What Management Is

Joan Magretta and Nan Stone (Free Press, May 2002)

Reviewed by John Parham Jr.

After reading the preface of What Management Is, by Joan Magretta, with assistance from Nan Stone, my first thought was “Management for Dummies.” However, this book is more interested in the various theories that drive management than its processes and as such is not like those bold yellow memoirs to simplicity, which seem to have inundated us in recent years.

Actually, this is a very good first book for those who are thoroughly confused by the concept of management, whether they are beginners or seasoned veterans. The writers themselves are quite clear on the notion that this book may not provide profound lessons on management to anyone who has read other volumes on the subject dating back to Peter Drucker and his The Practice of Management.

Magretta and Stone have their own credentials, however, from editing the Harvard Business Review, which is certainly a rather powerful vantage point. They discuss management in very simple and clear terms, making their material accessible even to someone completely unfamiliar with management theory. Just as can one divide management itself, the book is split into two parts: “Design” and “Execution.” Design includes the concepts of value creation, business models, strategy, and organization. Execution is comprised of numbers usage, missions and measures, innovations, results, and people management. The elements of each principle are illustrated using real world examples. These include:

• eBay’s successful business model.
• WalMart’s use of strategy to outmaneuver Kmart.
• The Nature Conservancy’s use of business techniques.
• The organization of Ford Motor Company and the equally successful reorganization of General Motors.
• Innovations in soft drink packaging.
• Southwest Airlines’ management of people.

These examples are the primary vehicle through which the everyday reader is able to grasp the essence of the book, regardless of the complexity of the topic discussed. Unlike many management consulting books that seem only to stress positive examples, What Management Is offsets the examples of successful ventures (Eastman Kodak) with those not-so-successful (the beginning of EuroDisney). It is also through the use of examples that the reader is able to use the business practices of giants of industry, such as General Electric’s Jack Welch and Dell Computer’s Michael Dell, in their everyday lives inside and outside of the work place.

This is possible because at their essence, the techniques that drive successful organizational management are universal in their application, be it a Fortune 500 company, a mom and pop store, or the family (and maybe even a government agency?). Lastly, these everyday examples assist the reader to comprehend more complex management theories like the 80-20 rule, Total Quality Management (TQM), and Six Sigma.

All in all, What Management Is will serve those who read it well, if for nothing else as a guide to the basic principles of management. Magretta and Stone accomplished what they set out to do, illustrate the basic frame-work of management, easy enough even for a dummy to understand.

John Parham Jr. is a senior budget analyst with the office of budget and planning in the Office of the Chief Financial Officer for the Government of the District of Columbia.