Manajemen | Fakultas Ekonomi Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji joeb.83.4.246-248_2

Journal of Education for Business

ISSN: 0883-2323 (Print) 1940-3356 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vjeb20

Book Review
James L. Morrison
To cite this article: James L. Morrison (2008) Book Review, Journal of Education for Business,
83:4, 246-248, DOI: 10.3200/JOEB.83.4.246-248
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.3200/JOEB.83.4.246-248

Published online: 07 Aug 2010.

Submit your article to this journal

Article views: 9

View related articles

Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at
http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=vjeb20
Download by: [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji]

Date: 11 January 2016, At: 23:11

BOOK฀REVIEW
Christopher,฀William฀F.฀Holistic฀
Management:฀Managing฀What฀Matters฀
for฀Company฀Success.฀Hoboken,฀NJ:฀
Wiley,฀2007,฀503฀pp.฀ISBN:฀978-0-47174063-6.฀$99.95.

Downloaded by [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji] at 23:11 11 January 2016

I

n฀ Holistic฀ Management:฀ Managing฀
What฀ Matters฀ for฀ Company฀ Success,฀ William฀ F.฀ Christopher฀ presents฀ a฀
new฀ approach฀ to฀ managing฀ an฀ organization฀ whether฀ it฀ is฀ in฀ the฀ nonprofit,฀
for-profit,฀ or฀ public฀ sector.฀ Specifically,฀
Christopher฀ builds฀ a฀ relation฀ between฀
two฀recently฀developed฀managerial฀areas฀
that฀ can฀ significantly฀ improve฀ organizational฀ performance:฀ system฀ science฀ and฀

key฀ performance฀ parameters.฀ He฀ refers฀
to฀ this฀ approach฀ as฀ providing฀ holistic฀
understanding฀ of฀ management.฀ Thus,฀
the฀ focus฀ is฀ on฀ assisting฀ individuals฀ in฀
an฀ organization฀ to฀ prepare฀ for฀ change,฀
innovation,฀ and฀ growth฀ by฀ building฀ on฀
traditional฀principles฀of฀management฀that฀
typically฀ have฀ focused฀ on฀ the฀ functions฀
of฀ planning,฀ organizing,฀ implementing,฀
and฀assessing฀organizational฀activities.฀
Christopher฀ argues฀ that฀ systems฀
thinking฀ provides฀ a฀ holistic฀ view฀ of฀
how฀ ฀ aspects฀ of฀ an฀ organization฀ relate฀
to฀ one฀ another฀ and฀ how฀ everything฀
works.฀He฀builds฀on฀the฀readily฀accepted฀ adage฀ that฀ a฀ system฀ is฀ much฀ more฀
than฀the฀sum฀of฀its฀parts.฀The฀primary฀
purpose฀of฀systems฀thinking฀is฀the฀creation฀ of฀ value฀ for฀ customers฀ in฀ ways฀
that฀ enable฀ the฀ company฀ to฀ achieve฀
sustainable฀ profitability.฀ The฀ author,฀
therefore,฀ presents฀ those฀ technologies฀

and฀methods฀necessary฀to฀achieve฀this฀
objective฀by฀means฀of฀linking฀specific฀
key฀performance฀parameters฀that฀were฀
derived฀from฀Peter฀Drucker’s฀classical฀
measures฀ for฀ assuring฀ organizational฀
sustainability.฀ Drucker’s฀ eight฀ principles฀ for฀ success฀ are฀ (a)฀ market฀ position,฀ (b)฀ productivity,฀ (c)฀ innovation,฀
(d)฀ physical฀ and฀ financial฀ resources,฀
(e)฀ manager฀ performance,฀ (f)฀ worker฀
performance,฀(g)฀public฀responsibility,฀
and฀(h)฀profitability.฀

