Here is a who's who of business, thirty-one profiles of inventors, financiers, organizers, motivators, and gurus--a vivid, informative look at the history of management as seen through the lives of its most influential figures.
We meet Eli Whitney, creator of the cotton gin and father of the machine tool industry, who failed to profit from his genius; Thomas Edison, who once vowed he would never invent anything he couldn't sell; and Andrew Carnegie, who applied the railroad management system to the steel industry, with spectacular results. There are profiles of such railroad giants as James J. Hill and Edward H. Harriman, and colorful portraits of Samuel Morse and Graham Bell, the two men who launched the communications industry in the U.S. The great innovators of management and organization are here as well, including the founders of systematic management, Frederick W. Taylor and Frank and Lillian Gilbreth. There's an intriguing side-by-side look at William C. Durant, builder of General Motors, a visionary but a weak manager and organizer, and Alfred P. Sloan, who gave GM the structure it needed, and provided the model for all large, multiproduct firms to come. And there are thought-provoking profiles
of motivational experts Elton Mayo and Abraham Maslow; quality advocates W. Edwards Deming and Joseph Moses Juran; Taiichi Ohno, inventor of just-in-time manufacturing; and finally, Peter Drucker, the most influential management thinker of our time.
This is the distilled essence of management genius, a stimulating and, at times, inspiring look at the pioneers who shaped how we do business today.
Industry Reviews
"An eminently readable portrait of thirty-one of the business world's most influential figures over the past 200 years. Useful both for quick reference and as a definitive introduction to understanding historical, social, and economic trends. Wren and Greenwood's impressive range and grasp of the management process are manifest in the simplicity of their style and in the organization of the book."--Arthur G. Bedeian, Department of Management, Louisiana State
University
"Outstanding research on this nation's most influential business leaders."--Alfred A. Bolton, Archivist, Management History, Academy of Management
"Practicing managers and management historians alike will find a wealth of useful information in these stories that are jam-packed with good advice and practical lessons. Wren and Greenwood show clearly that history lives!"--Richard Hodgetts, Division of Management, Florida International University
"By presenting in-depth profiles of inventors, financiers, entrepreneurs, organizers, and management experts, the authors provide a clear, informative look at the history of management. Further, the organization of the book conveys a progression from the history of management to the development of management thought. As a student and teacher of both areas, I found Management Innovators to be informative and inspirational."--Paul Lawrence Wilkens,
Professor of Management, Florida State University
"A tour-de-force of management thinking from (literally) Eli Whitney to Peter Drucker. What emerges is a clear mandate for the power of thought and the power of revolution. Stimulating."--Business Reader Review