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Summary: Tracing the development of modern management thought
Review: In this book, business journalist Andrea Gabor traces the contributions of several key management thinkers and practitioners, and how their efforts shaped both the modern American corporation and popular notions of it. By chronicling well known (such as F.W. Taylor and Robert McNamara) and less known (such as Mary Parker Follett and Fritz Roethlisberger) figures, Gabor succeeds in illustrating how their ideas built on one another and in many cases anticipated by decades the challenges managers would -- and continue -- to face. The result of Gabor's efforts is not solely a survey of prominent people, but rather a nuanced discussion of the development of what proved to be some of the 20th century's most influential thoughts on management, irrespective of the originator's fame. This approach has several benefits. First, it accurately maps the development of fundamental theories of the corporation's role in society without bowing to the cults of personality around certain writers. Next, it demonstrates how ideas may be attributable not just to one genius, but to several individuals who may articulate similar thoughts in response to changes in society and work life. For readers looking to understand the development of management theory, this book is an excellent place to start. For all readers, Gabor makes this an entertaining book by describing in detail the personal qualities of these figures, and how their backgrounds and work experiences shaped the perspectives they brought to bear on the early problems of management.
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Summary: The Philosophers of Capitalism
Review: The capitalilst philolospher is a great novel. It goes in depth in to how profound capitalist made their mark, and also their faults. So as a reader you get to see what they did, and what they could have done to better. It gives a great foundation on how capitalism came to be, and how it has developed in the last centuries.
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Summary: The Philosophers of Capitalism
Review: The capitalilst philolospher is a great novel. It goes in depth in to how profound capitalist made their mark, and also their faults. So as a reader you get to see what they did, and what they could have done to better. It gives a great foundation on how capitalism came to be, and how it has developed in the last centuries.
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Summary: Adding value by integrating business history
Review: The general idea of the book is that scientific and humanistic management theories interacted and developed over the century. The author makes explicit issues that guided and constrained the thinkers' ideas. The author reviews the contributions of Frederick Taylor, Mary Parker Follett, Elton Mayo, Chester Barnard, Abraham Maslow, Herbert Simon, Robert McNamara, Alfred Chandler, W. Edwards Deming, and Peter Drucker. The book examines the philosophers' contributions, and shows how these thinkers affected business thingking and practice.
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