Book Review (Spotlight Weekly)

Management Motifs

Dr. Ken Affaul explains the management challenges the South faces

By A CORRESSPONDENT

It a time when countries in the South are facing different challenges in social, economic and other areas of development, Dr. Ken Affaul has come out with a volume that focuses on solutions from a management perspective. Dr. Affaul introduces the concepts of general management, starting from the history of management thinking. He then talks about the broader role of the manager. In general, the book elaborates on all the issues of management in broad terms.

Dr. Affaul, who has worked as professor of organizational behavior and organization development at the School of Management in Kathmandu, explains complicated matters of management through a practical approach.

"This book is a practical approach to understanding organization development process and the conceptual framework for its practice. It is an attempt to synthesize and make accessible to a wider variety of audience useful concepts and intervention of organization and development," says Dr. Affaul.

Changes in the behavior and patterns of human life are changing the business and economic environment. What is required in such a situation is dynamic and efficient manpower. "Keeping in view the current volatile and competitive environment, there is a critical need for a practical and straightforward approach to help organizations develop the adaptive and coping capabilities to change and competition," says Dr. Affaul.

Dr. Affaul has written several books dealing with the challenges and crises in the management sector and in making the organization more effective and strong. As a senior adviser to the Organization and Development Center of Nepal - an independent management firm that focuses on development, management and education - Dr. Affaul has extensive knowledge of the failures and successes of various development organizations.

Divided into five main parts, the book begins with a discussion on the concepts of general management. The second chapter deals with the broad concepts of management, including definition of a manager and the skills he or she requires. The chapter also deals with the main roles of the manager. In the third chapter, the author deals with the different organizations and organizational structures, while chapter four and five explain the decision-making process and management of people, respectively.

The remaining three chapters deal with human resources, leadership, communication and the concept of delegation. As a book related to management, it also examines the organizational capabilities in the changing context. As new approaches are introduced into society, the chances of conflicts rise. Experience has shown that many organizations have been unable to perform their role in harmony.

Describing management in a holistic approach, the author also discusses the working environment dealing with change. Dr. Affaul holds the view that the solution of problems should be based on socio-economic, political, cultural and technological environment of the South. He argues that solutions should focus on the South’s own way of doing things. Managers should not lose sight of the fact that the world’s economy is truly global and that no solution to a country’s management and organization problems can be sustained unless the global environmental influences on organizations are also considered, he adds.

The book is useful to students, managers and policymakers in the South, who face increasingly new challenges in professionalism and efficiency.