Incompetence Compensation Competence

The Management Humbug
Authentic stories ironically debunk management myths

Since the broadcast of the British sitcom "The Office" and such counterparts as France's "Le Bureau", Canada's "La Job" or Germany's "Stromberg", even the man in the street suspects that the world of management is not quite as illustrious as it may appear at first glance. While management gurus praise their unerring success strategies, management in real life looks rather different. Where managers refer to reason and rational decision-making citing business economics, the reality of management actually follows the rules of psychology and sociology.
Typically, what managers like to sell as competence is essentially a myth distracting from the driving forces behind management: status, careerism, vanity … you name it. Looking at business from this angle can make management narratives wonderfully entertaining.
In this book, the ex-manager and sociologist Dr. Ralf Lisch has recorded some of the best scenarios. He condenses his comprehensive practical management experience into ten paradigmatic stories from the wondrous world of international management.
The result is an ironic broadside against arrogance and snootiness in management - proving that managers are no different from common folk.
Target group: managers, future managers as well as everybody who wants to better understand how things really are in management.

Dr. phil. Ralf Lisch (*1951) studied sociology with major focus on organizations and human resources as well as statistics and social research both in Germany and in the USA. After a career in academic and applied research, for the past several decades he has held various leading positions in companies in Germany and abroad and is on intimate terms with the peculiarities of management. Meanwhile, he has made his home in Singapore where he works as a freelance author and consultant. Lisch has published several books and articles about both scientific and popular topics.