Renaissance Management: The Rebirth of Energy and Innovation in People and Organisations

Citation

(2000), "Renaissance Management: The Rebirth of Energy and Innovation in People and Organisations", Work Study, Vol. 49 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/ws.2000.07949bae.003

Renaissance Management: The Rebirth of Energy and Innovation in People and Organisations

Stephen CarterKogan PageISBN 0 7494 2374 9£18.99

Keywords Innovation, History, Organizational culture

This book takes the history and culture of the renaissance as a metaphor and frame of reference for modern business organisations. Carter examines the evolution of the modern equivalent to the multi-skilled renaissance merchant/soldier/poet - the multi-skilled flexible worker. He challenges some of the traditional assumptions concerning the nature of organisations and the relationship they must have with their workforce. In particular, he criticises the notion of fixed "roles" in favour of a more flexible and holistic approach to working practice and organisational structure. Fortunately, he does not attempt to identify a whole set of new skills to make his new approaches work, preferring to identify and concentrate on the proper application of "traditional" management skills. His argument is that, in a new environment, such skills need to be applied in new ways - by renaissance managers! He draws on past management thinking, from a diverse range of sources, from Luther and Machiavelli through Drake and Shakespeare, to the modern gurus to show that the basic approaches of organising, motivating and energising have always been the secret to success.