“Read it before buying any other business book.”—Rosabeth Moss Kanter In this newly renamed and completely updated edition ofthe BusinessWeek bestseller The Witch Doctors with a new Forewordfrom John Micklethwait, Adrian Wooldridgedeftly sifts the real wisdom from the dross about management theory, sortingthe sages from the charlatans and distilling the true means of success from themany ways to fail. A penetrating and engaging history of management theory,often regarded as one of the most vital and accessible business booksavailable, Masters of Management delivers, in the words of the NewYork Times Book Review, “at last some common sense in the arena dominatedby shark-swimming, chaos-seeking, megatrending,one-minute managing, highly effective people.” This updated classic isessential reading for anyone seeking to forge a path ahead in business and inlife.
Book Description
In 1996, having completed a two-year research study, longtime Economist journalists and editors John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge published The Witch Doctors, an explosive critique of management theory and its legions of evangelists and followers. The book became a bestseller, widely praised by reviewers and devoured by readers confused by the buzzwords and concepts the management “industry” creates. At the time, ideas about “reengineering,” “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 rise of MBA programs on campuses across the country, the field of management has operated in a dubious space. Many of its framers clamor for respect within the academy while making millions of dollars pedaling ideas, some brilliant and some nonsensical, in speechesting arrangements, and books.
Although The Witch Doctors was a damning critique (“a scalpel job,” according to the Wall Street Journal), it also argued that much of management theory is valuable—making companies more effi-cient and productive, improving organizational life for workers, and providing sound ways for companies to innovate while defending more entrenched plans. Building upon all that made the original such a phenomenal success, this fully revised and updated edition, Masters of Management, takes into account the rise of the Internet, the growing power of emerging markets, the Great Recession of 2008, and the more recent developments in management theory. The result is an indispensable volume for any manager.
