MBA 665
Readings and Supplemental Material

Required Readings

Notes:

“Task Force 5” Report

This reading is an actual corporate report designed to guide a series of organizational changes in a national firm. The problems this organization faced are common to most businesses. As you read this excerpt from the whole report, ask yourself if you have followed the communication myths and problems this report addresses. Here are some questions we may discuss in class:

  1. What are the three communication myths described in this report? Do you agree that they are false assumptions? Have you seen them at work in your organization?

  2. Do you agree that communication is more about influence than information? Why or why not?

  3. What does this report say about the mistake of measuring an organization only mathematically? Do you agree with the perspective of this report?

  4. How is an organization's culture a tool of influence? Can you think of additional persuasive aspects of culture not described in this report?

  5. How does the perspective on communication in this report differ from your text?

Proverbs 10-31 (Old Testament)

You may be familiar with this well-known example of Hebrew wisdom literature. This section omits the introductory discourses (chapters 1-9) to focus on the body of the book. As you read this section, read it as a manual of strategy. Take note of the principles of strategy in this text and add them to your list of  characteristics of strategic communication. If you see the same items again, take note of the fact it has recurred again.

 

Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Sun Tzu has become popular in business circles these days. What has made Sun Tzu popular is its emphasis on strategy, and that is something all the ancient texts share. Here are some questions we may discuss in class: Why do you think this text has been adopted by business strategists? What parts of Sun Tzu stand out to you? What metaphors does he use to describe the wise soldier? How would you summarize Sun Tzu's advice? Add items to your list of  characteristics of strategic communication. If you see the same items again, take note of the fact it has recurred again.

 

Optional:

Read a bibliography of books based on The Art of War, including books on business.

If you're curious, you can see The Art of War in Chinese.

 

Esther (Old Testament)

Esther is a famous story about a young woman's courage and cunning. This story serves as an example to illustrate many of the principles in the other two ancient readings. Here are some questions we may discuss in class: What do these texts have in common? What themes do you see across all the ancient texts? Can you apply these texts to strategic business communication? Add items to your list of  characteristics of strategic communication. If you see the same items again, take note of the fact it has recurred again.

 

Homer, Iliad, 23.301-348.

This is a brief story of a father advising his son on how to win a chariot race. Pay attention to the word "skill." What are the characteristics of this skill? What examples of skill does the father give? Can you apply the principles here to business communication? Add items to your list of  characteristics of strategic communication. If you see the same items again, take note of the fact it has recurred again.

 

Detienne, Marcel and Jean-Pierre Vernant. Cunning Intelligence in Greek Culture and Society. Trans. Janet Lloyd. Chicago:U of Chicago P, 1991, 1-54.

Do not let these readings frustrate you. They may not appear to be typical for an M.B.A. program, but they do deal with how people use words to communicate. I am assigning these reading to stretch you a little bit. Do your best to grapple with these texts and use the questions below as a guide for what to look for in each reading.

 

This reading deals with an early Greek term, metis, which is similar to the kind of cunning we have seen in many other ancient texts. Here are some key questions for our class discussion: 

  1. What is metis? Look for a good definition. 

  2. List the characteristics of metis. Chapter 1 lists three chief characteristics, and Chapter 2 adds to the list. Add these items to your list of  characteristics of strategic communication. If you see the same items again, take note of the fact it has recurred again. 

  3. Do you see anything in this reading that could explain a connection between technology and cunning?

  4. What or who are some examples of metis? The reading describes animals or people to which the Greeks applied the term. Use these examples to determine the essential characteristics of metis. 

  5. How does metis tie into communication in general and business communication in particular? Do you think it is advisable for managers to act with metis?

Optional:

To find out more about metis in ancient Greek texts, search the Perseus Project for metis or see a definition of mêtis from Detienne and Vernant.

Fox, Michael V. “Ancient Egyptian Rhetoric.” Rhetorica 1 (1983): 9-22.

This reading is probably a bit more straightforward than Detienne and Vernant. Fox looks at some of the some texts you looked at last week. Here are some key questions to keep in mind for our class discussion:

  1. What are the canons of Egyptian rhetoric? Be able to explain them and give examples.

  2. In what ways does Egyptian rhetoric differ from Greek and Roman? Whether you realize or not, the rhetoric of our culture primarily descends from Greece and Rome. How where the Egyptians different?

  3. What similarities or differences do you see between Fox's canons and metis? Can you make an argument that the Greeks may have gotten some of their idea of metis from Egypt?

  4. Add Fox's five canons to your list of  characteristics of strategic communication. If you see the same items again, take note of the fact it has recurred again. Bring your list to class and be prepared to discuss it.

  5. How would your business communication differ if you followed these five canons? Would it be better, worse, or no different? Are these five canons valuable for managers today?

Vico on Ingenium from Giambattista Vico. On the Most Ancient Wisdom of the Italians. Trans. L.M. Palmer. London: Cornell University Press, 1988. 31-34, 96-104 Originally published 1710.

This reading covers a wide range of philosophical topics. For our purposes, however, this reading explains ingenium and the intensely human nature of communication. Read the commentary in the left column to find the key points of the reading.

