{"title":"Robert Spillane","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"overcoming-managerialism-book-robert-spillane-9783110758160","title":"Overcoming Managerialism","description":"Managerialism has often been defined as an ideology, according to which the effective and efficient running of commercial firms, not-for-profit organizations and public administrations is delivered by individuals who possess superior formal knowledge and expertise in management. Arguing to their exclusive education, managers deprive employers and employees of decision-making power and ensconce themselves systematically in the power structure of workplaces to advance their own interests and agenda.    The central thesis of Overcoming Managerialism is that resisting and overcoming managerialism necessitates the re-establishing of the conceptual distinction between power and authority. Second, it requires the rehabilitating of authoritative management as a protection against authoritarian practices. Authority, properly conceived, redirects power to technical experts and professionals and thereby limits managerial power. The authors discuss ten contentions which, taken together, represent a theory of the foundation of management in which authority, power and rhetoric are central concepts.   This book combines academic scholarship with a readable critique of managerialism. It will be of interest to both management scholars and students.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49741456081169,"sku":"NGR9783110758160","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51062250012945,"sku":"NIN9783110758160","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52403862044945,"sku":"NLS9783110758160","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/3110758164.jpg?v=1751455651"},{"product_id":"eye-for-an-i-book-robert-spillane-9781613397626","title":"An Eye for an I","description":"\u003cp\u003eHow can we gain insight into and mastery of ourselves? Entering the world of the great philosophers and engaging with them, we become aware of what we are capable of becoming. They speak to us of themselves and the good life and thereby offer the possibility for self-development. \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhile this sounds like psychology, it is what the ancient Greeks called moral philosophy and its main precept is 'know oneself'. To know oneself is to embrace one's personal power. \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrom Socrates to Sartre, from Plato to postmodernism, philosophers have important things to say about the personal power that underpins human existence. This book discusses ten philosophical perspectives, or worldviews, which present original ideas capable of evoking in us values that are guidelines for personal conduct. Harmonising knowledge, values and conduct maximises our personal power and thereby enables us to solve the practical and psychological problems of human existence, or overcome those that cannot be solved. \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe philosophers discussed in this book embody ideas of considerable fascination and force which can change our lives by penetrating the illusions of appearance and the delusions of common sense. As philosophy is thinking critically about thinking, it is a liberating activity because philosophers confront us with our prejudices and arouse our curiosity without satisfying it.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThey show us what they were and how philosophy inspired them to live productive lives. They did not seek disciples but encouraged others to philosophise with them. \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWe cannot escape from philosophy because we philosophise when we reflect critically on how well we are living.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePhilosophy is, therefore, a meditation on who we are and what we can become: it is an eye for an I.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51039651037457,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51039654215953,"sku":"NIN9781613397626","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52402733973777,"sku":"NLS9781613397626","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1613397623.jpg?v=1751182559"},{"product_id":"overcoming-managerialism-book-robert-spillane-9783111358239","title":"Overcoming Managerialism","description":"Managerialism has often been defined as an ideology, according to which the effective and efficient running of commercial firms, not-for-profit organizations and public administrations is delivered by individuals who possess superior formal knowledge and expertise in management. Arguing to their exclusive education, managers deprive employers and employees of decision-making power and ensconce themselves systematically in the power structure of workplaces to advance their own interests and agenda.    The central thesis of Overcoming Managerialism is that resisting and overcoming managerialism necessitates the re-establishing of the conceptual distinction between power and authority. Second, it requires the rehabilitating of authoritative management as a protection against authoritarian practices. Authority, properly conceived, redirects power to technical experts and professionals and thereby limits managerial power. The authors discuss ten contentions which, taken together, represent a theory of the foundation of management in which authority, power and rhetoric are central concepts.   This book combines academic scholarship with a readable critique of managerialism. It will be of interest to both management scholars and students.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51064257806609,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51064260428049,"sku":"NIN9783111358239","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52330839441681,"sku":"NLS9783111358239","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":52772305469713,"sku":"NGR9783111358239","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/3111358232.jpg?v=1752315033"},{"product_id":"philosophy-of-leadership-book-robert-spillane-9781137499189","title":"Philosophy of Leadership","description":"Philosophy of Leadership has been written to arouse curiosity, not to satisfy it. The authors point out ideas about leadership which draw upon both ancient and modern wisdom. This book develops a philosophy of leadership by tracing the evolution of Western ideas from philosophical perspectives, ancient and modern.