Abstract

This article introduces the book, which provides a re-evaluation of the contributions of the most significant management theorists to the field of management. It establishes the need for this volume, and presents its design and structure. The article describes the tricky process of determining who should be included in the volume, using a three-dimensional model, the three dimensions being length, breadth, and depth. There is the need to recognize the contributions that certain seminal figures, past and present, have made to the theory of management. The ‘paradigm shift’, from thinking about management to management theory and management systems, began with Frederick Taylor. Some contributions have taken many forms and range from what might be called ‘progressive orthodox’, such as those from Chester Barnard and Sumantra Ghoshal, to those of the ‘revolutionaries’ such as Taylor and Herbert Simon, to the openly heterodox such as Henry Mintzberg.