Organizations Books

Extensive coverage of the history and practice of Dominican Spirituality. Recommended for anyone considering further investigation of the Order of Preachers and the Dominican Life.

It was not until I read Fr. Tugwell's book that I fell in love with the Order of Preachers. This massive collection, beginning with a short history of the Order's beginnings, includes the Primitive Constitutions of the Order, letters of Blessed Jordan of Saxony, and Humbert of Roman's tips on how to preach; any one who reads this volume is sure to have a firm grasp of the Order founded by Saint Dominic. Paints a startling picture of the early years of the Dominican Order. A goldmine!

The editor of this volume has put together some amazing works from the early period of the Dominicans. Perhaps what is best about this volume is that it gives the reader the work "On the Formation of Preachers" by Humbert of Romans; to my knowledge, this is the only English translation of what has been called the most important work on homiletics in the Western Church. An absolutely wonderful book, well worth the price.

Anything Woodson writes is a winner. I have enjoyed his other books as well. He can be highly controversial at time which lends such extrordinary flavor to his books. Enjoyed it and recommend it to all.

I recommend everybody to read this book. Everyone that is an African American.

Carter G. Woodson's constructive critique of the how the education system in America plays a pivotal role in ensuring African-Americans' dependence on white America. This is not book of protest. In fact, Mr. Woodson proposes that, "One should rely upon protest only when it is supported by a constructive program". The writing here is clear, concise and compelling. I often don't finish reading books. This one was very difficult to put down. This book is a MUST READ for all African-Americans. You didn't hear me...READ THIS BOOK!

This text was required for a class in School Administration in my post grad class at Seton Hall University. The author is easy to follow along with as he presents theories along with examples of organizational life in the education system. An excellent chapter on the Culture and Climate of Schools can be used by administrators in any field to better recognize these characteristics, as well as organizational health, before taking steps to change the culture or climate. Another very good chapter deals with Leadership in Schools and helps to identify the various theories of leadership and the strengths and weaknesses associated with each type. A great book for administrators in either the private or public sector.

Very quick receipt, well packaged, and fairly priced for the excellent condition of this book. Thank you so much for the great service.

This book was and is the best introduction to school administration available. I was the foundation for my doctorate program.

I had no complaints at all. The book was in excellent condition.

This is a text, but is very informative and easy to read. It certainly is applicable to the subject matter for which it is being used.

This is a simple to follow instruction book that guides you through reviewing and writing an Educational Research paper. It provides easy to follow explanations on Quantitative and Qualitative Research methods, as well as details on running these types of research with integrity. The website that you gain access to for this book is phenomenal with a self-study guide and quiz for each chapter. I had to purchase this book for a Master's Program I am in, but it will be one I keep on my shelf of treasured resources.

This review is a shorter one I wrote for the journal Personnel Psychology.
I couldn't resist reviewing this book. Its title is beguilingly ambiguous. I had to see what it really meant. Are the authors describing a reality I have yet to discover? Or are they prophesying? Or writing a manifesto? Or wishfully thinking? The authors, both organizational consultants who "have drawn on over thirty years experience with hundreds of organizations," raise and dismiss in the same sentence the fourth interpretation. But can it be so confidently dismissed?

The book was written "as a tool to help build more collaborative, democratic, self-managing organizations." Note the use of multiple qualifiers. Done occasionally would be tolerable, but the authors' habit of frequently tacking three and four onto nouns and of also running trains of verbs and nouns in a single sentence annoyed me a bit (e.g., "---we have separated, disengaged, detached, distinguished, and divided---in order to clarify, categorize, and recommend---.").

Part One is devoted to "making a case for the end of management" through a review and a critique of hierarchies and their management. In tracing the evolution of management, three of the influences posited by the authors had never occurred to me before yet seem quite plausible. They are slavery, then serfdom, and much later on, increasing governmental regulations that the regulated have to increasingly manage. Nor was I aware that the French novelist, Honore de Balzac, and I share the same sentiment, namely, that bureaucracy is "a gigantic power set in motion by dwarfs." I also learned that "hierarchy" stems from the Greek word hieros, which means holy, implying sacred power at the top, and that a contrasting word, "heterarchy," stems from heteros, meaning neighbors.
The authors dust off and briefly examine Taylorism, scientific management, and Theory X rationales. I wish they had gone further in their review to present and debate more recent and starkly opposite arguments, including those that are unabashed paeans to hierarchies and bureaucracies (e.g., du Gay, 2000; Jaques, 1990).

