The trouble with "management" education, says author Henry Mintzberg, is that it is business education, and leaves a distorted impression of management. In Managers Not MBAs, he offers a new definition of management as a blend of craft (experience), art (insight), and science (analysis). An education that overemphasizes science encourages a style of managing the author calls "calculating," or if the graduates believe themselves to be artists, the related style "heroic." According to the book, neither heroes nor technocrats in positions of influence are useful - what's really needed are balanced, dedicated people who practice a style that can be called "engaging." Such people believe their purpose is to leave behind stronger organizations, not just higher share prices. Managers Not MBAs explains in detail how to cultivate such managers, and how they can transform the business world and, ultimately, society.



About the Author

Henry Mintzberg is Cleghorn Professor of Management Studies at McGill University in Montreal Canada. His research has dealt with issues of general management and organizations, focusing on the nature of managerial work, forms of organizing, and the strategy formation process.

Mintzberg received his doctorate and Master of Science degrees from the M.I.T. Sloan School of Management and his mechanical engineering degree from McGill, working in between in operational research for the Canadian National Railways. He has been named an Officer of the Order of Canada and of l?Ordre Nationale du Quebec and holds honorary degrees from thirteen universities. He also served as President of the Strategic Management Society from 1988-91, and is an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (the first from a management faculty), the Academy of Management, and the International Academy of Management. He was named Distinguished Scholar for the year 2000 by the Academy of Management.



He is the author of twelve books, including The Nature of Managerial Work (1973), The Structuring of Organizations (1979), Mintzberg on Management (1989), The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning (1994), The Canadian Condition (1995), and Strategy Safari (1998). Why I Hate Flying, his latest book, reflects a growing interest in more general writing, also including short stories and newspaper commentaries. His management articles number over one hundred, including two Harvard Business Review McKinsey prizewinner, "The Manager's Job: Folklore and Fact" (first place in l975) and "Crafting Strategy" (second place in l987).