246฀

Journal฀of฀Education฀for฀Business

In฀ chapter฀ 1,฀ Christopher฀ provides฀ a฀
framework฀ of฀ the฀ holistic฀ approach฀ to฀
the฀ study฀ of฀ management฀ and฀ how฀ it฀
may฀ be฀ applied฀ to฀ advance฀ organizational฀ goals.฀ In฀ addition,฀ he฀ introduces฀
the฀concept฀and฀cybernetics฀that฀reflect฀

the฀science฀of฀communication฀and฀control.฀ He฀ describes฀ them฀ as฀ two฀ critical฀components฀to฀systems฀thinking.฀In฀
this฀ regard,฀ Christopher฀ characterizes฀
a฀ system฀ as฀ having฀ either฀ homeostasis,฀
a฀ tendency฀ for฀ managers฀ to฀ maintain฀
an฀ organization฀ in฀ its฀ present฀ state,฀ or฀
heterostasis,฀a฀tendency฀for฀individuals฀
in฀ an฀ organization฀ to฀ promote฀ change฀
and฀ improvement.฀ In฀ chapter฀ 2,฀ Christopher฀ builds฀ on฀ Stafford฀ Beer’s฀ viable฀
system฀ model฀ (VSM)฀ to฀ generate฀ his฀
own฀model฀for฀systems฀analysis.฀Viable฀
system฀modeling฀provides฀a฀framework฀
to฀ dissect฀ an฀ organization’s฀ structure฀
and,฀ specifically,฀ the฀ internal฀ environments฀ within฀ its฀ boundaries.฀ In฀ chapter฀ 3,฀ Christopher฀ includes฀ a฀ number฀
of฀ examples฀ that฀ demonstrate฀ how฀
Beer’s฀VSM฀may฀be฀applied฀to฀improve฀฀
performance.
In฀ chapter฀ 4,฀ Christopher฀ introduces฀
his฀ seven฀ key฀ performance฀ areas฀ that฀
determine฀every฀organization’s฀success.฀
These฀ performance฀ keys฀ for฀ success,฀

derived฀ from฀ Drucker’s฀ classical฀ performance฀ theory,฀ are฀ (a)฀ creating฀ customers,฀ (b)฀ innovation,฀ (c)฀ quality฀ and฀
productivity,฀ (d)฀ physical฀ and฀ financial฀
resources,฀ (e)฀ organization฀ capability,฀
(f)฀ public฀ and฀ environment฀ responsibility,฀ and฀ (g)฀ profitability.฀ The฀ next฀ 7฀
chapters฀are฀devoted฀to฀elaborating฀each฀
of฀these฀aspects฀of฀management.
For฀ example,฀ in฀ chapter฀ 5,฀ Christopher฀ focuses฀ on฀ planning฀ and฀ continuous฀ budgeting฀ as฀ a฀ new฀ version฀ of฀
controlling฀ an฀ organization’s฀ finances.฀
Christopher฀ argues฀ that฀ this฀ is฀ more฀
effective฀ than฀ adhering฀ to฀ producing฀
one฀annual฀budget฀each฀year.฀In฀chapter฀
6,฀ he฀ promotes฀ what฀ he฀ refers฀ to฀ as฀ a฀
vital฀ performance฀ key฀ related฀ to฀ creating฀ and฀ maintaining฀ customer฀ satisfaction฀over฀the฀long฀run.฀In฀chapter฀7,฀he฀

emphasizes฀the฀need฀to฀produce฀quality฀
products฀ and฀ services฀ through฀ continuous฀improvement.฀In฀chapter฀8,฀Christopher฀promotes฀the฀need฀to฀be฀innovative฀
by฀seeking฀new฀and฀different฀strategies฀
for฀ delivering฀ on฀ expectations฀ held฀ by฀
important฀ stakeholders.฀ In฀ chapter฀ 9,฀
he฀ discusses฀ the฀ soft฀ side฀ of฀ management฀ in฀ assuring฀ that฀ individuals฀ work฀

