Mintzberg on Management: Inside Our Strange World of Organizations

Henry Mintzberg is Professor of Management at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. This book is split up in three parts, with each part consisting of three-to-nine chapters.The first part is on management, "that process by which the people who are formally in charge of whole organizations or part of them try to direct or at least to guide what they do." This section builds largely on Mintzberg's early work, in particular on his research as PhD-student. In these chapters, Mintzberg really knocks down some famous myths and folklore about management.The second and largest part is on organizations. Much of this section is based on Mintzberg's research into trying to classify organizations, "first from the perspective of structure and later from the perspective of power." There is an introduction into classification, seven chapters on each configuration, and a final chapter which looks at the broader issues of forces and forms in organizations.The third and final part looks at our society of organizations and "how we try to influence them and how they influence us in turn and thereby make our lives happy and miserable." It discusses the fact that organizations influence our lives in a great many ways.Yes, this a great collection from Canadian-born management guru Henry Mintberg who has always been a very challenging author. Although this book has been split up in three parts, each chapter can be read on its own. Several chapters have been published in various magazines, with many winning different types of awards. I recommend this book to all people interested in management, but in particular to MBA-students. The book is written in simple business US-English.

Though this book does not offer the pragmatist a practical application of the theory, it does provide insight into how organizations evolve from simple structures into more complex organisms. Two very good books to read while you are reading this one are Non-Zero, by Robert Wright and Consilience by Edmond O Wilson. There is a lot to learn from biology, genetics and cultural evolution that give the reader a depth in understanding the lifespans of organizations. How to apply the theory is as varied as the number different types of organizations that exist. This book can help you identify where your organization is and give you some ideas on how to position yourself.

Mintzberg has always been an academic who studies management with a sympathetic and slightly amused view. This 1989 book is really worthwhile having in your biz library to quickly flip through before you run your next strategy session just to remind you of what you need to work towards.In this book, Mintzberg was forming his ideas on Strategic Thinking versus Strategic Planning which, for me, was a hugely valuable distinction. He examines why the value of the hard economic facts win over the social goals in most corporate strategies - cost reduction and profit come ahead of the people and environment. He then develops his theme of the machine corporation versus the innovative organization with many useful insights for today's company struggling to become organic and 'ecosystem friendly'. The ideas are still highly applicable, intelligent and like a good wine, get better with time.

This is one of the few books that I consider great. As a practicing CEO I find it refreshing when common sense thinking shows up in the academic world. If you would like to read a well researched book with a very deep insight into the business world (both American, Canadian and European), this is absolutely your pick. Highly recommeded, even if it is a bit wordy from time to time.