ABOUT THE BOOK

The objective of this book is to help persons become better managers of organizations. Effective, professional management of organizations is rapidly being more fully appreciated throughout the world. Throughout the book, material is presented in an uncomplicated manner from a broad, multidisciplinary viewpoint. It is designed to integrate the findings of the behavioral sciences and other fields of study with classical, quantitative, systems, and other approaches to management. Managerial theory and practice are increasingly moving in the direction of contingency, or situational management. An integration of the many approaches to management is essential to understanding this contingency position. The book also has proved useful for practicing mangers. Experienced managers can study the material individually, and numerous university-or company-spon-sored management-development programs have used the book as a text. Because the orientation of the book is broad enough to include all kinds of organizations, in any setting, users in other countries have found the volume of value. Previous editions have been translated into four other languages.