together฀effectively฀to฀train฀and฀prepare฀
them฀to฀eventually฀assume฀senior฀leadership฀ positions฀ in฀ an฀ organization.฀ In฀
chapter฀10,฀he฀discusses฀how฀important฀
it฀is฀for฀managers฀to฀relate฀successfully฀
to฀ the฀ leadership฀ in฀ local฀ communities฀
and฀ to฀ representatives฀ at฀ all฀ levels฀ of฀
government.฀Last,฀in฀chapter฀11,฀Christopher฀ integrates฀ significant฀ economic฀
principles฀ into฀ his฀ final฀ performance฀
indicator฀ that,฀ when฀ adopted,฀ enhance฀
the฀likelihood฀of฀achieving฀profitability฀
and฀enhancing฀shareholder฀value.฀
The฀book฀presents฀useful฀knowledge฀
about฀the฀most฀current฀thinking฀in฀managerial฀effectiveness.฀Christopher฀tries฀to฀
assist฀the฀reader฀in฀applying฀the฀knowledge฀ presented฀ in฀ the฀ book฀ through฀
discovery฀ learning฀ and฀ repetition.฀ In฀
presenting฀ what฀ is฀ identified฀ as฀ a฀ new฀
systems฀ science฀ for฀ managing฀ business฀
operations,฀ the฀ objective฀ is฀ to฀ increase฀
what฀ is฀ delineated฀ as฀ an฀ organization’s฀
greatest฀asset฀(i.e.,฀the฀intellectual฀capability฀of฀its฀managers).฀With฀this฀vision฀

as฀a฀backdrop,฀Christopher฀engages฀the฀
reader฀ at฀ a฀ personal฀ level฀ to฀ apply฀ the฀
new฀ systems฀ science฀ to฀ everyday฀ practices฀ by฀ addressing฀ issues฀ presented฀
through฀a฀variety฀of฀case฀studies.฀There฀
are฀ numerous฀ opportunities฀ throughout฀
the฀book฀to฀test฀one’s฀understanding฀of฀
the฀ systems฀ science฀ approach฀ to฀ management.฀ Thus,฀ Christopher฀ combines฀
cutting-edge฀knowledge,฀personal฀experience,฀ and฀ common฀ sense฀ in฀ putting฀
forth฀a฀practical฀book฀on฀management.
The฀book,฀however,฀is฀not฀for฀everyone.฀ The฀ intensity฀ of฀ the฀ writing฀ style,฀
case฀ studies,฀ and฀ models฀ discussed฀
require฀ an฀ ability฀ to฀ comprehend฀ some฀
difficult฀and฀challenging฀material฀within฀

Downloaded by [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji] at 23:11 11 January 2016

the฀ context฀ of฀ managerial฀ responsibilities.฀ Therefore,฀ although฀ Christopher฀
appears฀ to฀ target฀ the฀ managers฀ who฀
want฀to฀upgrade฀their฀understanding฀of฀
how฀ to฀ analyze฀ existing฀ organizational฀ issues,฀ he฀ also฀ has฀ put฀ together฀ an฀

offering฀for฀undergraduates฀in฀business฀
programs฀who฀are฀seeking฀a฀more฀intensive฀ study฀ in฀ systems฀ thinking.฀ Therefore,฀the฀book฀may฀also฀be฀appropriate฀
for฀ faculty฀ seeking฀ to฀ help฀ produce฀ a฀
future฀ group฀ of฀ managers฀ who฀ desire฀
to฀ reshape฀ existing฀ business฀ models.฀
The฀ methods,฀ tools,฀ and฀ technologies฀
discussed฀ throughout฀ the฀ book฀ repre-

sent฀ the฀ most฀ current฀ thinking฀ in฀ the฀
field.฀This฀holistic฀approach฀to฀studying฀
management฀provides฀an฀opportunity฀to฀
advance฀an฀organization’s฀prowess.
The฀two฀intriguing฀aspects฀of฀the฀text฀
are฀ the฀ focus฀ on฀ the฀ concepts฀ of฀ selforganization฀and฀self-control.฀In฀an฀era฀
when฀ change฀ can฀ be฀ so฀ dramatic฀ and฀
continuous,฀ managers฀ need฀ the฀ ability฀
to฀ quickly฀ react฀ to฀ competitive฀ challenges.฀Therefore,฀the฀need฀to฀wait฀for฀
those฀ in฀ senior฀ management฀ to฀ finalize฀ decisions฀ typical฀ of฀ the฀ industrial฀
model฀ of฀ the฀ past฀ may฀ no฀ longer฀ be฀
appropriate฀ today.฀ Having฀ the฀ capabil-