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51630313931025,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":51630316192017,"sku":"NGR9781137499189","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52406924640529,"sku":"NLS9781137499189","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1137499184.jpg?v=1751048992"},{"product_id":"entertaining-executives-book-robert-spillane-9781613397374","title":"Entertaining Executives","description":"p\u0026gt;Office politics, power struggles, ulterior motives, personality differences .all combine to make this cynical poke at the executive branch of a typical office highly entertaining. The setting takes you to a management training program where several managers are invited to attend.  \u003cp\u003eAs we watch form the sidelines we are witness to undercurrent of what \u003cem\u003e really \u003c\/em\u003egoes on. This is pure entertainment disguised as education  Using extensive research and personality tests for a look into human behavior we are able to glean from this witty and ironic work. Performance versus personality, management versus leadership all play a part in the clever portrayal of the world of executives. \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAs the managers are skeptical about the motives of those who organize and conduct management conferences, they meet to discuss tactics. At the conference they argue with the psychologist who is trying to entertain them. \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe conference proceeds in the face of questions and arguments which challenge the authority of the psychologist who attempts to control the protagonists. \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBut the conference participants have other ideas. \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSit back in your seats, prepare to laugh uncontrollably. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52400962044177,"sku":"NLS9781613397374","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52752853139729,"sku":"NIN9781613397374","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9781613397374.jpg?v=1758753220"},{"product_id":"philosophical-foundations-of-management-thought-book-robert-spillane-9781793630155","title":"The Philosophical Foundations of Management Thought","description":"The book's premise is that the theories taught in management schools are based on unacknowledged philosophical perspectives that are significant not so much for what they explain, but for what they assume. Rarely made explicit, these perspectives cannot be reconciled, with the result that the study of management has been dominated by contradictions and internecine intellectual warfare. However, the ability critically to analyze these diverse perspectives is essential to practicing and aspiring managers if they are to evaluate expert opinion. Moreover, since management is primarily an exercise in communication, managing is impossible in the darkness of an imprecise language, in the absence of moral references, or in the senseless outline of a world without intellectual foundations. Managing is a prime example of applied philosophy.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52689039425809,"sku":"NLS9781793630155","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9781793630155.jpg?v=1762334383"},{"product_id":"psycho-management-book-robert-spillane-9781613399033","title":"Psycho Management","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe ultimate test of management is performance - the achievement of actual results. Why, then, do Australian managers concern themselves with their colleagues' personalities and motives? Why have they become infatuated with emotional intelligence and, in bizarre cases, with spiritual intelligence? Traditionally, managers who performed earned the right to argue with their colleagues. Nowadays, individuals who argue are said to lack 'soft skills' while a sad few are thought to be suffering from a personality disorder.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe popularity of soft-skill management has created psychomanagers: managers who have entered into a Faustian bargain with psychologists. Some managers work with psychologists to master themselves; others work with psychologists to master other people. As psychomanagement requires specialised knowledge, many Australian managers have yielded their authority to counsellors, coaches and consultants, many of whom believe that human behaviour is determined by internal and external forces over which individuals have little or no control. Accordingly, psychologists have laboured to absorb the idea of the free and responsible individual into a pseudo-scientific framework that denies moral agency. The result is that ideas of 'right' and 'wrong' have been replaced with 'healthy' and 'sick'. In their pursuit of a 'therapeutic state', psychologists have medicalised morality and managers have embraced powerful myths about minds, motive-forces, personality traits, social conditioning, leadership, occupational stress and mental illness. Consequently, the twin ideas of personal freedom and responsibility have been sabotaged. Freud, Maslow, Eysenck, Skinner and other influential psychologists have denied, or minimised the importance of, personal responsibility. And insofar as managers have entered into an unholy alliance with them, they too have minimised personal responsibility at the workplace.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis book is about Australian managers and their long-standing love affair with psychologists. For fifty years the author has studied, taught and consulted with managers and 'waltzed' with several famous psychologists and an infamous psychiatrist. Fortunately, they represented both sides of the debate about personal responsibility and human freedom. This book is, therefore, a personal and selective account of a professional life spent studying the problematic relationship between managers and psychologists.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52751949299985,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52751949594897,"sku":"NIN9781613399033","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9781613399033.jpg?v=1769508633"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/collections\/author-books-by-robert-spillane.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}