Books That Mean Business: The Management Best Sellers

Freeman, Frank H.

doi:10.2307/257978

Cited by 12 publications

(12 citation statements)

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“…In this article, we extend Rynes et al's study to the case of structured interviews and to the study of another kind of intermediate literature, advice books (or how-to books). Such books are popular among practitioners, despite being often criticized by academics (Freeman, 1985). In personnel selection, they are used by recruiters as a complement to training provided by consultants (Palmer et al, 1999).…”

Section: Studying the Process Of Structured Interview Diffusion Acrosmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding the Academic–Practitioner Gap for Structured Interviews: ‘Behavioral’ interviews diffuse, ‘structured’ interviews do not

Roulin

Bangerter

2012

Int J Selection Assessment

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Recent studies about the academic–practitioner gap suggest that the nonadoption of evidenced‐based practices can be explained by their diffusion through practitioner‐oriented literature. This study extends these findings by investigating the case of the structured interview, which has not been widely adopted by practitioners despite its good psychometric properties. Using a social representations approach, we investigate how the academic concepts of ‘structured’ and ‘behavioral’ interviewing are diffused to practitioners in advice books. Results show that ‘behavioral’ interviews diffuse while ‘structured’ interviews do not, and that different arguments are used to describe these concepts. Facilitating the diffusion of structured interview practices requires academics to rethink their ways of communicating with practitioners through media.

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Section: Studying the Process Of Structured Interview Diffusion Acrosmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding the Academic–Practitioner Gap for Structured Interviews: ‘Behavioral’ interviews diffuse, ‘structured’ interviews do not

Roulin

Bangerter

2012

Int J Selection Assessment

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“…These characteristic features of managers' work may cause managers to be responsive to ideas that are presented in particular ways. Indeed, analysis of a number of guru texts conducted by Conrad (1985), Freeman (1985) and Zibergeld (1984) indicate that they are immediate, practical, concrete, super®cial and easily read and assimilated.…”

Section: Management Usersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Telling Tales: Management Gurus' Narratives and the Construction of Managerial Identity

Clark

Salaman

1998

J Management Studies

242

190

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This paper examines the reasons for the apparently powerful impact of management gurus' ideas (i.e. guru theory) on senior managers. An examination of the limited literature on management gurus and other related literatures suggests three explanations for the appeal of guru theory for senior managers. The ®rst set of explanations relates to various features of management work which may heighten managers' receptivity to guru ideas. The second set focuses on the gurus themselves and emphasizes the form in which they are presented (i.e. public performances). The ®nal set of explanations highlights the importance of the socioeconomic and cultural context within which guru theories emerge and become widely adopted. A number of criticisms of these explanations are oered: that they de®ne the manager as passive, that the¯ow of ideas is one way (guru to manager), that they rely on an academic conception of knowledge. An alternative explanation of their success is outlined which suggests that their work ± their analyses, presentations and theories ± oer attractive conceptions of the role of managers which constitute the identity of the modern senior manager as an heroic, transformative leader. Gurus therefore not only constitute the organizational realities but also managers themselves.

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“…Next, since organizations do not frame administrative innovations as being essentially technical in nature, the range of eligible advisors increases to include less technically oriented sources-nonresearchoriented consultants with standard packages to sell, self-help tapes, and business books and magazines. Freeman (1985) has documented the rise of "management best sellers" and their impact on management thinking.…”

Section: The Adoption Of I/o-type Practices Should Be Viewed As Adminmentioning

confidence: 99%

Constraints on the Adoption of Psychology‐based Personnel Practices: Lessons From Organizational Innovation

Johns¹

1993

Personnel Psychology

189

149

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Surveys of organizational personnel practices often indicate that techniques advocated by industrial and organizational (YO) psychologists are used with less frequency than might be expected given their technical merit. This article attempts to explain this phenomenon by viewing the adoption of I/O-type personnel practices as organizational innovations that are subject to the mechanisms and processes described in the innovation-diffusion literature. It is argued that the adoption of I/O-type personnel practices constitutes administrative innovation and that such innovation is not strongly influenced by technical merit. Rather, imitation processes, environmental threat, government regulation, and political influence often dominate highly uncertain adoption processes. Recommendations are made for enhancing the adoption rate for psychology-based personnel innovations.Most industriaVorganizationa1 (I/O) psychologists have probably had the experience of encountering personnel practices in place in large, successful organizations that were, on the surface, the very antithesis of what the discipline prescribes. How, one asks, can a successful organization fail to have implemented state-of-the-art I/O practices? This article provides a selective view of some of the factors that constrain the application of I/O psychology in organizations.One does not have to resort to anecdote to confirm that the application of I/O psychology is often thwarted. Surveys of organizational personnel practices provide fairly convincing evidence.Recruiting. Rynes and Boudreau (1986) surveyed the college recruiting practices of 145 Fortune 1000 corporations. They concluded that college recruiting was managed casually by most of these firms and was not

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Books That Mean Business: The Management Best Sellers

Cited by 12 publications

References 0 publications

Understanding the Academic–Practitioner Gap for Structured Interviews: ‘Behavioral’ interviews diffuse, ‘structured’ interviews do not

Understanding the Academic–Practitioner Gap for Structured Interviews: ‘Behavioral’ interviews diffuse, ‘structured’ interviews do not

Telling Tales: Management Gurus' Narratives and the Construction of Managerial Identity

Constraints on the Adoption of Psychology‐based Personnel Practices: Lessons From Organizational Innovation

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