Management Basics

Author: Gareth Jones
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-08-01
Features: Management is a highly practical and applied discipline, and there is little disagreement on this point. However, in the teaching process of management, the implementation of this understanding remains incomplete or unconscious to varying degrees. Management is a very vivid field of social practice, but what students may receive in the classroom could be an uninteresting, abstract, and elusive world of management activities. There are many reasons for such teaching issues, but they are closely related to the "theoretical excess" of the textbooks chosen or written by the teacher. The information students acquire primarily comes from textbooks, classroom lectures, self-study outside class, and exchanges among students. Among these four information sources, if the chosen textbook is appropriate, then the information provided by the textbook is the basic information, which requires students to focus on mastering and reviewing repeatedly. If the textbook itself has many shortcomings, then the teacher needs to make certain supplements in the classroom. Moreover, if the time spent on supplementary content accounts for a significant proportion of the total teaching time, the classroom information volume will not be too large, because the teacher also needs to consider the students' need for note-taking. The teacher's freedom in arranging course content will be limited. Additionally, if the chosen management textbook is a "theoretical exposition," the instructor will have to spend a considerable amount of classroom time providing examples for illustration. Although the teacher can take such "remedial" measures, the effectiveness of this illustration may not be too good, because students lack sufficient materials for post-class reflection and review. It is not an easy task to write or select a management textbook that is substantial enough to comprehensively provide students with concepts, theories, knowledge, methods, and skills, reflecting a practical and up-to-date combination of theory and practice. Essentials of Contemporary Management by Gareth R. Jones and Jennifer M. George is a rare and excellent management textbook. It is a concise version of the third edition of Contemporary Management (by Gareth R. Jones and Jennifer M. George) to be published by China Post Press's New Curve Publishing Consulting Company. While inheriting the style of the original book, the authors have extracted new and classic theoretical expositions and research highlights, striving to present readers with a uniquely distinctive management textbook. This textbook focuses on cultivating students' ability to solve management problems. Compared with other similar textbooks, it has distinctive features and innovative approaches in using case studies to present management functions: each chapter starts with a "Glimpse into Management"; according to the needs of the chapter content, several "Management Insights" columns are set up to list relevant cases; additionally, the book expands students' channels for linking theory with practice by establishing "Management Practice" sections, including topics for lectures and practice, skill development, group breakthrough exercises, "You Are a Management Consultant," and news cases, thereby cultivating students' ability and skills to solve management problems.