Open-Book Management: Coming Business Revolution, the

"Companies that practice open-book management seem to have captured some sort of lightning in a bottle." -- Chris Lee, Training

"This book should be required reading in corporate America." -- Chicago Tribune

"If you want to give your preconceived notions a good kick in the you-know-where, give Case the opportunity to articulate the merits of open-book management." -- Entrepreneur

Open-book management is not so much a technique as a way of thinking, a process that actively involves employees in the financial life of the company. Numerous companies have already found that employees who are informed and aware of the company's financial situation are motivated to seek solutions to problems and assume a greater degree of responsibility for its performance. John Case begins by examining the current competitive climate and the history of established management techniques. He shows how the traditional treatment of workers as "hired hands" with little involvement or responsibility beyond their own area is no longer effective in today's ever more competitive global environment.

Case clearly and carefully explains the principles of open-book management: timely sharing of crucial financial information with employees; educating the employees to understand and apply the information; empowering employees to apply the information to their own work; and offering employees a stake in the successful implementation of their ideas. Open-book management will take different forms at every company, Case notes, but he offers a wide range of suggestions and guidelines for implementing these principles. He concludes with a series of in-depth case studies, featuring companies of various sizes and financial situations that have successfully implemented open-book management. Open-Book Management is the indispensable guide to teaching employees how to think and act like owners.

Author: John Case
Publisher: Harper Business
Published: 04/12/1996
Pages: 224
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.45lbs
Size: 7.21h x 5.34w x 0.62d
ISBN: 9780887308024

About the Author
Case, John: - John Case is a veteran observer and interpreter of the business world. A senior writer at Inc. magazine, he writes the popular syndicated newspaper column The Inc. Report, as well as numerous feature articles for the magazine itself. He is the author of three books, including From the Ground Up: The Resurgence of Entrepreneurship in America, described by The New York Times as lively, sensible, swiftly paced, and by Tom Peters as an important book at an important moment.