To follow this reading it helps to understand the differences between Descartes and Vico. Early on, Vico looked up to Descartes, but he came to reject his emphasis on geometric or mathematical logic. You may recall Descartes' name from high school geometry: Cartesian coordinates, mapping objects with numbers on x, y and z axes, was Descartes effort to mathematically define the world.

Consider Descartes approach to rhetoric, which you can find on the list of definitions. He considered rhetoric to be only for the display of ideas derived from logic. Logic was the key to knowledge and persuasion for Descartes.

Vico rejected this approach by saying that mathematical logic can only give a limited view of truth. Human beings operate rhetorically--artistically. These dimensions become critical to persuasion in human affairs, such as business and politics.

Some management theorists have tacitly adopted Descartes' scientific approach to human affairs. For example. Frederick Taylor set forth the Principles of Scientific Management in 1911. However, this approach to management is severely limited since it ignores the fundamentally non-scientific character of human motivation. Even other management theorists who take a more humanistic perspective miss the inherently rhetorical nature of every aspect of business.

Ingenium plays a role in human communication by revealing connections that advance knowledge and persuade people without resorting to the methods of logic or mathematics.

Optional:

Burke, Kenneth. Counter-Statement. Los Altos, CA: Hermes Publications, 1953, 29-44.

This text is a bit different than the other two for week 3. Burke is a much-quoted author in rhetorical circles whose ideas don't always easily fit into a certain discipline or "camp." The text starts out like an analysis of Hamlet, but keep reading and think about his argument. The key concept here is the notion of form. Be able to discuss the following in class:

  1. What is form, according to Burke? How does Burke say that his notion of form differs from other approaches to form?

  2. What is the difference between the psychology of form and the psychology of information according to Burke? Don't let the word "psychology" through you off here. Burke uses it very broadly to mean a general approach to thinking about the design of a message.

  3. How does Burke define "eloquence"? Does eloquence so defined have a place in business communication?

  4. On which does business communication tend to rely more: the psychology of form or the psychology of information? On which should it most rely to be effective? How can business communication be improved, if at all, by an awareness of the psychology of form?

Orwell, George. “Politics and the English Language,” 1946.

 

You've probably heard of George Orwell from his books Animal Farm and 1984 (If you haven't read these, you should). What is striking about these two books, especially 1984, is the way language becomes a tool of political oppression. In 1984, Big Brother seeks to control thought by controlling language. In this essay, Orwell explores some of these same theme, but instead of applying them to a fictional Oceania, he applies them to our world.

 

Many of the themes in this essay should be familiar to you because we have hinted at them already in class. Now, however, I want you to see an essential point: good style is not just a matter of pretty words; it contributes to good thinking and, therefore, to a good world. Orwell makes these points about politics and culture in general, but they obviously apply to business communication. How does your communication rate according to Orwell's standards? Here are some specific questions to consider:

  1. Orwell makes this claim: "if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought." How is this so? Explain this connection.

  2. Orwell describes "the half-conscious belief that language is a natural growth and not an instrument which we shape for our own purposes." Do managers hold this belief?

  3. Orwell lists four problems that he sees in modern language. How are these problems related to bad thinking? In particular, how does using hackneyed metaphors affect one's thinking? See how Collins and Porras explain the importance of clear verbal pictures in forming a company's culture.

  4. In several places, Orwell suggests that bad language is linked to laziness. "This invasion of one's mind by ready-made phrases can only be prevented if one is constantly on guard against them, and every such phrase anaesthetizes a portion of one's brain." We simply don't want to work at words.

    But you are not obliged to go to all this trouble. You can shirk it by simply throwing your mind open and letting the ready-made phrases come crowding in. They will construct your sentences for you -- even think your thoughts for you, to a certain extent -- and at need they will perform the important service of partially concealing your meaning even from yourself. It is at this point that the special connection between politics and the debasement of language becomes clear.

    Consider this: which is easier: to compose a memo that describes a terse policy and threatens those who do not conform, or to craft a series of messages that woo workers into conformity? Which is most effective in the long term?

  5. Consider Orwell's two versions of the passage from Ecclesiastes. How would your company's president compose that passage? What's the difference between the two versions? Are the official messages in your company "all alike in that one almost never finds in them a fresh, vivid, homemade turn of speech"?

  6. "A bad usage can spread by tradition and imitation even among people who should and do know better." Using Orwell's term, "doublespeak," Micklethwait and Wooldridge contend that the language of management theory "usually confuses rather than educates." They continue: "There seems to be something in the water in business schools or at management conferences that destroys people’s capacity to speak plainly or write clearly." Look at their examples. What is the effect of the culture of jargon in business? Consider the effect of business clichés such as those listed here.

  7. Orwell wrote this essay in 1946. Are things any better today? How does all this apply to business communication? What is the business liability of bad style? Consider what Micklethwait and Wooldridge observe: "As contradictory theories zip past them, managers have learned how to pay lip service to theories without really understanding them, let alone bothering to implement them." What damage does this do to business?

  8. Can you find examples of bad style in your business or in recent political communication? Be prepared to discuss your best examples in class.

