On Leadership

by March, James G.; Weil, Thierry

• ISBN13: 9781405132473
• ISBN10: 1405132477
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-10-28
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

In this series of lectures, previously unpublished in English, and here translated from a French reconstruction and interpretation by noted scholar Thierry Weil, leading organizational scholar James March uses great works of literature to explore the problems of leadership. Uses great works of literature to explore the problems of leadership, for example War and Peace, Othello, and Don Quixote. Presents moral dilemmas related to leadership, for example the balance between private life and public duties, and between the expression and the control of sexuality. Encourages readers to explore ideas that are sometimes subversive and unpalatable but may allow organizations to adapt in a rapidly changing world.

Author Biography

James G. March is Jack Steele Parker Professor of International Management Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of Political Science, Sociology and Education at Stanford University. He has inspired generations of students with his work in the study of organizations. His previous publications include Decisions and Organizations (1989), Behavioral Theory of the Firm (Second Edition, 1992), Organizations (Second Edition, 1993) and The Pursuit of Organizational Intelligence (1998), all published by Blackwell Publishing.

Thierry Weil, a former physicist, is Professor of Technology Management at École des Mines de Paris, where he was the Dean of research and graduate studies from 1991 to 1995. He also advises companies and policy makers on the management of innovation. From 2000 to 2002, he acted as scientific advisor to the Prime Minister of France, Lionel Jospin.

Table of Contents

Foreword	vii
Jean-Claude Thoenig
Preface	xi
James G. March
Preface	xiv
Thierry Weil
Introduction	1	(12)
Issues of Leadership	1	(5)
Appreciation of Leadership	6	(4)
Queries	10	(3)
Duty, Revenge, and Innocence: Othello	13	(16)
Private Life and Public Duties	13	(3)
Revenge and the Social Order?	16	(9)
Queries	25	(4)
Heresy and Genius: Saint Joan	29	(12)
Exploitation and Exploration	29	(1)
Can Leaders Selected for their Reliability Become Creative Leaders?	30	(3)
Diversity and Unity	33	(2)
Saint Joan	35	(2)
Queries	37	(4)
Ambiguity, Irrelevance, Power, and the Social Order: War and Peace	41	(20)
Organizations, Ambiguity, and Incoherence	41	(3)
The Irrelevance of Human Intentions to History	44	(4)
Irrelevance and the Anomalies of Leadership	48	(4)
The Ambiguity of Power	52	(4)
The Social Order	56	(1)
Queries	57	(4)
Gender, Sex, and Leadership	61	(18)
The Gender of Leadership in Organizations	61	(4)
Sexuality, Organizations, and Leadership	65	(8)
Queries	73	(6)
Imagination, Commitment, and Joy: Don Quixote	79	(18)
Don Quixote de la Mancha
Imagination	80	(3)
Commitment	83	(5)
Joy	88	(3)
Lessons from Quixote	91	(1)
Queries	92	(5)
Plumbing and Poetry	97	(4)
Query	99	(2)
Appendix 1 Intelligence Versus Reason: An Overview of James March's Work	101	(12)
Thierry Weil
Miseries of Reason	101	(6)
Splendors of Reason	107	(2)
Redemption through Enthusiasm	109	(4)
Appendix 2 Mundane Organizations and Heroic Leaders	113	(9)
James G. March
Index	122