Mythmanagement - Tapa dura

This is about the myths surrounding company diversification. Out of this grows an attack on the other great myths underpinning management theory and teaching. It is important that managers and educators understand their interdependence, and the gulf that nonetheless exists between them. Milton Leontiades is one of America's leading business educators who has also spent half a lifetime in top level business. It is from this perspective that he is able to evaluate the damage done to management training by the myths enshrined in theories of the firm; the theory of efficient markets; the belief that specialization is the key to performance and that industry structures are stable or that national economies are closed systems. These myths affect business itself because they find safe harbour in the academic sector, estranging it from what managers do in the real world. The force and clarity of the argument stem from the author's real practical experience, and the central themes must be addressed by those in business and those who teach it. If Japanese managers had formal business education, they might still be selling cheap radios and textile goods to the world. As it is, Japanese firms became formidable global competitors precisely because they contradicted conventional wisdom. If Japanese companies can succeed with no business education, how appropriate is the body of knowledge we have, and what changes must be made to ensure it helps business in the future?