False Prophets: The Gurus Who Created Modern Management and Why Their Ideas Are Bad for Business Today

According to Jim Hoopes, the fundamental principles on which business is based-authority, power, control-are increasingly at odds with principles of life in a democratic society-freedom, equality, individualism. False Prophets critically examines the pioneering theories of the early management thinkers, such as Taylor, Follett, Mayo, and Deming, which intended to democratize corporate life yet have proved antithetical to the successful practice of business. Hoopes challenges popular management movements that followed in the wake of these thinkers and accuses today's business theorists of perpetuating bad management in the name of democratic values. He urges executives and managers to recognize the realities of corporate life and learn to apply the principles of power. He also unveils a new management agenda that will be of paramount significance to modern organizations.A rich and lively read, False Prophets provides a refreshingly new and original overview of the history of management in the larger context of the American culture, brilliantly illustrating its evolution-from the ivory tower to the shop floor.

James Hoopes is Distinguished Professor of History at Babson College. An expert on American culture and intellectual history, he is a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, an NEH Fellowship, and a senior Fulbright lectureship in England. He also received a grant from Alfred A. Sloan Foundation to support the writing of this book. The author of several books, he lives in Wellesley, Massachusetts.