Issue No 149 June 2005
Book Review
Financial Times handbook of management edited by Stuart Crainer and Des Dearlove
Management systems, practices and theories are many and various. This handbook does not claim to detail them all, but instead aims to describe the 'state of the art of management'. This is a big book, but the structure makes it manageable. There are four parts: The state of the art; Foundations of management; Management skills; and Resources. The chapters cover subjects like globalisation, human resources, marketing, organisation and entrepreneurship. Each chapter consists of essays by management experts and a section introducing key people in the field with a brief biography and the essentials of their model or work.
This is the 3rd edition of the Financial Times handbook of management. The editors claim that "90 per cent of the contents are brand new" and part two, on management skills, is entirely new. There is an emphasis on practicalities not present in previous editions and those aspects of management that were not an issue five years ago are addressed. The text is dense, but readable and the layout of the book allows the reader to dip in and out according to need or desire.
So, why read this book? For the manager in practice it is a resource allowing quick revision of an old subject. For the new or training manager it is a source of expert thinking on many business subjects. For both old and new managers it is a record of the current state of the art of management that may not only influence how things are done from their office, but could also change their understanding of how other people respond to them. As a compendium of current thinking and useful resources this is outstanding. It should be noted as an entry-level book for those searching out information on the theory and practice of management in almost any area.
Kate Ogden
Business and Computing Centre