  9. Orwell lists six rules for good style. They summarize much of what we have discussed in class and what is in your text. Memorize these points and use them.

For additional information see: The Political Writings of George Orwell

Some other references to Orwell's Essay in popular culture:

"You Must Read This" By Lawrence Wright: Orwell on Writing: 'Clarity Is the Remedy'

Most people these days think of George Orwell as a writer for high-school students, since his reputation rests mostly on two late novels -- Animal Farm and 1984 -- that are seldom read outside the classroom. But through most of his career, Orwell was known for his journalism and his rigorous, unsparing essays, which documented a time that seems in some ways so much like our own.

Frank Luntz Explains 'Words That Work' on Fresh Air from WHYY, January 9, 2007

Republican pollster Frank Luntz advises politicians on the language they should use to win elections and promote their policies. Although he works on one side of the aisle, he says that what he does is essentially nonpartisan, seeking clarity and simplicity in language. His critics disagree, and have accused him of using language that misrepresents policies to "sell" them to the public. Frank Luntz is the author of Words That Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear.

In this interview, he refers to Orwell's essay saying that Luntz himself follows Orwell's advice to use words that clarify, even though Luntz's critics would say just the opposite.

Letters: Post-Sept. 11 Language, Kerry's 'Joke'

I manage to get in a reference to Orwell's essay in a listener comment on NPR


 

 

The Rhetoric of Western of Thought, Campbell, pp 148-157.

This reading is slightly different than the other readings you've had so far in that it is not a primary source. Instead, it is chapter taken from an undergraduate textbook on communication theory. It is intended to be a broad survey of all Campbell's works and ideas; however, I want you to focus only on a few topics as you read.

 

This chapter discusses the key thoughts of the rhetoric of George Campbell, an 18th century Scottish philosopher. That may sound remote for a business communication course, but here are the key ideas: Campbell wants to talk about a way of reasoning about things that differs from purely scientific reasoning. He calls it "moral reasoning." He identifies four "species" or types of moral reasoning. Here are some questions you should be able to discuss in class.

  1. Be able to discuss these four and try to get a handle on how moral reasoning differs from scientific reasoning.

  2. Also, ask yourself which of these two types of reasoning is most appropriate for business communication. How can you employ moral reasoning to be a more effective manager of your communication at work?

  3. What is Campbell's definition of "eloquence"? How does it compare with Burke's definition of eloquence?

  4. Can you give a brief summary of what Campbell has to say about ethos? How does it compare to what we have said in class?

  5. Campbell gives specific ideas about audience analysis. How do these ideas compare to what we discussed in class?

Hopefully, you're beginning to see a theme developing in these readings and others. You should look for a contrast between different ways of thinking about communication: one that is scientific, rational, and based on information, and another that is more practical and closer to the ancient notions of cunning that we discussed earlier. Think about these contrasts. On which approach to communication do you and others most often rely at job, at home, in public debate? Is there really a different between the two? Does this understanding of a moral, practical cunning communication change your perspective on how you can most effectively communicate at work?

 

Robertson, James. American Myth, American Reality (New York: Hill and Wang, 1980), 1-22.

This text explains the presence of myth in American culture. These myths also affect business culture in America, and point to key distinctions between American business culture and that of other countries. This reading is important, therefore, because it unpacks some fundamental American assumptions that shape American business and because it hints at the power of corporate myth within an organization. Some key questions for discussion are:

  1. What is myth, according to Robertson? Various definitions are sprinkled throughout the reading. The first one is good. But look for others.

  2. Several of the readings in this class have contrasted rationalism with rhetorical approaches to communication. How does Robertson bring up this contrast relative to myth? If, as Robertson says, "the advocacy of reason has led to the denial of the existence of myths," how has a scientific approach to management affected the understanding of myth as part of corporate culture? Note that this is similar to Burke's discussion of science blinding us to the psychology of form and the misreading of the rhetorical character in Machiavelli.

  3. At the start of chapter 1, Robertson lists the types of discourse that carry a national myth. What things carry corporate myths?

  4. When you go through a "existential crunch" at work, what stories do you tell to yourself to make sense of it? Remember that a "story" may be a story-in-brief—a single word or phrase that is connected to a larger story or assumption.

  5. If myths make sense out of contradictory and complex situations--which sound like the realm of metis, by the way--then how does the management theory industry serve as a mythic explanation for managers? Consider Micklethwait and Wooldridge: "To these anxiety-ridden men and women, management books offer a rare source of security."

  6. What myths have you seen in the presidential campaign? How about the recent social protests against the World Bank and IMF meetings in Washington?

  7. One American assumption is that "Yesterday’s easy solutions do not solve today’s complex, sophisticated, relativistic, insoluble problems." How have you seen this myth in business?

  8. In chapter 2 Robertson explains America's ritual calendar. Does your company have a ritual calendar? Does it support your company's mythology? Does your company have its own "Parson Weems"? Would it benefit from one?

  9. "They will even try to impeach a President, not because he did evil things, but because he lied and persisted in lying." Robertson was writing in 1980. Sound familiar? What was the mythic basis for Clinton's impeachment?

