skip navigation

Not in the United States?
change your preferences.

Management Speak

Why We Listen to What Management Gurus Tell Us

• By David Greatbatch, Timothy Clark

Price: $160.00add to cart

• Price: $160.00
• Binding: Hardback (also available in Paperback)
• Pages: 176
• Published by: Routledge
• Publication Date: 4th August 2005
• Illustrations: 8 tables
• ISBN: 978-0-415-30622-5

About the Book

Based on primary research into the public lectures of management gurus, this fascinating new volume analyzes how such gurus disseminate their ideas, values and visions on the international management lecture circuit. Adopting a novel conceptual/theoretical perspective, it brings together insights from the fields of management, sociology, media studies, communications and social psychology.

Written by leading figures in the field, this topical book covers such broad ranging areas as the live presentation of management ideas, using rhetoric, legitimating ideas, values and visions, the grammar of persuasion and charisma and oratory and is a valuable resource for students academics and researchers in the fields of management, sociology, and communications.

Reviews

'In this groundbreaking book, David Greatbatch and Timothy Clark extend our understanding of the management guru phenomenon by focusing on the live oratory and presentations of the most accomplished speakers. Visual communication technology has enhanced rather than reduced the importance of the live presentation, and the authors demonstrate how skilled guru speakers use language to enthuse their audiences; build their personal reputations; attract and sustain a mass following; and enhance their star status.' - Andrzej Huczynski, Senior Lecturer in Organizational Behaviour, University of Glasgow

'If you ever ask yourself why management gurus have such a strong impact on managers and the public with so little content, here is a book which provides a convincing answer.' - Alfred Kieser, Professor of Organizational Behavior, Mannheim University

'This excellent book offers a fascinating analysis of 'management speak' and a deft deconstruction of the tricks of the trade. Management gurus will never be quite the same again.' - John Heritage, University of California, Los Angeles

Table of Contents

1. Management Gurus 2. Live Presentations 3. Packaging the Message 4. Generating Collective Audience Response 5. The Role of Humour and Laughter 6. Telling Stories 7. Conclusion

About the Author(s)

Timothy Clark is Professor of Organisational Behaviour at Durham Business School, University of Durham. Prior to this he was Reader in Management at King's College London. His research interests are in management consultancy work, knowledge creation and diffusion, the nature of management fashion and gurus. He is the author of over 60 articles and chapters and has authored or co-edited of seven books. His work has been published in a variety of international journals including Journal of Management Studies, Human Relations, Management Communication Quarterly, Organization, Organization Studies. He is currently a General Editor of human Relations and sits on the editorial boards of four other journals.

Professor David Greatbatch is Managing director of Greatbatch Associates Ltd an independent consultancy specialising in research and evaluation in the fields of education and training, skills and learning, and communication. He is also a Special Professor in the School of Education at the University of Nottingham, where he is a member of the Centre for Developing and Evaluating Lifelong Learning (CDELL) and an associate of the Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (IRLTHE). He has previously held positions at the Universities of Oxford, London, Surrey and Warwick, and the Xerox Research Laboratory in Cambridge. He has published in journals such as American Journal of Sociology, American Sociological Review, Language in Society, Law and Society Review and Human Relations.