Fifteen years ago, after, having completed a two-year research study, long-time Economist journalists and editors John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge published an explosive critique of management theory and its legions of evangelists and followers. Their work became a bestseller, widely praised by reviewers and devoured by readers confused by the buzzwords and concepts created by the management industry. When the book was published, ideas about re-engineering, the search for excellence, quality, and chaos both energized and haunted the world of business, just as the long tail, black swans, the tipping point, the war for talent, and corporate responsibility do today. For decades, since the ascendance of MBA programs, the field of management has operated in a dubious space - as many of its framers clamor for respect within the academy while making millions pedalling ideas, some brilliant and some nonsensical, in speeches, consulting arrangements, and books. While the original book offered a damning critique, it also argued that much of management theory is valuable - making companies more efficient and productive, improving organizational life for workers, and providing sound ways for innovation while defending more entrenched plans. Updated to include the rise and fall of the Internet boom, the Great Recession of 2008, and the more recent developments in management theory, "Masters of Management" is a valuable crash course in the many ideas it dissects.

About the Author
Adrian Wooldridge is the management editor and "Schumpeter" columnist of The Economist. He was educated at Balliol College, Oxford, and All Souls College, Oxford, where he held a Prize Fellowship. He was formerly The Economist's Washington bureau chief and "Lexington" columnist. He is the coauthor, with John Micklethwait, of five books-including The Witch Doctors: Making Sense of the Management Gurus; A Future Perfect: The Challenge and Hidden Promise of Globalization; The Company: A Short History of a Revolutionary Idea; and The Right Nation: Conservative Power in America-and the author of Measuring the Mind: Education and Psychology in England c.1860-1990.

Reviews
"At last some common sense in the arena dominated by shark-swimming, chaos-seeking, megatrending, one-minute managing, highly effective people." -- New York Times Book Review "At last some common sense in the arena dominated by shark-swimming, chaos-seeking, megatrending, one-minute managing, highly effective people." -- Chicago Tribune "Brings clarity, humor, and historical perspective to a field that rewards gibberish, pomposity, and revolutionaries who want to throw away the pase (and the people that go with it)." -- Wall Street Journal "Micklethwait and Wooldridge have done the near impossible: written a book about management-management-that is lively, engrossing, skeptical, fair-minded, and steeped in a rich sense of history." -- Joseph Nocera "Read it before buying any other business book." -- Rosabeth Moss Kanter "A gem of debunking." -- The Times (London) "Simultaneously smart, insightful, terrifying and humorous... this revised incarnation should overtake its predecessor as the most bracing and relevant discussion of the world created by MBAs." -- Kirkus Reviews "This excellent book encourages thoughtful analysis of the growing management revolution; the combining of knowledge, learning, and innovation; the real meaning of globalization; and boardroom implications." -- Booklist "Without some failures, companies can't ride the crest of the next wave of innovation. If you don't seize opportunity, someone else will...Wooldridge uses the stories of small and large companies to drive home his "how to make it work" advice." -- Biz Books "Skillfully written and sprinkled with interesting observations." -- Wall Street Journal



Book Information
ISBN 9780061771132
Author Adrian Wooldridge
Format Hardback
Page Count 464
Imprint Harper Business
Publisher HarperCollins Publishers Inc
Weight(grams) 644g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 36mm