  10. If "reason often does not produce resolutions but rather gaping holes in what we urgently hoped was  logic," and if myth makes connections that satisfy our search for meaning, then how is myth like Ingenium? " "No human society is a rational construct." What about a business?

  11. How do some of the fundamental American myths he discusses affect business practices?

  12. Do other cultures share these myths? How do the differences or similarities affect cross-cultural business communication?

  13. In what ways do myths operate in a corporate culture? Consider the four questions Robertson poses at the end of the reading. What assumptions in a corporate culture answer these questions? How are these assumptions created and how do they develop? Can corporations alter their mythology? If so, how? Your answers should be part of your final exam essay question. Think about all we have said in this class along with what Robertson himself says. Consider the elements of corporate culture that Collins and Porras describe in Built to Last. Notice also that Collins and Porras describe a company's core values as "self-evident"—the same term Robertson uses to describe myth.

Burke, Kenneth. A Rhetoric of Motives (Berkeley, CA: U of California P, 1962), 158-166.

You've read some of Burke before, and you're familiar with Machiavelli. Burke approaches this essay as a piece of literary criticism. He looks at Machiavelli's advice to leaders as persuasive advice. Then he looks at advice to lovers as persuasive advice, and makes a connection between the strategies of love and war: "in both cases the rhetoric includes a strongly 'administrative' ingredient." The key idea here for us is "administrative rhetoric." Focus on this concept. Some key questions for discussion are:

  1. What is administrative rhetoric? You'll find several descriptions and a definition about one-third into the reading.

  2. Burke says, "Sometimes the prince’s subjects are his audience; sometimes the rulers or inhabitants of foreign states are the audience, sometimes particular factions within the State." Who are the manager's audiences? Look at all the ways the prince is to appeal to his different audiences; should a manager use the same means?

  3. As a manager, is it "safer to be feared than loved"? (Machiavelli has an interesting discussion of this question.)

  4. Machiavelli advises, in Burke's words, "always retain the distance of your rank (he could have called this the “mystery” of rule." Is there a "mystery" of management?

  5. Is there a connection between the nature of the appeals that Machiavelli recommends to a prince and the appeals that a manager should use to persuade in an organization?

  6. Burke quotes Ovid on love: “love is a kind of war.” Is management a kind of war (consider the way managers have used Sun Tzu)? Is management a kind of love—of wooing an audience?

  7. As he did when discussing the psychology of form, Burke again talks about the problem of the scientific approach: "our contemporary views of science are dislocated by the failure to consider it methodically with relation to rhetoric (a failure that leads to a blunt opposing of science to either religion or “magic”)." Does a scientific approach to management fail to consider the rhetorical dimensions of business? Here is a key statement: "The use of symbols to induce action in beings that normally communicate by symbols is essentially realistic in the most practical and pragmatic sense of the term." Management, like any skill, is neither science nor magic, neither mechanical or biological, nor scientific or humanistic.  To consider only these alternatives misses the force of skillful persuasion in business situations. Again, as Burke says, "by treating the book [The Prince] as a manual of 'administrative rhetoric,' we can place the stress where it belongs: on the problem of the orator’s [or manager's] ability to choose the act best suited to the situation, rather than choosing the act best suited to the expression of his own nature."

  8. In his discussion of Machiavelli's last chapter, Burke suggests that, even though events can be capricious, fortune usually acts "in concert with nature." Here Burke touches on a dominant theme in Machiavelli's work. In his introduction to Machiavelli's Discourses, Bernard Crick summarizes the relationship between fortune, necessity and virtue in Machiavelli's work: "This virtù, if it studies necessity, can combat fortune." This seems to suggest Detienne and Vernant's description of metis; it is a way for the weaker to overcome the stronger, for a cunning person to overcome the caprice of fate. Do you agree? Is it possible to do this in the chaos of the modern business world?

  9. Burke says that "by such identification of ruler and ruled, Machiavelli offers the ruler precisely the rhetorical opportunity to present privately acquisitive motives publicly in sacrificial terms." Can a manager use the same strategy? Is a business a "union of conspirators," a term Burke applies to political cooperation? (In another book, Burke calls businesses "governments without parliaments.")

  10. How does administrative rhetoric function in a modern organization? Think of examples of administrative rhetoric at your job. What about time clocks, posted policies, locks on cabinets, the things chosen to appear on the home page of the intranet?

  11. In what ways can managers employ administrative rhetoric to achieve corporate goals?

Aristotle. Mechanica. In Minor Works. Trans. W.S. Hett. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1963.

This brief reading sets out the fundamental purpose for this course. The author observes that human beings are often at a disadvantage against forces more powerful than they. However, we can use skill (techne in the Greek) to overcome this natural disadvantage. Through skill, we can construct devices that will allow "the weaker to overcome the stronger." This phrase--the weak over the strong--was a theme in much of Greek literature. The Greeks sought ways for the weaker to prevail in words or "rhetoric," as well as devices like a lever. Archimedes said, "Give me a lever long enough and a place to stand, and single-handed I can move the world."

Today, we use elaborate technological tools to perform the same function--to overcome weaknesses. Businesses should view technology, therefore, as part of their strategic planning. A skillful use of technology can allow a small business to succeed where a larger one may fail. The database manager must think in terms of using technology strategically as a tool.

