Management it's not what you think - Henry Mintzberg - Book Report/Review Example

Management it's not what you think - Henry Mintzberg Many at times, people have taken management to be such an easy think and worst of all, as something we can purely handle basing on the theory we leant, especially in the MBA class. Henry Mintzberg contradicts this by giving a picture surrounding the messiness of management. This essay provides a review ‘Management it's not what you think’, a management book written by Henry Mintzberg in collaboration with Bruce Ahlstrand and Joseph Lampel. The central theme in this book is that management is not how we have always thought it to be. This is to say that our definition of management is wrong. The book offers classical examples about management that are set to change the mind of the reader. Main points The management is a curious phenomenon which is enormously influential, generously paid yet it significantly lacks common sense. Turning around results to facing the same way or direction and this could be the main problem with management. Secondly, working for a manager who does not have leadership qualities is discouraging while working for a leader who does not practice management is quite alienating. Such a leader is unlikely to know what is going on in the organization. In relation, leadership needs to be diffused throughout the organization instead of isolating it (Mintzberg, et al 60). The third main point is that managers who are quiet do not empower their people, instead they inspire people and strengthen cultural bonds. This means they create conditions that release energy and encourage openness. Fourthly, organizations do not need interventionist care. Instead, they need continuous care. This is comparable to nursing as a better management option as compared to medicine. Fifthly, is it not so logical to take people who have not practiced management and turn them into managers in a classroom. This means we need to stop dumping cases and management theories on individuals who lack the basis of judging their relevance (Mintzberg, et al 186). The Relation of the Book to the Content Learnt In Class This part of the essay provides comparisons and contrasts between this book and the course content learned in class by pointing out some concepts of this course which relate to the main point of the book. First, some content learnt in class is similar to the contents being provided in this book. For example, management of change is one of the topics learned in class. However, this book has a decidedly cheeky tone that concerns traditional practices of leadership and management. The authors of this book have served up some very important ideas although there are attention provoking ideas. In the essay “Change” the authors criticize the doubtful consulting profession and industry who claim to offer change management services. The authors assert that change cannot be managed or made to coincide with some of the orderly step-by-step processes. According to them, change can be resisted, ignored, responded to, and it can be created and capitalized upon (Mintzberg, et al 124). The behavior of some of the organization in change management is wanting. This issue has been tackled in class through topics such as the management of change and corporate culture. In class, we also learned about trends in organizational and the changing nature of work. Though the authors of this book claim that change cannot be managed, they accept the fact that there are changes taking place every now and then that touch on work and on the business environment. Through their essay ‘Staying on track’, the authors keep an insight on how one can cope with such changes (Mintzberg, et al 168). In class we learned a lot about business leaders and about leadership. On their part, Mintzberg and his colleagues partly agree and partly disagree with this. For example, they agree on the part of leadership as concerning their roles and what is expected of them. However, the authors of this book do agree on the issue of leaders. In this book, they claim that there are no leaders and that there only exists leadership. In class, we learned about who a manager is in relation to organizations or business. The authors of this book also addressed the same topic but from a different perspective. According to them, senior managers in an organization are not cooks, they’re ingredients. This means they are not overall determinants of the success or failure of an organization. They are part of what is needed for this success. Their claim gets a better support through one of their essays entitled ‘Managing without managers’. In the essay “Managers, not MBAs”, Mintzberg, criticizes what is learnt in the classroom (in particular MBA) and prefers managers have deep knowledge in business and experience. This is somehow an advanced level of learning on managers and management a s compared to what we learned in class. Unlike the content on leadership that we learned in class, this book gives a varied view concerning the same. For example, in his essay ‘managing quietly’, Mintzberg gives the power of approaching management from such an angle. He states that such leaders inspire people by creating conditions that release energy and encourage openness. (Mintzberg et al 196). In class, we tackled ethical issues and dilemmas. This book also provides a review of this by highlighting some of the misusing on management. Personal reflections on the book Management it's not what you think This book gives a good explanation of the damages that MBAs have done to the society and business in particular. It questions the value of its programs and the methods of educating MBAs. Another point related to this is that management is something based on experience and not theories. These explain to me why a course in MBA alone without any proper practice or experience cannot qualify me to be a good manager. It is even much better for the theories taught in the MBA class to come later so that the experience can provide a good basis of judging their validity. I totally agree with these authors. In order to enhance my managerial competencies, I will enroll in curses that give this realistic touch to management, for example, how to create and restrict change instead of thinking that we can manage it. Conclusion Henry Mintzberg is one of the most known, respected and controversial thinker on management. He has joined heads with some of the leading business records to bring forth a provocative and a very astonishing mix of writing in management. This book is an excellent explanation of how management should be so that it can work effectively. It shifts our minds to the definition and understanding of leadership we have held for long and provides a practical and realistic approach to them. This book also explains why the learning of management theories without a practical referencing point ruins the society and business. Effective managers should have a deep knowledge and experience in business. It is time everyone holding a managerial position to review their works in relation to the main themes in this book. MBAs should also restructure their teaching models so as to give learning of management the practical touch it deserves. Works Cited Henry Mintzberg, Bruce Ahlstrand and Joseph Lampel. Management? It’s Not What You Think! New York, NY: AMACOM, 2010. Print. Read More