The Managerial Mystique: Restoring Leadership in Business

In this study of modern corporate management, Harvard Business School professor Zaleznik ( Power and the Corporate Mind ) examines the phenomenon of charismatic leaders (Lee Iacocca, Ronald Reagan), the role of young MBAs, the often merely theoretical nature of business ethics, the ``deniability'' cloak for top echelons in corporate scandals and other nettlesome aspects of business today. Management leaders must project a company's future, know what to do and be persistent in implementing decisions, stresses the author, but compulsively ``professional'' executives seeking efficiency, cooperation and control can stir up undesirable internal politics. Zaleznik repeatedly cites Niccolo Machiavelli's advice on ruling, which is at once more specific than the treatise at hand and more concise. (May)