Optional:

Read a definition of the Greek term metis, a cunning intelligence by which the weaker can overcome the stronger.

Read an example of metis or cunning in a chariot race, where the man with the slower horses using skill to win the race.

Read the definition of the Greek term techne from the Perseus Project.

Collins and Porras, Building the Vision

 

Petzinger, A New Model for Business

 

Taylor, Principles of Scientific Management

 

Contemporary Approaches to Management and Leadership:

Drucker: Management as Social Function and Liberal Art

Wheatley, LEADERSHIP and the NEW SCIENCE

Goleman, What is a Leader?

Goleman, Leadership that Gets Results

Collins, Level 5 Leadership

Schaffer, Demand Better Results and Get Them

Ciampa and Watkins, Seven Rules for New Leaders

 

Management Case Studies:

Case Study: Pilkington Float Glass

Case Study: GE and Jack Welch

Case Study: Harley-Davidson

Case Study: Peter Browning at Continental Whitecap

 

 

 

Greenwalt, Crawford H., "The Individual in the Organization." Princeton, NJ, 1961.

I have a long history with this piece. My father read an excerpt from it in the Wall Street Journal in 1961. The ideas stuck with him. As I was growing up, several times he would repeat them to me. "In 1961," he would say, "the president of DuPont gave a speech. His name was Greenwalt." The car would hit a bump right about now, or we would take a sharp turn by the river. "He said that all companies fish from basically the same pool of workers. So if a company wants to get an edge, they don't have much chance of doing it by getting substantially better workers--it's about the same for every business." Believe it or not, I did have discussions like this with my dad when I was a kid. Still do. He continued, "so what a company has to do, Greenwalt said, is find a way to have ordinary people do extraordinary things."

 

I heard that so much that the words stuck with me too, as part of my childhood lore along with my dad's other stories. Like his having given the idea for a heat-shield material to a NASA engineer during a brief cab ride in New York. Or the monster-sized footprints his father found burned into Polish wheat fields that my dad later saw listed in an Air Force colonel's book of strange phenomena. Or "Mr. Boddie's Black Box," an elusive perpetual motion machine my father once tried to track down in Buffalo.

 

I used those words—getting ordinary people to do extraordinary things—as a principle in my own management for several years without ever wanting to track down the words for myself. When I started to teach an M.B.A. class in business communication, I wanted to see for myself all that Greenwalt had to say.

 

When my father had heart surgery in Detroit a few years ago, I took the time to look for the WSJ article in the Detroit Public Library. No luck. But when I told this story to my class, one enterprising student managed to find it. From there, I contacted a library in Delaware that had the text of the whole speech. That is the text I've included here.

 

The speech is an interesting glimpse of corporate culture in 1961. Many of the ideas we regard as progressive today, Greenwalt touted years ago. The tension he described between the individual and the organization remains relevant 40 years later.

 

See for yourself what Greenwalt has to say about getting ordinary people to do extraordinary things. I offer this speech as the final reading in this class because it has become so much a part of my own personal perspective on management. I want the words to stick with you—to glue together all the ideas and rules and skills we've discussed in this class into a potent tool you can use, not merely to communicate well, but to live well.

 

Ask yourself, "How can I get ordinary people to do extraordinary things?" The answers are in the readings on this site, the principles in your text, and our discussions in class. Consider the motivational power of timing, silence, restraint, form, vivid metaphors, myth, administrative rhetoric, etc. Put it all together.

 

 

Readings from Other Courses Available on this Site

 

Samples of Ancient Near Eastern Wisdom Literature

These samples may sound similar to the Hebrew Proverbs in the Old Testament. Many of these proverbs give advice for how to deal with various relationships. Can you make a connection between the relationships described here and business relationships—between managers, employees, co-workers, customers? Can you identify the themes that recur in these texts? In other words, how would you summarize the advice given here? Begin a list of the characteristics of strategic communication. You will add to this list from several readings.

 

Brown, W.R. and S.K. Opt, “Organizations and Attention Switching.”

I know the authors of this article personally. One was a veteran professor at Ohio State who retired after my first semester there. The other, Susan Opt, was one of his students and is still one of my friends. 

 

Brown's ideas appear quirky at first. His writing is often knotty. I generally do not require students to read this piece because it's so dense. But this is one of the most powerful pieces here. Drawing from diverse sources, like Thomas Kuhn and radical physicists like David Bohm, Brown built a theory of change through discourse that revealed the interplay between attention, need and value. This particular piece applies Brown's notions of the attention-shift to paradigmatic changes in organizations. He gives three compelling examples: the Nationwide Insurance shift from being a farmers' collective to an insurance company, Ray Kroc's shift from being a restaurant equipment dealer to the king of the franchise, and Apple Computer's shift from making hobbyist's toys to consumer products.

 

In discussing these examples, Brown and Opt do something that few other management texts bother to do: they give specific instructions about the discursive nature of organizational change. Other authors will tell you to "create a sense of urgency" or "develop a set of core values." But they fall short of explaining the specific mechanics of the language shifts necessary to accomplish these things. Brown and Opt present a model for getting down to the basics of change through discourse: new names, masking or featuring anomalies, creating a new "story" or bolstering and old one.

