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MARCH 26, 2003 READING LIST Albert Madansky's Book Recommendations
• THE THEORY OF BUSINESS ENTERPRISE by Thorstein Veblen "This book, written in 1904, may be the first book ever to look at the underlying principles of business management. In reading it one might ask how much of the book is serious, and how much is satire." • THE PRINCIPLES OF SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT by Frederick W. Taylor "If you want to learn about 'the one best way,' this is the source, written in 1911 and still influential in some circles." • ADMINISTRATION INDUSTRIELLE ET GENERALE (translated as GENERAL AND INDUSTRIAL MANAGEMENT) by Henri Fayol "European's refer to this 1916 book, rather than Taylor's, as the bible of scientific management. It is here that the classic roles of the manager-plan, organize, coordinate, and control-are first set forth." • WIRTSCHAFT UND GESELLSCHAFT (translated as ECONOMY AND SOCIETY) by Max Weber "This 1922 classic defines 'bureaucracy' and argues that it is the most effective way of managing an enterprise. After reading this, go see the movie Brazil for a counterview." • THE FUNCTIONS OF THE EXECUTIVE by Chester I. Barnard "Written in 1938 but still relevant today. You'll have to cope with turgid prose, but in the end it'll be worth your while. As you read it, try conjuring up an image of Barnard's perfect executive." • THE PRACTICE OF MANAGEMENT by Peter F. Drucker "The guru of management's first book on the subject, written in 1954, and still applicable today." • THE HUMAN SIDE OF ENTERPRISE by Douglas McGregor "The book that defined the Theory X and Y organizations. One must read this 1960 book in order to understand the fuss about alternative organizational forms, including the Ouchi's popular 1981 book, Theory Z." • STRATEGY AND STRUCTURE by Alfred D. Chandler "The one book by a business historian that led to better understanding of how businesses organize to fulfill their mission. Though Drucker's classic 1946 book, The Concept of the Corporation, might compete for that accolade, Chandler's 1962 book is of broader scope." • COMPETITIVE STRATEGY by Michael E. Porter "Industrial Organization Economics finds application in Business Strategy. Written in 1980 and still influential." • IN SEARCH OF EXCELLENCE by Thomas J. Peters and Robert H. Waterman, Jr. "Anecdotal evidence and slick writing style made this an easy-to-read book for the businessman. Written in 1982, highly influential then, now totally discredited both for its research and conclusions." Biographical Info: Albert Madansky is the H.G.B. Alexander Professor Emeritus of Business Administration at the Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago, where since 1996 he has taught a course, Great Books in Business, in which the books and articles which impacted business are read and discussed. His "How to Read a Biz Book," published in the July 24, 2000 issue of The Industry Standard, is just what the title implies - it introduces one to a style of critical reading so necessary in the face of the spate of business books coming off the press.  Get BusinessWeek directly on your desktop with our RSS feeds.  Add BusinessWeek news to your Web site with our headline feed. Click to buy an e-print or reprint of a BusinessWeek or BusinessWeek Online story or video. To subscribe online to BusinessWeek magazine, please click here. Learn more, go to the BusinessWeekOnline home page  | | MARCH Learn about your online education options |
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