Making their case includes presenting, each in a separate chapter, the familiar arguments that management "reduces communication, morale, and motivation," "constricts quality," and is intransigent, resisting change and innovation. While I think a separate chapter should also have been given to the moral inferiority of hierarchies, it's very clear throughout the book that the authors recognize such organizations foster unethical conduct by their members, and a separate chapter in Part Two is devoted to suggestions on how to "shape a context of values, ethics, and integrity."

The authors argue that hierarchies are the source of bureaucracy, the formal mechanisms that support the organizational structure and provide a "safe haven" where managers can escape accountability and exercise autocratic power. Each of these elements reinforces the other. They also violate, the authors contend, four "value-based propositions" about all people in organizations. One, everyone is a human being, not merely an employee or a human resource. Two, everyone is fully capable of acting responsibly and thriving on challenges. Three, the only natural relationships of any worth aren't hierarchical. And fourth, human beings deserve all of the different dimensions of freedom that should be available to them in an organization, such as the horizontal dimension of cross-functional teams and the "hyperdimension" of community. Regarding this latter observation, the authors' argument most appealing to me affectively is that it's incongruous for people to live in a democracy where they can vote for their country's leaders, yet work in hierarchies where they aren't free to select their organizations' leaders.

Time and again the authors remind us that their case is being made against management as a system rather than against management as a class of people. But the authors often contradict themselves (e.g., "Managers who hold these assumptions---micromanage---restrict----and institute---."), and I wonder if they aren't being a bit disingenuous, for as consultants they do feed off the hands of that class of people. Furthermore, not all management processes or systems are dysfunctional. Performance management, for one, is both inevitable and essential as a process. It couldn't end if you tried, and you wouldn't want to try. It can be done well or poorly, but it will be done. I think all species instinctively manage their own performance.

My assessment of Part One is that the authors make a better case against management on rational than on empirical grounds. What supporting evidence is offered is mostly piecemeal and largely anecdotal. Further, no footnote citations are provided for the few surveys and research studies briefly mentioned, and numerous assertions are made (e.g., "many managers report," "many organizations seek," etc.) with no corroborating evidence given. Even so, the evidence that is provided and all of assertions made do seem relevant and plausible, and I have no reason to doubt the authors "who have been inside enough organizations to know how dysfunctional most of them are."

In Part Two, the authors explain how to use their book as "a practical guide to organizational democracy." It does indeed seem practical, but a caveat is necessary. Almost all of their consulting experiences appear to be with limited interventions in hierarchies, not heterarchies. I found only one instance where the authors' intervention, in this particular case the design of a conflict resolution system, was for a large corporation they say had already been reorganized into self-managing teams. Their guide would thus appear to be untested for making the wholesale, even revolutionary changes they believe are required but apparently have not fully tried anywhere.

I don't mean to be dismissive of the second part, however. To the contrary, I would guess that any business organization that followed the "seven key strategies" the authors describe, each in a separate chapter, would "shift from management to self-management," "hierarchy to heterarchy," and "autocracy to democracy." The authors begin, logically and necessarily I believe, with a strategy for transforming the values of the organization's culture. Then there's a strategy for forming "evolving webs of association" (in contrast, say, to rigid functional departments in a hierarchy), for developing leadership skills throughout the organization, for building self-managing teams, for implementing "streamlined, open, collaborative processes" (e.g., teamwork as opposed to the adversarial processes common to hierarchies), and for creating "complex, self-correcting systems" (i.e. the kind of feedback you won't find in hierarchies). The seventh is having an overall strategy to ensure that all changes are integrated together.

The book ends with a final chapter on "the consequences of organizational democracy." The authors argue that greater organizational democracy is bound to have positive effects not only on members of the organization but also on society and politics.

While I basically agree with the distinguished business professor, Ian I. Mitroff, who endorses the book very favorably as "bristling with wisdom and practical advice," I don't want to conclude without mentioning two more significant faults I find with the book.

