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SAGE PUBLISHING Effective Management In Practice Analytical Insights And Critical Questions by Wensley
In this lively and entertaining book, Robin Wensley guides the reader through the basic analytical approaches to decision making required for more effective management practice. Packed with diagrams, anecdotes and examples which bring the book to life, Effective Management in Practice: - clearly presents a wide range of management tools, techniques and theoretical insights in just the right amount of depth for current and future managers- illustrates the need for a balanced approach, emphasizing the importance of the questioning process in clarifying the nature of action proposals and any underlying assumptions- eschews any approach which advocates one right way but at the same time encourages a greater appreciation of practical issues through analysis and theoryStudents of management, academics and any practitioner interested in exploring a range of different approaches to management will enjoy and treasure this book. INTRODUCTIONThe Four Starting IssuesThe Four StrandsThe Chapter SequenceCHAPTER 1: EXTENDING ANALYSIS IN EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENTThe Legacy of the SixtiesExtended Analysis: Both Analysis and SynthesisThe Interrogative MoodIssues of RepresentationIntroducing Time and MovementChoices, Decisions and ActionRationality in Practice: Simplification ApproachesConclusion: Coping with Complex RationalityCHAPTER 2: NEVER STOP LEARNINGSome Basic IdeasThe Reflective PractitionerSources of Learning beyond One's Own PracticeConclusion: Reprise on the Reflective PractitionerCHAPTER 3: EVIDENCE AND ENGAGEMENTEvidence-Based ManagementRisk, Uncertainty and ProfitThe Wisdom of Crowds (Sometimes)Isomorphism and LemmingsUnexpected Events and Isolating MechanismsDialectic, Rhetoric and ConsensusEngagement and Management: Scientific Knowledge and Folk WisdomThe Nature of Academic Practice: Statistical Analysis and Evidential ClaimsLearning from the Clinical Medical Experience of Evidence-Based PracticeReturn to Managerial Relevance and the Issue of TimelinessConclusion: Getting the Best out of EngagementCHAPTER 4: TOOLS FOR THINKINGIntroduction: Comparing Perspectives in 1975 and 2009Complexity and ChaosThe Structure of Systems: The Ubiquitous TreeOpen and Closed SystemsModularisation and Loose-Tight LinkagesBasic Game TheoryInsights from Simple Experimental GamesConclusion: Bounded but not RestrictedCHAPTER 5: MAKING SENSE OF THE NUMBERSConcentration and Dispersion of VariablesForms of Representation: Frquency Plots and Box DiagramsUnderstanding OutliersSignificance, Correlation and Causality: What's Significance Got to Do with It?Type I and Type II ErrorsType III Error: Answering the Wrong QuestionType IV Error: Asking the Wrong QuestionThe Rule of 10 Per CentMediators and ModeratorsTime Series Datasets: Lead and Lag StructuresCasual CausalityConclusion: Half a Stratistical Loaf may Be Beter than the WholeCHAPTER 6: RETURNING TO PRACTICAL WISDOM: THE FRAMEWORKS FOR ANALYSISPractical Wisdom: Reasoned Analysis and Deliberate ActionWatching Out for Boxes, Linear Diagrams and Other Simplifying ToolsIntroducing Dynamics into a Static RepresentationDr Who and the Time DimensionSpecific Representations and Implicit AssumptionsContradictory Common SenseConclusion: Common and Uncommon SenseCHAPTER 7: THE CENTRAL ROLE OF STORIESOrganisational Success and Failure: The Perils of "Learning from the Past"Fads and FashionsRevisiting the Onus of Proof IssueWhen and How Does the Decision Get Made?The Narrative ApproachConclusion: An Effective Role for Analysis in Management PracticeCHAPTER 8: LINKING THE CLASSROOM TO THE WORKPLACELearning from Case StudiesThe Challenge of Simulating and Learning from Management PracticeVideo MaterialExperiential Exercises: Simulations and ProjectsConclusion: Learning through QuestioningCHAPTER 9: AN ONGOING DECISION PROCESS OF QUESTIONING AND DISSONANCEThinking, Seeing and DoingThe Case for Slow Thinking and ProcrastinationThinking Fast, Thinking SlowIn Praise of DissonanceDebates, Dialectics and DissonanceMaking Some Sense of InnovationQuestions and Answers: the Central Role of "Interrogation"CHAPTER 10: PUTTING THE MASTERS BACK INTO MANAGEMENT EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENTAdministration, Management and LeadershipStress Testing and AnalysisInnovation as Hard Work: The 3M Post-it StoryInnovation and EntrepreneurshipUnderstanding Strategic LeadershipUseful Insights from Writings on Military StrategyGood Management Research as a Means to Useful InsightsGetting Beyond the False Rhetoric