 

If you can wade through his cluttered prose, you'll be richly rewarded with a new and valuable perspective from Brown's work.

 

Mickelthwait, John and Adrian Wooldridge. The Witch Doctors: Making Sense of the Management Gurus. New York: Times Books, 1998, 12-17, 55-60.

Mickelthwait and Wooldridge, two writers for the British business magazine, The Economist, provide an enlightening overview of management theories and fashions. The sort out the wheat from the chaff of hype and over-promotion. Although they approach management theory from a generally traditional perspective and therefore give short-shrift to some provocative theories outside the mainstream, they point out the weaknesses of management theory as it has evolved in America.

This reading provides a good orientation for any management student. You will read an overview and critique of management theory as well as a some valuable observations about what you learn in your management classes.

  1. What are the four problems with management theory? Do you agree with them? Have you seen evidence of them in your work or classes?

  2. Have you run into "managementese?" Have you felt pressure to use it? What problems does it cause and how can you prevent them?

  3. What are the two basic schools of management theory, as Mickelthwait and Wooldridge define them? Do you see them both operating today? Do you believe one is better than another?

  4. Have you suffered from the "management anxiety" that Mickelthwait and Wooldridge describe? Is it the reason you're going to school now? How can you overcome it, given the perspective the authors take?

Taylor, Frederick Winslow. Principles of Scientific Management. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 1998.

Taylor's essay is considered to be one of the most influential management texts of the last century. His description of scientific management has been equally applauded and maligned and misunderstood. He lays the foundation for one of the basic management schools listed by Mickelthwait and Wooldridge and almost every management text. 

  1. Is Taylor's focus on "maximum prosperity" equivalent to "maximize shareholder value" that Collins and Poras criticize? Does this mean that Taylor would reject Collins and Poras' approach to vision? With whom would you agree: Collins and Poras or Taylor?

  2. How would you address the problem of "soldiering?" Do you agree with Taylor's solution? 

  3. Be able to describe and contrast "ordinary management," also called "initiative and incentive" management with Taylor's scientific or task management. Do you think there is any other way to manage people other than these two?

  4. Under scientific management, "managers assume new burdens, new duties, and responsibilities never dreamed of in the past." What duties? One of them is "the burden of gathering together all of the traditional knowledge which in the past has been possessed by the workmen." So who knows best how to do a job, the people who do it or the people who manage them?

  5. Consider the example of Schmidt, the pig-iron handler. Do you agree that the brusque treatment Schmidt receives the the best or only way to motivate him? Do you think this approach would be successful today?

  6. How do you think Taylor would make use of computers if he were managing today?

  7. Do you see Taylor's approach as "anti-humanistic?"

Petzinger, Thomas. "A New Model for the Nature of Business: It’s Alive!" Wall Street Journal February 26, 1999, B1.

In this article based on his book, The New Pioneers, Petzinger describes what he sees as a shift in the fundamental paradigm of management. He provides another perspective on the two schools of management theory that differs slightly from that which Mickelthwait and Wooldridge present. He also gives a picture of how a theory can blind its adherents and keep them from seeing other alternatives.

  1. How does Petzinger's two paradigms compare to the two schools of management theory presented by Mickelthwait and Wooldridge? Do you see significant differences between the two?

  2. Petzinger claims that the scientific approach to management of the mechanical paradigm, "blinded perfectly kind and decent human beings (and some less kind and decent) to any purpose of organization life other than the optimization of the organization itself. 'We are not in business to conduct moral activity,' IBM Chairman John Akers declared in 1986. 'We are in business to conduct business.'" Do you agree with Akers? Why? Can you think of other ways managers are "blinded" by a paradigm? Can you think of things management theory ignores because it is blinded?

  3. Do you agree with Petzinger's implication that this new, organic paradigm for business is superior to the old? Why?

 

Collins, James C. and Jerry I. Porras. Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies. First Paperback Edition. New York: Harper-Collins, 1997. 219-239.

Collins and Poras conducted an empirical study of "gold medal" companies that achieved solid performance for at least 50 years. This chapter was first published as a stand-alone article and summarizes many of their key points. Some of the points they make may be somewhat controversial. Consider their arguments and see if you agree.

  1. For Collins and Poras, which is more important: who you are or where you're going? Why? Do you agree?

  2. Why are core values so important to an organization, according to Collins and Poras? Be specific in your answer.

  3. Collins and Poras quote David Packard of Hewlett-Packard: “I think many people assume, wrongly, that a company exists simply to make money. While this is an important result of a company’s existence, we have to go deeper and find the real reasons for our being.” Do you agree or disagree? Give good reasons for your answer?

  4. Collins and Poras consider the purpose "maximize shareholder value" to be "the standard 'off-the-shelf ' purpose for those organizations that have not yet identified their true core purpose. It is a substitute ideology, and a weak substitute at that." Do you agree? Why?

  5. "As we move into the 21st century, companies will need to draw on the full creative energy and talent of their people." This statement of Collins and Poras sounds similar to what other reading we've covered?