Nowhere in the book do I get a sense of whether heterarchies are gaining in number over hierarchies. I don't think the authors know or even tried to know, yet I would have expected them to know or try to know given the book's title and their treatment of the subject. They waffle on the matter, too. They say, for instance, that "---management continues, with few exceptions, to manage autocratically---." Then they turn around and say, "We have reached---the end of management---." Perhaps their waffling simply reflects what may be an accurate observation during a transitional period, for when I read the research literature on organizations, some findings suggest a shift towards heterarchies, (e.g., Purser & Cabana, 1998), some don't (e.g., Koch & Godden, 1996), and some are totally silent on the matter (e.g., Collins, 2001; Collins & Porras, 1994).

Secondly, the authors fail to differentiate sufficiently between business and government organizations. The latter have an endless lifeline to taxpayer pockets and no market incentive whatsoever to undertake the seven strategies toward heterarchies, no matter how strong of a case is made for making the shift. It will be the 12th of Never, I say, when heterarchies prevail in government.

In closing, if you are simply interested in the subject of if you do consulting in the subject area and regardless of whether you already appreciate arguments for heterarchies, I would recommend you read this book. If you are also empirically bent, then this book alone won't totally satisfy you unless you already know what's happening out there.

References

Collins, JC. (2001). Good to great. NY, NY: Harper Business.

Collins, JC. & Porras, JF. (1994). Built to last. NY, NY: Harper Business.


du Gay, P. (2000). In praise of bureaucracy: Weber, Organization, Ethics. London: Sage Publications.

Jaques, E. (1990). In praise of hierarchy. Harvard Business Review, 68, 127-133.

Koch, R. & Godden, I. (1996). Managing without management: A manifesto. London: Nicholas Brealey.

Purser, RE. & Cabana, S. (1998). The self-managing organization: How leading companies are transforming the work of teams for real impact. NY, NY: The Free Press.

Newscasts are filled with reports of democracy's relentless spread across the planet, but less is heard of its expansion through the corporate world. Just as dictators and oligarchs everywhere are being toppled from power, the hierarchical management structures that have governed organizations since before the industrial revolution are falling. Their usurper is self-management - the concept that motivated employees empowered to make their own decisions will work harder, faster and smarter than their rigidly controlled counterparts. Kenneth Cloke and Joan Goldsmith document this organizational coup and instruct executives on how to incite the revolution in their own companies. While acknowledging the scarcity of hard data to prove some of the book's assertions, we from getAbstract highly recommend The End of Management to all executives for its innovative take on modern organizational theory.

This is the best book on the changing face of management that I've read in 10 years. As part of the new Warren Bennis Management series, it provides the framework for the new Organizational Democracy and how it can (and should!) replace the outdated, ineffective heirarchical forms of management most common today. If you manage or lead a team, department or organization and desire to manage less and produce more, this is the book for you. I felt the same excitement in reading this book as I did when I read Drucker's classic many years ago.

The chapter entitled "A Brief History of Management" is worth the price of the book -- and its just 10 pages. In the rest of the book you will be given step-by-step guidance for implementing a new way of managing. Among the many practical applications of this book, you will learn:

How to shape Values
How to create Webs of Association
How to develop Self-managing Teams
How to implement Effective Process
and How to produce Self-correcting Systems.

Management (Drucker) is dead, long live management (Cloke).

Nelson Searcy, Chief Innovation Officer, Smartleadership.com

I love this book written by my Dad. I recommend for all.

An outstanding book on contemporary Japanese environmental politics. The author brings a deep knowledge of Japanese society and politics, as well as substantial field research experience, to this important work.

(*Sorry, as author it is not proper for me to rate the book, but the computer program demanded that I do so, so I went for the gold :) ). I just want to convey the following information.

This book has won two awards:

1. "Outstanding Publication Award 2000" from the Environment and Technology Section of the American Sociological Association.

2. "Masayoshi Ohira Memorial Prize" for 2001, awarded by the Masayoshi Ohira Memorial Foundation, Tokyo, Japan, in memory of the late Prime Minister of Japan.

