 Detail of title page of eleventh printing | |
| Author | Chester I. Barnard |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Business/Nonfiction/Management/Leadership/Grad School |
| Publisher | Harvard University Press |
Publication date | 1938 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (hardcover) |
| Pages | xvi + 334 |
| OCLC | 555075 |
| LC Class | HD31 .B36 |
The Functions of the Executive is a book by Chester I. Barnard (1886–1961) that presents a "theory of cooperation and organization" and "a study of the functions and of the methods of operation of executives in formal organizations."[1]: xi–xii It was originally published in 1938; a Thirtieth Anniversary edition, published in 1968, is still in print.[2][3]
The book is notable for its focus on how organizations actually operate, instead of previous approaches to organizations that emphasized "prescriptive principles."[4]: 277 It has been praised for being one of the first books to consider leadership from a social and psychological viewpoint.[5]: 67 An article in Public Administration Review reported that an informal advisory panel voted it one of the most influential books in public administration published between 1940 and 1990.[6] It was voted the second most influential management book of the 20th century in a poll of the Fellows of the Academy of Management, behind The Principles of Scientific Management by Frederick Winslow Taylor.[7]
- ^ Barnard, Chester I. (1938). The Functions of the Executive. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. OCLC 555075.
- ^ Barnard, Chester I. (1968). The Functions of the Executive (Thirtieth Anniversary ed.). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0674328006.
- ^ "The Functions of the Executive: 30th Anniversary Edition". Harvard University Press. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
- ^ Rainey, Hal G. (1991). Understanding and Managing Public Organizations (1st ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. ISBN 978-1555423445.
- ^ Gabor, Andrea (2000). The Capitalist Philosophers: the Geniuses of Modern Business – Their Lives, Times, and Ideas. New York: Times Business. ISBN 978-0812928204.
- ^ Sherwood, Frank P. (1990). "The Half-Century's 'Great Books' in Public Administration". Public Administration Review. 50 (2): 249–264. doi:10.2307/976872. JSTOR 976872.
- ^ Bedeian, Arthur G.; Wren, Daniel A. (Winter 2001). "Most Influential Management Books of the 20th Century" (PDF). Organizational Dynamics. 29 (3): 221–225. doi:10.1016/S0090-2616(01)00022-5.