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 be seen as the prevalent form of organization and organizing in the 20th century, but 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.

About the Author:
Steven J Armstrong is Professor of Organisational Behaviour at Hull University Business School in the UK and Visiting Research Fellow at the Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School in Belgium. Steve has edited three books, co-edited eight books of conference proceedings, and authored more than forty articles/book chapters. He is currently Associate Editor of Academy of Management Learning & Education and an editorial board member of International Journal of Management Reviews and Journal of Management Education. He is also a Member of the Chartered Institute of Management and remains a Chartered Engineer, and a Member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology.

Michael Lounsbury is Professor, Thornton A. Graham Chair, and Associate Dean of Research at the University of Alberta School of Business, and a Principle Investigator at the Canadian National Institute of Nanotechnology. 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, Co-Editor of Organization Studies, and Associate Editor of the Academy of Management Annals. He is also the Chair Elect of the Organization and Management Theory Division of the Academy of Management.

Adrian Wilkinson is Professor and Director of the Centre for Work, Organisation and Wellbeing, at Griffith University, Australia. He holds Visiting Professorships at Loughborough University, Sheffield University, and the University of Durham, and is an Academic Fellow at the Centre for International Human Resource Management at the Judge Institute, University of Cambridge. Adrian is an author, co-author, or editor of twenty-five books, over 150 articles in refereed journals, and numerous book chapters. Adrian was appointed as a British Academy of Management Fellow in 2010. He is an Academician of the Academy of Social Sciences and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Social Sciences. He has been shortlisted by HR magazine for the award of HR (Human Resources) Most Influential International Thinker.