This book has been reviewed in over twenty journals and sites. Here are a few quotes from the reviews: "Broadbent's book remains a first rate account of environmental politics both within Japan and worldwide. It also offers one of the most valuable sources of reading for anyone interested in learning more about the complexities of social, cultural and political processes of contemporary Japan in general" (J. Royal Asian Inst); "With general discussion ranging over theories of regional development, power structures, social movements, social control, and elites, this is a book of wide appeal, beautifully written and refreshingly free of the jargon which so often pollutes social science" (Econ. Hist. Rev.); "As a model for future research, this is a book that should be translated and widely read within Japan (in Japanese, Kankyo to Kogai); "When all is said and done, this is an impressively researched, very thorough study of a series of milestone events in Japanese politics. It is a must-read for anyone interested in Japan or environmentalism" (J.Japanese Studies); "I was left with a rich understanding of the Japanese social, political and cultural context. I found the synthesis of theoretical perspectives to be extremely thought-provoking. This book makes a major contribution to the literatures on policy networks, social movements, environmental activism, and the structure-agency relationship" (Connections); "Environmental Politics in Japan is a major accomplishment, rich in empirical research and theoretical reflection. Besides being a comprehensive ethnography, the book is complex in its use of multiple theories and analytic perspectives - it can be read and reread from a number of viewpoints. Those with an interest in social movements, protest or environmental politics should be sure to add this to their reading list (Am. Pol. Sci. Rev.).

Where has this scholar been hiding? Shapiro has written a tome on disabilities and the education of teachers and students--the book has sources, resources and is written in a way that engages the reader immediately. a must have for those involved in education

Dr. Shapiro has written an excellent book on an important topic -- how to successfully promote positive attitudes toward students with disabilities.

Unless teachers and parents plan for the social as well as the physical and academic integration of students with disabilities, the concept of inclusion in regular education classes will not work. Students with disabilities will be rejected, teased, and ignored.

"Everybody Belongs" is a sensitively written, practical book for making inclusion work. Shapiro's ideas are based on years of experience and a detailed, insightful understanding of the relevant research and the history of disabilities. It is also based on a keen understanding of schools, teachers, and children.

Professor Shapiro has provided a first rate addition to the disability literature in this wide ranging and very readable volume. From the need to change attitudes to the historical roots of the oppression of persons with disabilities to the unique problems of special education and many practical suggestions, Shaprio's work is impressive in scope. He has written both a textbook for the field of special education and a reference work useful to all scholars examining disability issues. This book is also a "must read" for policy makers, both in and out of education. As a graduate student in the cultural and intellectual history of disabilities, I expect to make repeated and substantial use of Shapiro's book in the years to come.

Regardless of what your research needs are, this books could be called "research for dummies" in its excellent and easy-to-follow explanations. Buy this book, even if your required text is something else - It's filled with examples and can be read like an adventure novel in bed WHILE being truly comprehended! I've taken statistics, research classes, etc. - I wished I had read this book along with my first class! There's nothing dry about this and 1000 words are too few to praise it adequately!

One can read the pictures of a book to define the logic or knowledge in it. How? Look at the many different views. What scans through ones mind? The past. It did mine. Fifty dollars is just the beginning of an adventures enterance into the unknown. Have a great day! Norma

Having previously purchased a required research textbook that was written in a truly "mind-numbing" fashion, I went online to find a supplemental text. I was looking for something to help me develop some background knowledge in order to better understand my assigned readings. I consider myself very lucky for having found "Exploring Research". The writing style is very straightforward. I was easily able to read the textbook within a few days, and this made understanding the assigned readings in my course textbook much easier to do.

Easy to understand charts are used to illustrate points and organize the information. Practical resources are given to assist in developing a Literature Review. Rather than simply telling the reader to read a research study "critically", the author provides a list of specific questions an introductory student can ask themselves for each section of a report being read. As a supplemental text for the beginning student, this book is a wonderful resource for making sense of the basic research concepts.

Chapters include:
The Role and Importance of Research
The Research Process: Coming to Terms
Selecting a Problem and Reviewing the Research
Sampling and Generalizability
Measurement, Reliability, and Validity
Methods of Measuring Behavior
Data Collection and Descriptive Statistics
Introducing Inferential Statistics
Nonexperimental Research: Descriptive and Correlational Methods
Nonexperimental Research: Qualitative Methods
Pre- and True Experimental Research Methods
Quasi-Experimental Research: A Close Cousin to Experimental
Research
Writing a Research Proposal
Writing a Research Manuscript

Books on nonprofits often tend to be academic and not very useful for us in the trenches. This book is different - it clarified for me why getting things done is so difficult. There are so many doable nuggets, but the one that really hit home was the "vested volunteer elephant." I can't wait to put these ideas into practice!

