We believe that the field of management, while ever changing, can be taught and learned. In order to figure out where we are going we do need to understand where the management field has been. We also believe that the best managers have an understanding of why they are doing what they are doing – to either increase efficiency, effectiveness, or build upon relationships with their subordinates, teams, and superiors.
This online textbook is laid out with attention to helping you develop both objective and tacit knowledge. You obtain objective knowledge by reading and studying the traditional and emerging management concepts found in the e-text, but in order to obtain tacit knowledge, you must apply what you are learning and reflect on your experiences. So, we have included Stop, Think, and Decide or Discuss sections throughout each chapter to help you reflect on the reading and apply it in some more tangible way. We have included short video clips throughout the text and many links to outside material for further reference and reflection. The end-of-chapter exercises offer additional application opportunities, such as Me, Inc., our way of recognizing that it is the student’s responsibility to ‘manage’ his/her own career and life. The Me, Inc. exercises are designed to integrate the concepts in each chapter with real career and life choices. Knowing these concepts from the text and applying them will aid in the successful management of Me, Inc.
The authors have many years of experience in management, teaching, and academia. We believe that we have put together a textbook that is reasonably priced, but that adds significant value to your educational experience. In other words, you get more bang for your buck.
Dr. Bill Gillis is a Full Professor and Chair of the Management Department at the University of South Alabama (USA). He served in the U.S. Air Force as an instructor pilot in three aircraft with almost 4000 hours of flying time, worked for Pfizer, Inc. as a pharmaceutical sales rep, and published in such journals as the Journal of Business Venturing, The Academy of Management Perspectives, Business Horizons, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, and the Leadership Quarterly. He has been at USA in the Mitchell College of Business since 2007 and teaches undergraduate Management Theory and Practice, Business Policy in a Global Economy, Strategic Issues in Family Business, Evaluating Franchising Opportunities, as well as the doctoral seminar in Organizational Theory and Development.
Dr. Don Mosley is a Full Professor at the University of South Alabama (USA) and the Executive Director of the Melton Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. He has extensive consulting experience, working experience, and has written other textbooks as well as published in such journals as Educational and Psychological Measurement, Journal of Applied Social Psychology and Journal of Business Research. He has been at USA in the Mitchell College of Business since 2000 and teaches undergraduate Management Theory and Practice, Organizational Behavior, High Performance Organizations, as well as several courses in the Entrepreneurship concentration in Management.