Book Review: Management: Current Practices And New Direction

Leaman, James M.

Christian Business Academy Review

15Leaman - Book Review: Management: Current Practices and New DirectionsBOOK REVIEWManagement: Current Practices And New DirectionsJAMES M. LEAMANEastern Mennonite Universityjames.leaman@emu.eduWhat are the differences between organizations run onfaith-based principles and those run without that filter?Historically, academics and practitioners have answeredthis question by providing broad comparisons in perspec-tives or motives, or they have simply contrasted the twotypes of organizations and management through anecdotalevidence. There have been few resources on the marketthat address this question in a systematic analysis of orga-nizational management.  The landscape changes with anew management text, co-authored by Bruno Dyck andMitchell J. Neubert, that provides the first systematicframework and language on which to hang this discourse.Mainstream texts were beginning to add pieces to ourunderstanding of other-centeredness management con-cerns, such as corporate social responsibility, stakeholdertheory, social entrepreneurship, and servant leadership, butthese were often presented as add-on features, or fringe ele-ments, to an entrenched orthodoxy. Dyck and Neubertweave the foundations of other-centeredness into a fullyintegrated “alternative” approach and perspective to organi-zational management, while comparing and contrasting itto mainstream views.It should be noted that this text is not identifiedexplicitly as faith-based; it is a text for all audiences andpublished by one of the major North American mainlinepublishing groups (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). Dyckand Neubert capitalize on what they view as a subtle butdetermined shift in management theory and practice in theWest from a perspective that is more materialistic and indi-vidualistic to one that seeks a more wholistic balanceamong multiple forms of well-being, and the latter simplyaligns more closely with the principles and tenets of themajor faith groups. The “mainstream” and “multistream”terms were coined by the authors to identify the contrast-ing perspectives on management in this text, with MAINgiving reference to materialism and individualism, andMULTI providing reference to “multiple forms of well-being (e.g., material, physical, social, ecological, spiritual,intellectual, aesthetic) for multiple stakeholders (e.g., own-ers, employees, suppliers, customers, competitors, neigh-bors, future generations)” (p. xix). Mainstream assump-tions, many of which are drawn from Rational ChoiceTheory, are increasingly being called into question, partic-ularly with renewed emphasis on sustainability and sustain-able organizational practices. By contrast, multi-streammanagement methods are increasingly being advocated notonly on moral and humanitarian grounds, but also in theinterest of better and more sustainable management,including a better bottom-line over the long term.Management: Current Practices and New Directions fol-lows a similar scope and sequence to the most popularmanagement texts in use today. The authors begin with asection introducing students to management basics, fol-lowed by several chapters on the environment and contextof management. The heart of the text is the analysis of thefamiliar four major functions of management: planning,organizing, leading, and controlling, also known as thePOLC Model. For each of the book’s 18 chapters, theauthors present the material first from the mainstream per-spective, which compares favorably with other popularmanagement texts. Then they present the same principlesfrom the multi-stream perspective and provide comparativeanalysis of each facet of management with the mainstreamview. For some chapters and principles the differences arevery subtle; for others, it is quite stark. This juxtapositionof perspectives, presented item-by-item, provides the con-tinuous and consistent contrast and comparison that buildsa new framework of understanding of the multistream16view, and it invites students naturally to identify their ownexperiences and views with one of these two perspectives.The contrasting of perspectives approach in the textprovides an excellent launching pad for comparative assign-ments and class discussion. While the authors espouse apreference for multi-stream management techniques inmost organizational situations, they provide a fair and bal-anced view of both approaches, and they teach the impor-tance of situational management and leadership, even pro-viding examples where mainstream techniques may still bethe ideal methods to apply. My students have reallyenjoyed the comparison of the two approaches to manage-ment, and a good percentage of them have identified withboth perspectives, given specific management situations.For the past several years I used one of the top main-line management texts, and I found that I was trying toadd many of the perspectives offered in the Dyck/Neuberttext that I am now able to identify as “multi-stream.” Withthe new text, the multi-stream perspective is fully integrat-ed into every element of management we study, and it pro-vides a semester-long analysis of the competing perspec-tives; this presents for the students a more systematic, com-prehensive, and integrated review that bolsters studentinterest, reflection, analysis, and learning. Class discussionsnow almost always revolve around the comparison of themainstream and multi-stream approaches, and I believe mystudents are energized by this analysis, drawing them in fordeeper learning and understanding of the principles ofmanagement.Whereas mainline management texts often focus onU.S. for-profit organizations, another difference theDyck/Neubert text offers over many others on the marketis that management is explored within the broad organiza-tional contexts of both for-profit and nonprofit, and bothdomestic and international. This more inclusive approachallows students from all countries and cultures, and in suchdiverse fields as business, education, social work, biology,and sport and recreational leadership, to find relevance toorganizational management in their settings and in theirchosen career fields. Since adopting this text, I have fewerquestions from non-business majors about how this mate-rial and course is relevant to them, and I have documentedmore in-class participation from non-business majors.Many of the features and resources packaged with text-books today are included with this management text. Inaddition to having excellent readability qualities, eachchapter includes an opening and closing case study thatapplies the learning for that lesson with real life experi-ences; these are selected with a good balance of for-prof-it/nonprofit, and domestic/international. One of my stu-dents, who had previously used another mainline text,commented to me that he found the cases in theDyck/Neubert text “more real”; I attribute his assessmentto the contrasting approaches to management and in moresettings, thus allowing a more diverse student populationto find relevance. Chapters are also infused with specialbreak-out boxes that explore “Management in Practice,”“Digging Deeper,” “What Do You Think?,” and “Hands-on Activities”; these provide relevance to student experi-ences and make good discussion starters in class. Eachchapter begins with a helpful “Road Map” outline and alsoconcludes with a chapter summary and questions forreflection and discussion. A full line of instructor resourcesis packaged with the text, including a good set of chapter-by-chapter short video clips.As a professor of business and economics in aChristian Anabaptist university, I had struggled for severalyears trying to teach principles of management using secu-lar, mainline resources while also trying to integrate valuesconsistent with my/our faith and heritage — the valuesthat distinguish our institution and program from nearbystate universities. While it felt like the two perspectiveswere converging naturally in some areas, a virtual glass wallbetween the two seemed to block full integration. Dyckand Neubert have shattered that barrier with their ground-breaking text that I believe represents a tipping point inthe way we study and teach management theory and prac-tice. It reminds us that we don’t need to consider faith-based and secular views to organizational management inisolation; rather, a fully integrated perspective is not onlypossible but preferred in bringing the best of managementthinking and experience to readers who are ready to receivean integrated perspective.I needed a text like this to lend validation to the dis-tinguishing characteristics of my faith and faith-based uni-versity, and the structure and language provides a standardframework for analysis, communication, and collaborationwith these issues. At the same time, I think secular pro-grams and universities will find equal validation in thisoffering, if not from a faith-based perspective then on thebasis of best practices for sustainable organizational growthand development. I recommend this text for all audiencesbut strongly suggest that professors in faith-based institu-tions add it to their list of examination review copies forundergraduate management courses.REFERENCEDyck, B. and Neubert, M. (2010). Management: Current Practicesand New Directions. Boston: Cengage/Houghton MifflinHarcourtCBAR Spring 2010

Book Review: Management: Current Practices And New Directions

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Book Review: Management: Current Practices And New Directions

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