Henry Ford 1863-1947	Peter Drucker 1909-
Andrew Grove 1936-	Michael Porter 1947-
Bill Gate 1955-
BACK OF THE BOOK

No gaudy conceptions to assail the senses in this line-up of 50 figures, for sure, but that's not to say management gurus are insulated from the vagaries of fashion. Think of the gyan that was 'in' just seven years ago, when John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge summoned their collaborative wit to write The Witch Doctors.

This book, in contrast, tries to be biographical and encyclopedic rather than deconstructive and analytical. It seems motivated, moreover, by the historian-author's observation that "managers perversely refuse to acknowledge their own heritage" (again, like fashion, or music). So Morgen Witzel makes up for that by tracing the term 'management' to the Latin 'manus', and 'laissez faire' to Lao Tzu's 'wu-wei', and offering a series of guru sketches that do just enough to kindle interest without going too far into anyone's mind-or even exposing intellectual influences. It's everyone else, presumably, who must knock knees to the floor and fess up to having been influenced by these 50 originals.

Fifty Key Figures in Management Morgen Witzel Roli Books Pvt Ltd PP: 319 Price: Rs 395

The psychologist and computer scientist Herbert Simon (1916-2001) makes an appearance for 'bounded rationality'-by which companies behave sub-rationally because, not being omniscient, they're forced to operate on imperfect information. Charles Babbage (1792-1871) is a surprise; not for heralding the age of logic gates in business, but for drawing the link between quality, branding and customer loyalty. Max Boisot (1943-) is another revelation; again, not for pointing out the need of knowledge to turn data into information, but for the analytical implications of knowledge slotted into a two-by-two matrix with codified/uncodified and diffused/undiffused knowledge as parameters.

Much of the stuff that has long passed into B-school cliché-dom is there too. 'Know thyself, know thy enemy', as Sun Tzu (4th century BC) told followers. Just-in-time delivery chains and ever-striving kaizen, as Toyoda Kiichiro (1894-1952) taught Toyota. Task subdivision and efficiency, as Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856-1915) systemised operations. The hierarchy of needs, as Abraham Maslow (1908-70) etched it, food and sex at the bottom and self-actualisation on top.

Other widely-discussed notions are there too, though the debate on these is far from closed. Feedback loops, for example, as Jay Forrester (1918-) analysed them, laying the ground for other proponents of the 'learning organisation'. Business defined as marketing, as Philip Kotler (1931-) crystallised it, as the all-encompassing role of satisfying consumer needs better than competitors. Strategy as an intuitive art, as Kenichi Ohmae (1943-) urged it, something requiring insights beyond the reach of conscious analysis. The four basic ways to attain competitive advantage, as Michael Porter (1947-) portrayed it, depending on whether you differentiate or contain costs and whether you target a niche or mass market. Not to forget the 'liberation' management of Tom Peters (1942-) and 'paradox' management of Charles Handy (1932-).

Of the book's business figures, William Lever (1851-1925) stands out for opposing competition. The piece on Henry Ford (1863-1947) fails to explain why writers of Aldous Huxley's stature took such a literary aversion to his principles. The chapters on the Wintel whizes Bill Gates (1955-) and Andy Grove (1936-) are profoundly disappointing; while Witzel takes up flat organisations, strategic flexibility, survival paranoia and inflection points as themes, he remains insouciant to their individual motivations.

Good point for Peter Drucker (1909-) to make an entry, a thinker who did more than just emphasise resource optimisation and steadfast goal-orientation. "There is only one valid definition of business purpose: to create a customer," proposed Drucker, arguing that efficiency was not enough, business had to be creative-it had to result in value greater than the sum of resources put in. He put the 'thinking' in management, and with a purpose too. "Wealth and freedom, for Drucker," writes Witzel, "were necessary co-equals."

Of the oblique criticism that Witzel tentatively employs, perhaps the most valid is that of media-favourite Marshall McLuhan (1911-80), who was too technology-dazzled to appreciate the "penetration of the written word" before Gutenberg's printing press.

Valid, but hardly original.

Funny, isn't it? Almost as if concealing the origin of a Big Idea-especially from the East-is what the game's all about anyway. But hey, a free input is a free input. Nobody's got a copyright on, say, the sixth note of the musical octave. Play on.

The Experience! By Lior Arussy CMP Books PP: 127 Price: Rs 920

This is a nice little parable. Nowhere near the league of Spencer Johnson's Who Moved My Cheese?, but effective nonetheless in using the story of a call centre manager called Joseph Jacobs to illustrate the golden rule: "Treat the customer the way you want to be treated."

Jacobs starts with an ashen-faced team from hell's own graveyard, and ends with a super-empathetic call centre that spouts idea after idea-that too, with the voice-message, "This call may be monitored for quality purposes" replaced with "This call may be answered by the CEO." A CEO of a business that's no longer it-enabled, since "Technology doesn't care for customers, people do" and in no rush, since... "Can you imagine being 'efficient' with your loved ones?" You won't regret The Experience!, if only because it's all so very obvious-and still so very much in the realm of fantasy.

Do Not Dig A Grave... And Bury Your Career! By D.N.B. Singh Macmillan India PP: 186 Price: Rs 155

Young wise-ass MBAs wouldn't be caught dead taking advice from a retired PSU man. Which is precisely why this book-by an hr consultant with 37 years of Indian Oil experience-has been written, with its deadly title, Narayana Murthy recommendation blurb and all. This 'practical guide' serves as a reality stun-gun for new recruits itching to outsmart the greying old man. "They start digging a grave to put the boss in," writes the grim author, "but what goes into the grave is their own career prospects."

Most of the book reads like a mundane expansion of that old 'Rule 2: if the boss is wrong, refer to Rule 1' poster everyone has seen. Yet, it's not all about getting the boss equation right and prospering. All bosses are not grateful for yes-men. So confront the boss-"friction is necessary for any movement"-but creatively.