The Management Myth - Why Experts Keeping Getting it Wrong by Matthew Stewart (Norton, 343 pages, $27.95) will be a good read and a good education for most staff at UNICEF. Just like flawed jargon, there is also the management myth that everything in management theory really manages the organization to prosperity. Bogus management theory are counterproductive in that it creates a whole lot of work and if the end result is that there is no increase in performance, it can be a counterproductive effort (extra effort that achieves nothing).
Like looking at a beautiful car and purchasing it without a test drive, it is the same as embarking on a big management task just because someone called it reengineering. Similarly don't get carried away with beautiful charts and diagrams. In striving for excellence, I would rather think of the way the Japanese work: thinking ahead, getting more with less effort (and this must be proved on a pilot basis first), and selecting the right people for the right jobs.
UNICEF staff in active status will not regret reading this book.
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