Customer Reviews

Managing People: A Guide for Department Chairs and Deans (Jossey-Bass Resources for Department Chairs)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a valuable book and whether you're a dean or a department chair--or for that matter, anyone who "manages" people--it needs to be somewhere you can get your hands on it immediately. Its contributors offer some useful, practical advice not found in enough books that are written primarily for educators.

While it does have some helpful ideas, most citations are four to twenty years old (with more of the latter). As a result, some of the advice given is questionable, as the research cited to support it is very out of date. I realize some organizational "truths" remain as true today as they were two decades ago, but there have been many changes in the academic scene since, and many changes in the typical job of the department chair.

This book on Managing People is outstanding; I urge you to order a copy, put it somewhere nearby. That way you'll be able get your hands on it quickly. Just make off with a copy, if you must, though I warn you not to touch the Provost's copy, which is presuming that he or she has one, and I find that not too difficult to imagine! This is a book you're sure to use time and time again. It's that good.

Dr. Russell Smith

Some generic advice from a series of papers and presentations. Nothing all that new or useful.