Management Frameworks

Book excerpt: Today’s business organizations, especially large ones, are complex places; difficult to manage and to control. Much of this complexity is self-induced and too much of the management of these organizations is done on an ad hoc basis. Different reporting, control and management systems are used in different parts of the company and often these are incompatible, making it difficult, sometimes impossible for top management to know what is going on. Consequently it is an arduous task for managers to make strategic plans for the business or react quickly to changes in the environment. This book shows how much of this complexity can be smoothed away through the introduction of overarching management frameworks that are complete, consistent and comprehensive; bringing all the various parts of the organization together as a single system. It provides a whole-firm view of management and suggests that reputational and ethical issues are equally important to marketing, operations and finance and need to be considered within the framework. Management Frameworks is a practical and insightful book; offering students the tools and knowledge required for viewing strategy and management holistically. It will be required reading for executive education classes in strategic management and will find a ready audience with thinking managers everywhere.