Henry Mintzberg: photo, biography and main works

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:55

Henry Mintzberg was born in 1939 in a simple but fairly we althy family. His father ran a small clothing business. Henry did well at school, but even then no one could have imagined that he would achieve world success.

Mintzberg is a professor of management at McGill University in Montreal, the oldest and most famous university in Canada.

For a long time, he has consistently ranked at the top of lists of well-known management professionals.

Professor's biography

Henry Mintzberg graduated from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at McGill University, after which he worked in the Operational Research Department of the Canadian Railways. After receiving a master's degree and a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (one of the best institutions in the US and around the world), he began teaching at the Faculty of Management at McGill University. In addition, he is a professor at Carnegie Mellon University (a private university and research center inPittsburgh) and a professor at the Commerciales School of Advanced Studies, the London Business School and the European Business School. Henry Mintzberg is the recipient of fifteen honorary diplomas from universities around the world.

Activities

Each work of Mintzberg is a kind of challenge to established public and professional opinion. In his books, the author analyzes business training systems in major European countries and in the United States. It raises questions about whether the system of education in higher education can even produce a competent manager who can lead a large company or organization in the future.

Henry Mintzberg has published more than a dozen books and more than 150 articles, two of which have won an award from the Harvard Business Review, a 10-issue a year subsidiary of Harvard University.

Management and strategic planning

Management is the management of an organization, whether it be a business, a non-profit organization or a government agency. Management includes activities to determine the organization's strategy and coordinate employees to achieve goals.

Strategic planning is the process of organizing the definition of a strategy on the allocation of resources of an organization and a mechanism for monitoring the implementation of the strategy.

Minzberg Books

• "The rise and fall of strategic planning" - in this book, the author describes in detail the root causes and history of strategic planning, from hisbirth to decline. The author offers a non-standard way to look at different types of strategic planning. Analyzing shortcomings and mistakes, Mintzberg demonstrates how the wrong process can destroy the interest of employees, change the vision of the company.
• Managing the Myths of He althcare - In this book, Henry Mintzberg draws attention to the revision of the management and organization of he alth care. The author talks about the structure of the modern he alth care system and offers options for reorganizing the system in order to turn it into an optimally functioning system. Management strategies should be developed by medical professionals as new methods of treatment and care are developed.
• Henry Mintzberg in "Structure in a Fist" reveals the secrets of the successful existence of the organization, the effective distribution of responsibilities, avoiding unnecessary bureaucracy. The book is recommended not only for students or management professionals, but also for young entrepreneurs who are just starting their own business.
• Strategic Safari is a guide for modern managers who are interested in strategic management, explore the main points, strengths and weaknesses of management practice.
• "We want managers, not MBAs" is where Mintzberg describes his approach to management education, in which the practicing manager must always learn from experience. You cannot become an experienced manager by studying theory alone. And the training system should include as much practice as possible.
• "Strategicprocess” is an excellent guide for students and educators, studying which you can understand all the nuances of developing and implementing a successful strategy.
• Henry Mintzberg in "The Nature and Structure of an Organization Through the Eyes of a Guru" talks about what it takes to manage successfully and effectively.
• "Be efficient! Best management practice” - practical management in various business areas.
• "Why I hate to fly" - the author criticizes the shortcomings of flying, the mistakes in the management business associated with air travel.

Organizational structure

In the book "Creating the structure of organizations", the professor identified several types of organizational structure:

• Simple - the labor process is divided into separate tasks, which are then coordinated.
• Mechanistic bureaucracy - standardization of labor processes.
• Professional bureaucracy - managers have deep knowledge in narrow areas limited by standardization.
• Divisional structure - the allocation of departments (divisions) and their corresponding levels of management.
• Adhocracy - specialists work in a team, coordinating their activities.

Henry Mintzberg loves to write short stories based on personal experience. Here are some of them:

• "Reflection in the door";
• Gopi Farm;
• "Less violence in the world."

Managerial roles

Formed by HenryMintzberg and 10 Leadership Roles. These are behavioral rules that correspond to a specific position.

Interpersonal roles:

1. The chief executive is the head who performs legal and social duties.
2. Leader - Responsible for motivating, recruiting and training subordinates.
3. Connecting link - connects external contacts and sources of information.

Informational roles:

1. Information Receiver - seeks specialized information that is used in the interests of a common cause.
2. Distributing information - transmits data to employees of the organization.
3. Representative - gives information to external contacts.

Decision making:

1. Entrepreneur - looks for opportunities inside and outside the organization, develops projects to improve the operation of the organization.
2. Remedial Officer - Responsible for corrective action.
3. Resource Manager - Responsible for allocating the organization's resources.
4. Negotiator - Responsible for representing the organization in negotiations.

All roles of manager Henry Mintzberg are dependent on each other and must act as a unit.

How the manager works

The job of a manager is routine programmed work with unexpected tasks.

A manager is a universal specialist and a narrow-profile worker at the same time.

The manager receives information from various sources.

A manager's job description is short-term and varied.

In today's world, the job of a manager is getting more and more difficult.

Contribution to management development

Henry Mintzberg has been a leader among management researchers for a very long time. His works are studied in almost all higher educational institutions. A striking feature of Mintzberg's research findings is that he often emphasized the importance of an alternative strategy:

• Strategy is not a consequence of planning, but rather its starting point.
• Management is practice and art when science and craft meet.
• Organizations are a community of people, not a collection of human resources.

Henry Mintzberg is one of the greatest thinkers in the management of organizations. The works of the famous professor remain the basis for the formation of leaders.