Management - the pursuit of objectives through the organization and co-ordination of people - has been and is a core feature, and function, of modern society. Some "classic" forms of corporate and bureaucratic management may come to be seen as a prevalent form of organization and organizing in the 20th century, and in the post-Fordist, global, knowledge driven contemporary world we are seeing different patterns, principles, and styles of management as old models are questioned.

The functions, ideologies, practices, and theories of management have changed over time, as recorded by many scholars; and may vary according to different models of organization; and between different cultures and societies. Whilst the administrative, corporate, or factory manager may be a figure on the wane, management as an ethos, organizing principle, culture, and field of academic teaching and research has increased dramatically in the last half century, and spread throughout the world.

The purpose of this Handbook is to analyse and explore the evolution of management; the core functions and how they may have changed; its position in the culture/zeitgeist of modern society; the institutions and ideologies that support it; and likely challenges and changes in the future.

This book looks at what management is, and how this may change over time. It provides an overview of management - its history, development, context, changing function in organization and society, key elements and functions, and contemporary and future challenges.

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Adrian Wilkinson is Professor of Employment Relations, and the Director of the Centre for Work, Organisation and Wellbeing, at Griffith University, Australia. Professor Wilkinson has written on many aspects of Human Resource Management and Employment Relations. Recent research encompassed employee participation and voice; high performance work systems and; comparative and international employment relations. He served on the Australian Research Council College of Experts from 2008-2010. He is a Fellow and Accredited Examiner of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development in the UK, the Australian Human Resource Institute, the British Academy of Management, the Academy of Social Sciences, and the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia. He is Co-editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of HRM and the Springer Series in Work, Organization and Employment.

Steven J. Armstrong is currently Professor of Organizational Behaviour and Director of the Doctor of Business Administration and overseas Executive MBA programmes at Hull University Business School. He is also a visiting research fellow at the Vlerick Management School in Ghent, Belgium. He previously spent 15 years at the leading edge of research, design, and development within the electronics industry and became an RandD manager responsible for new product developments involving multi-million pound projects. He has helped organise 13 international events including 10 major conferences, presented more than 50 conference papers, edited 4 books, co-edited 8 books of conference proceedings, and authored more than 40 articles/book chapters.

Professor Michael Lounsbury is the Canada Research Chair in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Alberta School of Business. His research focuses on the relationship between organizational and institutional change, entrepreneurial dynamics, and the emergence of new industries and practices. In addition to serving on a number of editorial boards, Professor Lounsbury is the series editor of Research in the Sociology of Organizations. He has previously served as Chair of the Organization and Management Theory Division of the Academy of Management, and Co-Editor of Organization Studies and Journal of Management Inquiry. His PhD is in Sociology and Organization Behavior from Northwestern University.