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

ity฀to฀change฀direction฀and฀to฀have฀units฀
in฀ an฀ organization฀ control฀ their฀ own฀
operations฀ may฀ provide฀ the฀ flexibility฀
required฀ to฀ advance฀ the฀ likelihood฀ of฀
success.฀The฀book฀is฀an฀excellent฀reference฀for฀building฀individual฀capacity฀to฀

understand฀ the฀ managerial฀ principles฀
behind฀ the฀ decision-making฀ process฀
required฀ to฀ cope฀ with฀ change฀ and฀ the฀
disruptions฀that฀ensue.฀
James฀L.฀Morrison
University฀of฀Delaware
Newark,฀DE
Copyright฀©฀2008฀Heldref฀Publications

�

�

�

�

�

�

�����������฀�฀��������฀
����฀������฀�฀����฀������฀฀
�������฀����฀������฀฀
��������฀�฀������฀������฀
����������฀����฀������
��� � � �� ฀ � � � � � � ��� �� �
� � � ��� � � � � � � ฀ � ��� �� �฀
��฀ � �� ฀ � � � � � � �฀
� � � � � � � � �� �฀ � �฀ � � � � � � � � � �
��฀ � � � �� � � �� � � �
��฀ � � � �� � � �� � � �
� � � ��� ���� � ��� � � � � � � � ��� ����� � ฀
��� �� � � �� ฀ � ��� �� �฀
� � � � ฀ �� � ��� � �� � ฀ �� ��฀ � � ฀
���� � � � �� � �฀ � �฀ � � � � � � � � � � ฀
��฀ � � � �� � � �� � � �
��฀ � � � �� � � �� � � �
���� ���� ���� � ��

฀

March/April฀2008฀

247

Journal
of

E ducation
B usiness

for

Downloaded by [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji] at 23:11 11 January 2016

Scope฀of฀JEB
The฀JOURNAL฀OF฀EDUCATION฀FOR฀฀
BUSINESS฀features฀original฀basic฀and฀applied฀research฀
articles฀in฀accounting,฀communications,฀economics,฀finance,฀
information฀systems,฀information฀technology,฀management,฀
management฀information฀systems฀(MIS),฀marketing,฀and฀
emerging฀disciplines.฀Articles฀are฀selected฀through฀a฀blind฀
peer-review฀process.฀
The฀journal฀entertains฀articles฀that฀deal฀with฀significant฀
trends฀and฀issues฀affecting฀education฀for฀business;฀curriculum฀development฀and฀evaluation฀of฀educational฀programs฀in฀
traditional฀and฀nontraditional฀settings;฀the฀process฀of฀instruction฀in฀accounting฀and฀finance,฀business฀fundamentals฀(math,฀
law,฀economics,฀communications,฀organization),฀consumer฀
economics,฀management,฀marketing,฀microcomputers,฀and฀
office฀systems฀(office฀support฀staff฀training,฀information฀
processing).฀Articles฀review฀and฀report฀on฀successful฀innovations฀and฀practice,฀propose฀theoretical฀formulations,฀or฀advocate฀positions฀on฀important฀and฀controversial฀issues.฀

