Work, Management, and the Business of Living

In the modern economic paradigm characterized by a multitude of business management theories aimed at maximizing profits, there is a danger of formalizing management techniques to the extent of dehumanizing individuals or reducing them to humanoids. This book deals with familiar concepts in the management literature, but always in light of the model of the human person. It sheds light on organizing processes in individuals, small groups, and organizations and other large social systems by covering empirical research on three central topics — modes of influence, intrapersonal communication, and change — through which the social context is constantly shifting. Concepts from other fields are also introduced by the author into the field of management, such as philosophy, biology, sociology, semantics, and mythology, to name a few. As a protest against behaviorism, materialism, objectivism, determinism, elitism, and many other “-ism's” that degrade the human person, this book provides food for thought to students of management and organizational behavior, psychologists and sociologists, as well as political scientists and leaders of business and nonbusiness institutions.