  6. If successful organizations build their companies "more by an organic process of 'try a [236] lot of stuff and keep what works' than by well-laid strategic plans," then what is the value of the quantitative strategies on which most managers rely?

 

 

Kuhn, Thomas. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Second Ed. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1970.

In the opening chapter of The Seven Habits of Effective People, Stephen Covey describes "The Power of a Paradigm Shift" (p. 29ff). "The term paradigm shift was introduced by Thomas Kuhn in his highly influential book, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Kuhn shows how almost every significant breakthrough in the field of scientific endeavor is first a break with tradition, with the old ways of thinking, with old paradigms." Covey goes on extol the virtues of personal paradigm shifts as we change our ways of thinking about success.

 

In this reading, I'm giving you an excerpt from this "highly influential" book that gave us the idea of "paradigm shift." Every graduate student should be familiar with Kuhn, and every business person should be aware that a paradigm is far more pervasive than the way it's typically presented in pop-culture books such as Covey's.

 

As you read this piece, ask yourself how Kuhn's original notion of paradigm differs from the more popular reduction of the concept. Also, ask yourself how well Kuhn's ideas apply to business.

  1. Define paradigm according to Kuhn. How does it differ from the idea of a paradigm shift as you have heard it discussed in business?

  2. Do you think business changes more by evolution or revolution? What do you think Kuhn would say?

  3. Define "normal science" according to Kuhn? Is there such a thing as "normal business?" Would Kuhn's book work just as well if you replaced every reference to science with business and called it The Structure of Business Revolutions? Do changes in business happen the same way as changes in science?

  4. Describe a paradigm shift. How does it take place? How common is it? How easy is it?

  5. Covey seems to suggest that he regards paradigm shifts as psychological? Do you agree? Could they be more properly described as "rhetorical?"

 

Senge, Peter. The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of The Learning Organization, 1990, p. 51-52.

 

Machiavelli, Niccolo. The Discourses. New York, Penguin Books, 1970, 459-472.

Machiavelli was a bureaucrat in Florence in the early 16th century. He was a careful student of political behavior and took note of those principles of good government and leadership. He is best known for The Prince, an essay giving advice to Italian princes about how best to govern the city-states that ruled most of Italy in the Renaissance. This reading is taken from The Discourses, a longer essay that covers similar subjects but, instead of focusing on princes and their principalities, The Discourses primarily address republics, which for Machiavelli represented governments in which the people had greater influence.

Machiavelli is considered by some to be the first management theorist. That term is probably in appropriate since he certainly is not concerned with the technical aspects of management as we understand them today and because his intent is far more practical than theoretical. Nevertheless, the principles of leadership and influence that he illustrates from classical history and his own Italy are just a valid today as they were when he wrote them. He provides keen observations of human nature and the political realities of human influence.

This reading comes from one collection of discourses that deal with how best to motivate those under one’s command: by kindness or severity, a topic he discussed in chapters 17 & 19 of The Prince, using some of the same examples. The contrasts he draws here between the two parallel the popular conception of Theory X and Theory Y management and tap a fundamental issue for managers: is it better to be loved or feared? You can see a contrast of these two approaches to leadership as recounted by the Roman historian, Livy.

As you read this excerpt, look for ways in which Machiavelli’s words still apply today. Here are some specific questions to keep in mind.

  1. Machiavelli begins by stating the issue: is it better to be compassionate or cruel? Without having read Machiavelli’s opinion, what do you think? Give good reasons for your answer.
  2. Throughout this excerpt (and all his writings), Machiavelli distinguishes different situations and circumstances that call for different actions, such as the difference between dealing with associates versus subjects. Try to map out some of these distinctions. Do these distinctions apply to modern management strategies?
  3. Machiavelli draws contrasts between the motivational style of Appius Claudius vs. Quinctius, Hannibal vs. Scipio and Manlius vs. Valerius. What are the pros and cons of the strategies of these leaders?
  4. Early in the reading, Machiavelli says that both cruelty and compassion can yield the same result. Later, however, he identifies some differences in the effectiveness of each approach. What are these differences and do you agree with his observations?
  5. Machiavelli states, “if bold things are to be ordered, one must be a bold man and that, given a man has the strength and, that he issues bold orders, then he cannot be soft in seeing that his orders are obeyed” Do bold business strategies require a rigid approach to managing employees?
  6. Machiavelli says that in a republic, a harsh approach to leadership may be bad for the leader himself, but good for the republic. On the other hand, kindness may do harm to both the leader and the republic. In a principality, on the contrary, kindness is the most effective leadership style for a prince. Which approach is most effective in business?
  7. The last paragraph of this excerpt holds some key principles for a leader. What are they and do you believe they still apply to modern leaders?

You can read more about Machiavelli in an excerpt from Bernard Crick’s introduction to The Discourses and in the full text of The Prince.

 

 

Whyte, David. The Heart Aroused: Poetry and the Preservation of the Soul in Corporate America. New York: Doubleday, 1994. 1-30.

 

Kotter, John P. Leading Change. Boston: Harvard Business School P, 3-31.

Kotter’s work is one of the better texts on change in business organizations. His outline is simple: eight steps to guiding change successfully. Albeit simple to understand, it is still a challenge to enact, as his first chapter on the eight mistakes of change and our own experience point out.

