A Handbook of Management And Leadership – A Guide to Managing for Results
Authors: Michael Armstrong and Tina Stephens
Price: 27.50
Pages: 242
Publisher: Kogan Page
ISBN: 0749443448
Michael Armstrong and Tina Stephens are both well qualified to publish this book on management and leadership. With such credibility in their fields, I looked forward to sharing their insights into the subject.
It is a useful and well laid out manual. Written in a very readable, if somewhat dry style, it is an easy-to-follow guide suitable for the student and those new to management practice, with sufficient information to be of use to those with more experience. The format means you can literally look up a subject without having to plough your way through unnecessary information, and it is also a useful coaching tool.
Armstrong and Stephens have produced a succinct guide to management. The book is a broad study of the different aspects of management and leadership, providing comparable theories that may interest you enough to explore the subject in greater depth. I found the sections on change management, customer relationships and continuous improvement to be informative, but brief.
My only criticism is that having described the differing behaviours found in management and leadership, the authors then concentrate on management practice, rather than leadership. I would have liked more examples that demonstrated the difference between the two in practice.
At £27.50, the handbook is not cheap. If you are looking for a detailed study, this is not for you. But as a handbook to keep on your desk, it works very well.
Useful? five stars
Well-written? four stars
Practical? five stars
Inspirational? three stars
Value for money? four stars
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Overall four stars
Reviewed by Dianne Hughes, HR operations manager, Crown House Technologies
