False Prophets The Gurus Who Created Modern Management And Why Their Ideas Are Bad For Business Today

by Hoopes, James

• ISBN13: 9780738207988
• ISBN10: 0738207985
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-04-17
• Publisher: Basic Books

Summary

According to Jim Hoopes, the fundamental principles on which business is based-authority, power, control-are increasingly at odds with principles of life in a democratic society-freedom, equality, individualism. False Prophets critically examines the pioneering theories of the early management thinkers, such as Taylor, Follett, Mayo, and Deming, which intended to democratize corporate life yet have proved antithetical to the successful practice of business. Hoopes challenges popular management movements that followed in the wake of these thinkers and accuses today's business theorists of perpetuating bad management in the name of democratic values. He urges executives and managers to recognize the realities of corporate life and learn to apply the principles of power. He also unveils a new management agenda that will be of paramount significance to modern organizations.A rich and lively read, False Prophets provides a refreshingly new and original overview of the history of management in the larger context of the American culture, brilliantly illustrating its evolution-from the ivory tower to the shop floor.

Author Biography

James Hoopes is Distinguished Professor of History at Babson College.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Scientific Management: How Top-Down Power Increased American Productivity	p. 1
Handling People in Early America	p. 5
The Demon: Frederick W. Taylor	p. 33
The Engineers: The Gilbreths and Gantt	p. 65
Human Relations: Management as Moral Leadership of Bottom-Up Power	p. 97
The Optimist: Mary Parker Follett	p. 101
The Therapist: Elton Mayo	p. 129
The Leader: Chester Barnard	p. 161
Social Philosophy: Management as Everybody's Business	p. 193
The Statistician: W. Edwards Deming	p. 197
The Moralist: Peter Drucker	p. 231
Conclusion	p. 263
Notes	p. 283
Index	p. 311
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.