Instructions฀to฀Contributors
Contributors฀should฀submit฀a฀blinded฀copy฀of฀their฀manuscript฀to฀http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/฀
heldref/jebs
Include฀the฀names฀and฀contact฀information฀for฀all฀
authors฀in฀a฀separate฀cover฀letter;฀this฀file฀should฀be฀submitted฀in฀the฀space฀provided฀for฀cover฀letters฀or฀attached฀
as฀a฀separate฀file฀designated฀“not฀for฀review.”฀฀
Authors฀should฀provide฀up฀to฀five฀keywords฀for฀indexing฀(except฀for฀book฀reviews)฀and฀adhere฀to฀the฀Publication฀
Manual,฀5th฀ed.,฀American฀Psychological฀Association,฀Washington,฀DC,฀2001,฀for฀style฀guidelines฀in฀the฀preparation฀of฀
manuscripts.
Once฀received,฀manuscripts฀are฀reviewed฀by฀a฀consulting฀
editor฀and฀one฀of฀the฀executive฀editors.฀The฀review฀process฀
takes฀approximately฀3฀months.฀Authors฀of฀accepted฀manuscripts฀receive฀complimentary฀online฀access฀to฀the฀issue฀in฀
which฀their฀article฀or฀review฀appears.

Regular฀Manuscripts
Regular฀manuscripts฀should฀normally฀not฀exceed฀4,000฀
words,฀should฀not฀be฀simultaneously฀submitted฀elsewhere,฀
and฀should฀not฀have฀been฀previously฀published.฀If฀data฀
have฀been฀used฀in฀a฀prior฀study,฀authors฀must฀indicate฀
that฀the฀new฀study฀is฀a฀follow-up฀to฀the฀previous฀one.฀
•฀Submit฀blinded฀copies฀of฀any฀tables฀and฀figures฀as฀separate฀
files.
•฀Reproductions฀of฀figures฀(graphs฀and฀charts)฀may฀be฀submitted฀for฀review฀purposes,฀but฀the฀originals฀must฀be฀supplied฀if฀the฀manuscript฀is฀accepted฀for฀publication.฀Tables฀
and฀figures฀should฀be฀prepared฀in฀accordance฀with฀the฀
instructions฀given฀in฀the฀APA’s฀Publication฀Manual฀(see฀pp.฀
120–162).฀
•฀Avoid฀explanatory฀notes฀whenever฀possible฀by฀incorporating฀their฀content฀into฀the฀text.฀For฀essential฀notes,฀identify฀
them฀with฀consecutive฀superscripts฀and฀list฀them฀in฀a฀section฀entitled฀NOTES฀at฀the฀end฀of฀the฀text.
•฀An฀abstract฀of฀75–100฀words฀should฀be฀provided฀on฀the฀
first฀page.฀
Revisions฀not฀previously฀submitted฀on฀Manuscript฀Central฀
must฀be฀submitted฀as฀new฀manuscripts฀and฀will฀be฀given฀new฀
manuscript฀numbers.฀For฀reference฀purposes,฀please฀indicate฀the฀previous฀manuscript฀number฀where฀prompted฀
to฀do฀so.฀The฀revised฀document฀should฀show฀all฀changes฀
(e.g.,฀in฀Track฀Changes฀or฀a฀different฀font฀color).฀Please฀
also฀include฀a฀blinded฀copy฀of฀the฀response฀to฀the฀reviewers’฀
comments,฀which฀should฀be฀submitted฀as฀a฀“supplementary฀
file฀for฀review.”฀As฀with฀all฀submissions,฀the฀names฀and฀contact฀information฀for฀authors฀should฀appear฀only฀in฀the฀cover฀
letter.฀
Book฀Reviews
•฀Book฀reviews฀must฀be฀between฀1,250฀and฀1,500฀words.฀
The฀focus฀of฀book฀reviewed฀must฀directly฀relate฀to฀issues฀
covered฀in฀the฀journal.฀
•฀Include฀the฀book฀author,฀title,฀ISBN฀number,฀cost,฀publisher,฀edition,฀and฀date฀published.฀
•฀Reviews฀should฀include฀the฀following฀elements:฀scope฀of฀
text฀and฀target฀market;฀level฀of฀experience฀required฀for฀the฀
reader;฀type฀of฀information฀provided฀in฀the฀text;฀main฀topics฀included฀in฀the฀text;฀a฀listing฀of฀the฀book’s฀strengths฀and฀
weaknesses;฀recommendation฀for฀its฀use.