This is one of those rare informational books that is written in a style that makes it enjoyable to read. I'm already finding myself quoting elephant quips at various non-profit functions and committe meetings.
It is also well organized with exhibits and examples that are easily accessed. Every non-profit CEO and board member needs to read this book. It will certainly stay on my bookshelf as a ready reference for tools and solutions.

I'm not sure elephants had to be part of this critical nonprofit management book, but it works ok I guess. I probably would have liked the book better if the author had used some other "convention" to make her book memorable. I think the book is definitely worth a read by members of nonprofit boards and possibly executive directors (CEOs) of nonprofits. I say probably with regard to CEOs because any CEO who knows anything about his or her job already knows everything that is written between the covers of this book.

When I read the front and back cover materials of the book it became apparent quickly that the author is a new management consultant to not-for-profits and this book is her professional "credibility piece" so she can charge a reasonable (if not handsome) consulting fee for her services. I smile when I write this because after reading the book I doubt anyone who can comprehend the book will need to hire the author since the book is very well written.

According to the author nonprofit organizations that are poorly managed suffer from five fundamental obstacles:

1. An unclear vision and mission
2. A detached board - one that does not relate to the organization
3. An incompetent board - one that fails to develop policy and strategy
4. Incompetent CEO, staff, and volunteers - performance is not demanded
5. Too much people-pleasing and not enough "get the job done"

I don't know whether the nonprofit sector is as bad off as the author suggests. My hunch is that it is, but I don't have the evidence to back up what I believe. I think that the author took a bold step by being as negative as she was about the nonprofit sector without providing more statistical data to support where she was coming from in making the general statements that she makes. She could have written the book to say that if a nonprofit suffers from the five obstacles mentioned above, THEN certain steps that she describes could be taken. But she did not write the book that way.

All in all, this is a great book and one that nonprofit management teams (boards and their CEOs) should read and use to improve the way they do their work. Major gift givers should probably read the book as well so they can better evaluate a nonprofit that is seeking a gift from them. 5 stars!

I read this book when it was written several years ago. The book has staying power. I find that I have adopted the concepts from complexity science as a framework for my organization development work. I think in terms of the simple, yet powerful, metaphor of breadmaking when consulting and facilitating.

This is an interesting book about an approach to managing and changing organizations, which is quite different from traditional change approaches: complexity theory. You might think: "Ah, here we go again.... Is this just the next new management hype, destined to be forgotten soon?" I don't think so. I think complexity theory is to be taken a bit more serious than that. What is it? It is a rapidly developing theoretical framework that describes and explains fundamental processes of complex adaptive systems, like organizations. What is a complex adaptive system? The authors of this book, Edwin Olson and Glenda Eoyang, explain that in a complex adaptive system, a multitude of different players (called agents) held together by some cohesive force (called a container) and constantly interacting with each other in all kinds of ways (these interactions are called transforming exchanges).

The self-organizing nature of human interactions in a complex organization leads to surprising effects. Small actions, events and interactions can lead to dramatic outcomes affecting the whole system. Human interactions in complex systems lead to so-called emergent properties, which are features of the system that the separate parts do not have. (For example, brain cells don't have consciousness, but the human brain does). All of this explains why it is often impossible to understand let alone predict or control events and developments. This is a rather big departure from the traditional view, which tends to see organizations as understandable, predictable and ... controllable!

Then how exactly is the complexity theory approach to change management different from the traditional approach? Ed Olson and Glenda Eoyang summarize the main features of the CAS approach to change as follows: 1) Achieve change through connections between agents (instead of trying to control the change top-down), 2) Adapt to uncertainty (instead of trying to use predictable stages of development), 3) Allow goals, plans, and structures to emerge (instead of depending on clear and detailed plans or goals), 4) Amplify and value difference (instead of always directly focusing on consensus), 5) Create self-similarity (instead of difference between levels), 6) Regard success as a matter of fit with the environment (instead of focusing on one dimensional success measures).

It's hard to accurately summarize in a few words what's in this book. So, if you're organizational development consultant, perhaps you'd better read it yourself. What you will find is that the book is a nice mix of theory, case descriptions and practical tools which (some of which are very nice and handy). I think this is the first book that makes complexity theory so practical.

This is the best practical guide in existence for using Complexity to transform an organization. The authors give valuable tools and techniques for concrete processes which promote Complexity transformation, along with examples of real business situations where the tools have worked. Especially valuable for those who have a background in organization development. Highly recommended.