Andrew Thomson

Management has always been part of human organization, but it is only in the last two centuries or so that it has been the central driver of economic activity, as companies have moved from family firms to hugely complex, multinational corporations with many layers of management. The term management is commonly used in three ways: as a process or activity; as a structure in any organization; and as a group or class of people carrying out certain roles in an organization. This book is the first detailed account of the evolution of management in all three senses. The focus is mainly on the UK, but throughout the broader question of why corporate management structures developed so impressively in the USA, Germany and Japan is borne in mind, while arguably little progress was made in this regards in the UK. Equally the authors consider why, given that management is now so widely studied, so little careful research has been undertaken into the evolution of the practice and the profession of management. The book is divided into four sections. Part One provides An Introduction to Management History; Part Two, Management and Organization, explores the historical development through the 19th and 20th centuries; Part Three, Managers in Context, looks at the social and cultural context of management and managers; and Part Four considers three key functional areas, labour, marketing, and accounting and finance. This rich, detailed, and path-breaking book will be essential reading for anyone wanting to understand the evolution of management as we now understand it, whether academics, students or managers themselves.

Deeply critical of the West's indifference to developing countries and the UN's repeated failure to intervene decisively, the book provoked massive controversy on its initial publication.

John Owen (1616–1683) was one of the defining theologians in the Christian era. His books have been continually in print and are still influential today. Educated at Queen’s College, Oxford, he was a moderate Presbyterian who became a Congregationalist after reading a book by John Cotton. He later helped draw up the Savoy Declaration, the Congregational Basis of Faith. During the English Civil War Owen was wholly on the side of the Parliamentarians, accompanying Cromwell on expeditions to Scotland and Ireland as Chaplain. Owen was influential in national life and was made Vice–Chancellor of Christ Church Oxford. After the Restoration of the Monarchy he was ejected from this position and devoted his energies to developing ‘godly and learned men’, in writing commentaries and devotional books, and in defending nonconformists from state persecution. Andrew Thomson uses various sources for this biography including Owen’s adversaries ‘who could not be silent on so great a name or withhold reluctant praise.’

Few British pastors can claim to have written a book that is amongst the 'life-books of their generation', yet Boston is one. His Fourfold State of Man has been the instrument of countless conversions and could be said to have changed the zeitgeist of his era as effectively as Luther's Commentary on Galations, Alleine's Alarm to the Unconverted, Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, Edwards' Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, Wilberforce's True Christianity or Lewis' Mere Christianity.

Written in a highly accessible style by a small distinguished team, this is a wide-ranging account of the whole subject of management development, underpinned by the most extensive data set ever made available.