, Administrative Science Quarterly, Journal of Applied
Behavioral Science, Organization) and outside the field of OB and management
(e.g. sociology, psychology). I've supplemented these resources with
citations from books (both academic and popular press) and management
magazines (Fast Company, Fortune, etc.).
3. Up-to-date references: Although the book has many of the timeless
theories (e.g., active listening) I made a special effort to include
theories from 1990 - 2000 since many of these theories have not yet been
integrated into OB and management textbooks.
4. Culturally diverse theorists: I took special care to make sure that the
theorists cited in the book represent diverse cultures (e.g., race, gender,
nationality) so that people who read the book feel that they are getting a
broad perspective on management. Also, I want everyone who reads the book
to be able to say, "Hey, I see myself in this book. These theories are
relevant to me. These researchers cited sound like they would understand me
and the social and organizational world that I live and work in." You'll
note that I included the full first names of the theorists in the references
rather than simply use the initial of the first name.
5. Critical perspective: I believe that we need to encourage readers of
management books (whether popular press or textbooks) to be critical
consumers of managerial knowledge, so I include critical perspectives
throughout the book and explicitly encourage readers of the book to think
carefully about both the strengths and limitations of the theories presented
in the book.
I had a great time writing this book (easy for me to say now that it's over,
I wouldn't have said that 2 years ago!) because I wrote it to make a
difference in the lives of the people who read it and in the the
organizations and communities in which they work and live.
Regarding Steve's question about whether the book would work with BBAs, I
wrote the book in a very readable style because I wanted it to work with a
wide audience, from BBAs and MBAs to Executives, as well as managers outside
the business environment (e.g., social workers, health care professionals,
public sector). The difference would be in how the instructor debriefs the
materials in terms of the depth of the discussion and the examples used (In
some cases, BBAs would relate to different examples than executives would).
I've been using the materials from the book with my MBA classes for about 10
years. I offer the course 3 times a year now with 50 students in each
class. The course typically has a 20 person waitlist and consistently
receives 5.0 out of 5.0 ratings. The students like the class because they
see it as both thoughtful and practical (regardless of their culture and
career aspirations). Frankly, one of the reasons that the class succeeds is
that I use a lot of great videos, self-assessments (some from the book and
some online assessments that are free or for a fee), simulations and role
plays, cases, and individual and team assignments. These make the learning
fast-paced and fun as well as rigorous. These resourses are all listed in
the instructor's guide for the book.
Professor Ellen Kossek at Michigan State used the book this past semester in
a course, so she can give you some feedback on how it worked for her.
(
Kossek@pilot.edu)
Nick: If you want to read the preface of the book, it's on Amazon.com. If
you want me to send you a copy of the book, just let me know and I'll do so.
I hope my comments help you understand the book better. If either of you
have any questions or want to discuss the book in more depth, just let me
know. We can do so by email or phone (734) 763-1010.
Best,
Paula