Pitfalls for management

Press, 7 August 1976, Page 15

Pitfalls for management

The Handbook of Management. Edited by Thomas Kempner. Penguin Books. 428 pp. N.Z. price $3.25. (Reviewed by lan Howell) In today’s business world that is beset with changes of every kind - political, economic, technological, socialogical and educational — unawareness can create major problems. This reference book highlights the wide range of factors management faces in making decisions in today’s regulated society. Under 11 main headings, which contain more than 1000 cross-reference entries, the book covers the main concept and ideas which govern the work of management. Eleven contributors deal with such subjects as business policy, industrial relations, commercial and industrial law, accounting, economics, marketing and production management. Certainly, none of the subjects are covered in any depth, but generally the entries define the salient facts with references to books on specific topics. ( Although the book was first published in 1971, and was revised this year, there are still many references to Acts passed by the

British Conservative Government, which have since been amended by the Labour Government. Some amended Acts are not explained as fully as the outdated Acts. With the present world-wide industrial problems it is ironic that the first of more than 1000 crossreference entries deals with absenteeism, while the last deals with Zipf’s Law. This is the principle of least effort as expounded by K. Zipf in his book “Human Behaviour as the Principle of Least Effort.” In it he maintains that human behaviour is governed by an attempt to minimise the probable average rate of work required to achieve certain goals. While the book is a factual reference guide, from which readers can obtain basic information, it should be used with caution by management outside Britain. A significent number of the references, dealing with redundancy, industrial organisation, taxation and industrial law, only cover the British situation. In spite of this obvious fault, the editor and his contributors have provided a source of useful information on the complex subject of management. [lan Howell is director of the Canterbury Manufacturers' Association.]