You should read Kotter as a introductory manual to change. Consider your own experience with change and you read and judge whether his observations ring true.

  1. Be familiar with Kotter’s eight steps to change. Do you agree with each of these steps? Have you witnessed examples of the mistakes associated with each step?
  2. Notice how many of his points dovetail with concepts we’ve already talked about in class. He touches on:
    1. learning theory (error 1),
    2. politics (error 2),
    3. vision (error 3, remember Collins and Poras),
    4. communication as influence (error 4),
    5. perception (error 5)
    6. goal-setting (error 6)
    7. culture (error 8)

Can you think of any other matches between concepts we’ve discussed and Kotter’s ideas? Change, in a sense, is the culmination of much of what we’ve discussed in this class.

  1. Read carefully Kotter’s approach to culture. Would you say he has in mind an implicit or explicit view of culture? Do you agree that anchoring changes in the culture comes last? Do you think it is possible to avoid the framework of culture through the first seven steps of the change process?
  2. Kotter’s contrast between management and leadership is cited in your text. Which is better equipped to manage change: a manager or a leader? Do you see a parallel between Kotter’s perspective on leadership and what we have said about the “influence” function of management?
  3. Is there anything missing from Kotter’s description of change? For example, he talks a lot about communication, but does he discuss the actual discursive mechanics of change, that is, the actual communication strategies that promote change? Brown and Opt discuss these mechanics. Can you think of anything else that is missing?

Descartes, Rene. Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting the Reason and Seeking for Truth in the Sciences. Part 2.

Roszak, Theodore. "Descartes' Angel: Reflections on the True Art of Thinking." The Cult of Information: The Folklore of Computers and the True Art of Thinking. New York: Pantheon Book, 1986.

These two readings are a matched set; Roszak critiques Descartes' method of thinking. As Roszak points out, Descartes systematic method for solving problems forms the kind of thinking that lead to the creation of computers.

Rene Descartes (1595-1650), considered to be the father of modern philosophy, is the author of the famous phrase, "I think, therefore I am" (cogito ergo sum in Latin), found in his Discourse on Method from which this reading is taken. Descartes believed that through careful, systematic reasoning, a person can arrive at an unquestionable basis for all truth. His approach has engendered debates among scholars for centuries. The significance for our study, however, is the fact that his simple method actually defines the way computers operate and the way human beings must think to operate these machines. His four rules for thinking stand behind every model of linear, systematic problem solving, including the software development life cycle. If you master Descartes' method, you'll be able to understand computer processes.

However, understanding Descartes' rules won't help you deal with human thinking. As Roszak shows, human beings are driven to think about things that machines can't account for using methods that defy systematic logic. Even though much of this final chapter of Roszak's book deals with the use of computers in education, it gives you a clear picture of the difference between human thinking and the logic of mathematics that drives computer processing.

As a technology professional, you must stand between two worlds: the human and the machine. You must learns the rules behind decision-making in each so you can effectively use technology to achieve human goals.

Here are some question to keep in mind as you read. I've indicated which answers should be part of your Learning Journal.

  1. Notice the contrast Descartes draws between human projects conducted by a group and those conducted by a single person. Do you agree with his choice of which is better? How does his choice fit with his concern for systematic thinking?

  2. In your Learning Journal, record a few ways in which Descartes ideas about systematic thinking match or do not match the system development process in your text.

  3. Record Descartes' four rules for thinking in your Learning Journal. Note how these form the basis of the procedural approach of the system development process.

  4. In your Learning Journal, make a list of the contrasts you see between typical human thinking and Descartes' model of thinking. Descartes makes several contrasts and Roszak adds more. List these differences.

  5. Which model of thinking do you see in most businesses? Which do you think would yield the best results? See what Whyte has to say about the neglect of the soul in corporate America.

  6. Do you think it is possible for human beings to routinely think the way Descartes advises?

Read more about Descartes.

Read the entire text of Descartes' Discourse on Method.

More books by Theodore Roszak

Read other chapters from Roszak's Cult of Information.

 

E. F. Codd. "A Relational Model of Data for Large Shared Data Banks." Communications of the ACM. 13(No 6, June 1970):377-387.

 

 

 

Selected Handouts and Lecture Notes

Note: Not all these handouts may apply to your particular class.
Those that are required are marked with a red asterisk*.
The rest of the handouts provide general reference and background for business communication. We may refer to the other material in class; therefore, you may need to consult these handouts even if they are not listed as required initially.

General Communication Theory

Personal Communication Tips

Organizational Communication

Corporate Culture Case Studies

Leadership and Communication

Rhetoric

Crafting an Influential Message

Invention: Finding materials that will influence

Analysis

Arrangement: Building a structure that will influence

Style: Finding words and images that influence

Delivery: Speaking with influence

Memory: Making Influence Last

More Message Samples

 

Special Kinds of Messages

 

Communicating in Groups

 

Lecture Notes

 

 

 

Book List: contains several excerpts from popular business texts

Extra Help and Information

 

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This page was last modified on Saturday, December 23, 2006.
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