Skip to main content

Models of Management

Work, Authority, and Organization in a Comparative Perspective

In this book, Mauro F. Guillén explores differing historical patterns in the adoption of the three major models of organizational management: scientific management, human relations, and structural analysis. Moving beyond Reinhard Bendix’s classic Work and Authority, Models of Management takes a fresh look at how managers have used these models in four countries during the twentieth century.

Guillén’s study of two liberal-democratic societies (the United States and Great Britain) and two corporatist societies (Germany and Spain) reveals significant differences in the way managerial elites and firms have adopted the three models. His data show that ideas themselves—independent of material interests and technology—can cause organizational change. Throughout the book, contrasts between modernist-technocratic and liberal-humanist mentalities, as well as between Protestant and Catholic religious backgrounds, emerge as decisive factors in determining managerial ideology and practice.

In addition to analyzing management methods in organizations, Guillén explores larger issues: the interaction among managerial, government, and labor elites; the impact of the state and the professions on managerial behavior; and the role that managers play in modern societies.

432 pages | 3 line drawings, 21 tables | 6 x 9 | © 1994

Economics and Business: Economics--International and Comparative

Sociology: Formal and Complex Organizations, General Sociology

Table of Contents

Figures and Tables
Preface and Acknowledgments
1: The Comparative Study of Organizational Paradigms
2: The United States: Economic Transformations, Labor Problems, and Organizational Innovations
3: Germany: Modernism, Traditionalism, and Bureaucracy
4: Spain: Eclecticism, Human Relations, and Managerial Authoritarianism in a Less-Developed Country
5: Great Britain: Industrial Retardation, Religious-Humanist Ideals, and the Rise of Social Science
6: Comparing Patterns of Adoption
7: A Historical and Comparative Perspective on Homo Hierarchicus
Appendix A: Content Analysis of Journal Articles
Appendix B: Comparative Statistics
Appendix C: The Adoption of Scientific Management and Human Relations Techniques in the United States
Appendix D: A Systematic Comparison of Conditions and Outcomes of Adoption
Bibliography
Index

Be the first to know

Get the latest updates on new releases, special offers, and media highlights when you subscribe to our email lists!

Sign up here for updates about the Press