Journal takes new line

Press, 28 December 1989, Page 16

Journal takes new line

“THE cost of employing women in management is greater than the cost of employing men. This is a jarring statement, partly because it is true, but mostly because it is something people are reluctant to talk about.”

These are the opening words of the notorious “mommy track” article that apeared in the Janu-ary-February 1989 issue of the “Havard Business Review.” It is just one reason why the many critics of Mr Theordore Levitt are celebrating his departure as editor to return to teaching.

His record is one of honourable failure. When he became

editor in 1985, Mr Levitt, the guru of global brands, set out to make the journal more readable without compromising its high academic standing. Both its appearance and contents became less forbidding. Prolix articles gave way to shorter, sharper pieces broken up by crisp charts and cartoons. Such changes pleased neither enough lay readers nor scholars (who hated the cartoons). The circulation fell, from 244,000 in 1984 to 210,000 this year. Mr Levitt’s successor as editor, Ms Rosabeth Moss Kanter, is an expert on organisational behavi-

our and, like Mr Levitt, a professor at the Harvard Business School. Had Mr Michael Dukakis won last year’s presidential election, she would probably have become his commerce secretary. Ms Ranter’s own article, “The New Managerial Work,” in the current issue of the publication is being scrutinised for clues about her editorial style. In it she argues that managerial authority is eroding and that success in future will depend on a manager having the knowledge, skills and sensitivity to mobilise and motivate people. ©The Economist