The Truth About Managing People
Book

The Truth About Managing People

And Nothing But the Truth

Stephen P. Robbins
FT Prentice Hall, 2002
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Editorial Rating

6

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Recommendation

Stephen P. Robbins provides a broad overview of effective management principles. While many of these principles are familiar, Robbins writes in a compelling, authoritative style, and he uses behavioral research to bolster many of his suggestions, some of which go against common practice. Skeptical? Just look at his examples of companies that have used these methods successfully, and his comments from experts in the field. The chapters are organized into a series of short bites, presented as "truths" about different areas of management. This small easy-to-carry book is handy for reading in chunks while you wait or commute on the train. getAbstract.com recommends it as a handy summary of general management wisdom supported by the findings of behavioral research and nicely seasoned with occasional nuggets of information on effective, but less common, techniques.

Summary

Using Behavioral Research to Understand How Management Works

Research into human behavior can indicate which business and management methods will be most effective. Management techniques can be categorized and evaluated in terms of major problem areas relating to behavior, which explains why some approaches work and some don’t. Behavioral research informs the following management guidance about hiring, motivation, leadership, communications, team building and conflict management, as well as counsel on designing jobs, evaluating performance and dealing with change.

Hiring People

Commonly, managers look for hardworking, dependable, persistent people to hire, unaware that personality traits don’t necessarily indicate how well employees will do. This is true because organizational settings themselves have a major influence on how people behave, since people are very adaptive. Personality traits change as circumstances shift. For the best predictor of future performance, check past behavior instead of character traits.

To keep employees for a long time, give new hires a realistic preview of their jobs. Unrealistic expectations contribute to dissatisfaction...

About the Author

Stephen P. Robbins is a best-selling management and organizational behavior textbook author. His books have sold more than two million copies worldwide and are now in use at more than 1,000 U.S. colleges and universities. His book, Organizational Behavior, is the market leader in many countries. He is also the author of Managing Today and co-author of both Management, Fifth Edition and Fundamentals of Management.

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