Summary |
Major portions of this book are in a form designed to provide self-study practice in applying a knowledge of human behavior, motivation, and management skills to representative industrial situations. The method used in these parts of the text is programmed instruction, and the programmed sections are popularly known as a “scrambled” or “branching” text.
In reading these portions, you will not proceed as you would in a standard textbook, but will often skip or jump through the sequence of pages. Make certain that you follow the directions at the bottom of each page as you continue through the book to the final summary page.
You will be presented with a number of typical management situations, each of which may be handled in a variety of ways. For each situation you will also be provided several alternative actions that you might take in your role as a manager. In each case, one of the alternatives has advantages over the others presented. If you initially choose the preferred alternative, you will go on to another situation. If your choice is not the correct or preferred one, you will be provided with additional teaching information to help you make the correct choice.
This technique of presenting the material in a branching manner has several advantages. It permits you to review and use the knowledge and skill you already have as you choose ways to manage in specific situations. It also provides information on management techniques only where you personally need this knowledge. For this reason, the text could be viewed as being individually geared to your current level of competence and knowledge. And finally, being presented with representative situations in which you must answer the question “What would I do?” approximates the “real world,” in which you must continually make decisions on management action---decisions based on what you know and the facts that exist in a particular case.
In addition to the scrambled sections of the book, there are sections in the form of more traditional reading material. These sections present important management approaches and skills which lend themselves somewhat less to making choices between alternative actions. Nevertheless, they are important management approaches and should be considered when a situation arises in which they would be useful.
|
