The General Managers
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Contents Preface to the Paperback Edition Preface 1. INTRODUCTION The Participants in the Study A Few Examples: Gaines, Thompson, and Richardson The Findings and Their Presentations: Some Initial Comments The Organization of the Book The Major Themes 2. THE GENERAL MANAGEMENT JOBS: KEY CHALLENGES AND DILEMMAS The Jobs, the Context and the Emergent Demands Job Demands I: Challenges and Dilemmas Associated with the Responsibilities Job Demands II: Challenges and Dilemmas Associated with the Relationships The Overall Demands: A Summary Differences in Job Demands Seven Different Kinds of GM Jobs Different Business and Corporate Settings: The Impact of Size, Age, Performance Level, and Other Factors Summary and Discussion 3. THE GENERAL MANAGERS: PERSONAL AND BACKGROUND CHARACTERISTICS Common Personal Characteristics Basic Personality Knowledge and Relationships Job-related Reasons for the Similarities Common Background Characteristics Childhood Family Environment Educational and Career Experiences Possible Reasons for the Background Similarities Differences in Personal and Background Characteristics Age-related Differences Job-related Reasons for Individual Differences Main Factors Creating Misfits Summary and Discussion 4. GENERAL MANAGERS IN ACTION: PART I -- SIMILARITIES IN BEHAVIOR The Approach Agenda Setting Network Building Execution: Getting Networks to Implement Agendas Underlying Reasons for the Basic Approach Forces Behind the Agenda-setting Process Forces Behind the Network-building Process Forces Behind the Execution Process Manifestations of This Approach in Daily Behavior The Twelve Visible Patterns in How They Use Their Time A Specific Example Job-related Reasons for the Similarities Patterns Directly Related to Their Approach to the Job The Efficiency of Seemingly Inefficient Behavior Summary and Discussion 5. GENERAL MANAGERS IN ACTION: PART II -- DIFFERENCES IN BEHAVIOR The Basic Patterns The Range of Differences Antecedents Tom Long The Job and Its Context Tom Tom's Approach to the Job Daily Behavior Richard Papolis The Job and Its Context Richard Richard's Approach to the Job Daily Behavior Long and Papolis: A Few Final Observations Differences in Behavior, Their Antecedents, and Performance Summary and Discussion f0 6. SUMMARY, DISCUSSION, AND IMPLICATIONS FOR INCREASING GM PERFORMANCE Summary Job Demands The Personal Characteristics of Effective General Managers Similarities in the Behavior of Effective General Managers Differences in Behavior The Overall Findings: A Summary Comment Implications for Corporate Selection, Development, and Staffing Practices Finding GMs: Insiders or Outsiders Developing GMs Designing and/or Selecting Training Programs Matching People and Jobs Implications for Managing General Managers Helping New GMs Get Up to Speed The Role of Formal Planning and Performance Appraisal Allowing Appropriate Differences Minimizing the "I Can Do Anything" Syndrome Implications for Formal Education Admissions The Curriculum Career Management Broadening Perspectives Implications for Management Theory and Research Key Implications for Managerial Behavior Theory Key Implications for Research Topics Key Methodological Implications APPENDIX A THE STUDY The Process of Inquiry An Example of the Methodology in Action The Process in Retrospect: A Few Reflections APPENDIX B INTERVIEW GUIDES For Associates of the GMs For the General Managers APPENDIX C QUESTIONNAIRES The Strong-Campbell The Occupational Scales Other Scales The Background Questionnaire APPENDIX D RESUMES FOR THE GENERAL MANAGERS Gerald Allen Bob Anderson John Cohen Dan Donahue Frank Firono Terry Franklin Chuck Gaines Paul Jackson Tom Long Jack Martin Richard Papolis Richard Poullin Michael Richardson B.J. Sparksman John Thompson APPENDIX E APPRAISING GM PERFORMANCE The Method Employed The Rating Notes Bibliography Index

About the Author

John P. Kotter is Chairman of the Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management Area at the Harvard Business School. The winner of two McKinsey Awards from the Harvard Business Review, he is the author of six books, including Power and Influence (also published by The Free Press).

Reviews

The Washington Post ...must reading... Carol T. Schreiber General Electric Company Kotter's landmark portrayal of general managers at work offers new insights about actual managerial performance. He documents the importance of "growing up in a business" for career development and business competence...Most important, by identifying and depicting the most effective managers in his study, he documents the value of different approaches to management. His work represents a monumental contribution to all who educate, advise, select and evaluate general managers -- and to general managers themselves. Andrew Heiskell Former Chairman of the Board and CEO, Time, Inc. Excellent. Kotter is describing the real world of general managers rather than the theoretical portrait which rarely matches any business activity I've ever known. All business school students should read The General Managers. Rosemary Stewart Oxford Centre for Management Studies author of Managers and Their Jobs This is a path-breaking contribution to our knowledge of the work and behavior of general managers. Most importantly John Kotter analyzes the implications of the differences as well as the similarities in the behavior of general managers he studied. He destroys the myth of the professional manager who can be successful in any organization. The Washington Post Well-documented, powerful, thorough...valuable for aspiring managers...must reading for board members and owners of companies looking for leaders.

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