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This book challenges the roots and elements of the existing dominant paradigm of management, which can legitimize artless practices and result in dysfunction, and proposes an alternative based on a different understanding of human nature and social and economic life. This paradigm is designed to bring about the conception of organizations as wholes rather than assemblies of disembodied fragments, with managers as facilitators of the work of others and shapers of culture, with a clear sense of purpose and a moral compass. Such a paradigm would result in a practice of management that is more competent, more purposeful, and more ethical, based on a more accurate and complete comprehension of reality.
This book sets forth a more optimistic understanding of human nature and collective life, and the hope that we can be and do better. It is a major contribution to the field of management and will benefit academics, managers, and consultants working in the fields of organizational development and strategic change.
List of contents
Part 1. The Roots and Consequences of Organizational and Management Dysfunction.- 1.The Role of Management in Organizational Dysfunction.- 2. Classes of Management Failure.- 3. Roots of the Current, Dominant Management Paradigm.- Part 2. Rethinking Management - An Alternative View.- 4. Roots of an Alternative Management Paradigm.- 5. Management as Learning and Adaptation.- 6. Management as Author, Catalyst and Steward of Purpose.- 7. Management as Facilitation.- 8. Management as an Ethical Enterprise.- Epilogue
About the author
Neil Douglas and Terry Wykowski are principals of the Oxford Consulting Group in Houston, Texas. They are authors of
From Belief to Knowledge: Achieving and Sustaining an Adaptive Culture in Organizations and
Beyond Reductionism: Gateways for Learning and Change.
Summary
This book challenges the roots and elements of the existing dominant paradigm of management, which can legitimize artless practices and result in dysfunction, and proposes an alternative based on a different understanding of human nature and social and economic life. This paradigm is designed to bring about the conception of organizations as wholes rather than assemblies of disembodied fragments, with managers as facilitators of the work of others and shapers of culture, with a clear sense of purpose and a moral compass. Such a paradigm would result in a practice of management that is more competent, more purposeful, and more ethical, based on a more accurate and complete comprehension of reality.
This book sets forth a more optimistic understanding of human nature and collective life, and the hope that we can be and do better. It is a major contribution to the field of management and will benefit academics, managers, and consultants working in the fields of organizational development and strategic change.
