Editorial: Every manager, a historian

Abstract

To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child. For what is the worth of human life, unless it is woven into the life of our ancestors by the records of history? (Marcus Tullius Cicero, Roman Senator and Consul) As this is my first editorial as solo Editor in Chief of the Journal of Management History, I want to accomplish two tasks. The first is that I want to thank Brad Bowden for his excellent work as editor and then co-editor of the journal. I believe I am not alone in thinking that Brad strengthened the journal by bringing in and developing new authors, opening the journal to the debates in the field and encouraging the journal to be a "big-tent" or "broadchurch" in that we publish a wide range of articles everything from traditional management history to post-modernist and amodernist perspectives on history. Although Brad was a frequent and enthusiastic participant (some would say too enthusiastic) in debates, nevertheless he promoted and published a wide range of scholars. The management history field owes him a debt of gratitude.My second task is to lay out a vision of management history to illustrate its absolute importance to management practice and research. Currently, management history is at the periphery of the profession as there are few courses offered in the topic. Most scholars in the mainstream deem management history as being "too trivial." I believe this sentiment stems from a lack of understanding of the terms "management" and "history." Although these terms are frequently used, they are often misunderstood by scholars and practitioners alike. I believe that this confusion has lowered the importance of management history throughout the curriculum and even the practicing managers we seek to educate. For example, there are differing definitions and competing ideologies that confuse and befuddle scholars. A potential solution is to ask the basic question: how we reduce the definition to the lowest common denominator? Accordingly, I would like to define what I mean by these terms and by doing so to illustrate their vital importance to management research and practice.Management is simplegetting work done collaboratively through others. As such, it covers a wide range of business activities and is not limited to organizational behavior, human resource management, operations or strategy, but can consider entrepreneurship, marketing, accounting, finance and other business fields. In addition, given that getting work done through others is broadly understood, conceptualizing management can also consider literatures such as psychology, sociology, economics, political science and anthropology. Management scholars often use these areas (sometimes shamelessly) to develop theories and interventions for management problems. Indeed, management is so varied and diverse, I will not claim that I am exhaustive in either list I provide.Whereas management can be defined and its importance obvious, the definition of history is more diffuse, questionable and its importance deba...