In Coaching and Mentoring, the author inspires and provokes readers by asking questions such as ′Are coaching and mentoring the same?′ ′Are we obsessed with skills?′ and ′What is performance?′ He also delves into contemporary debates such as concerns about standards, competencies and codes of ethics, interspersed with views on power, control and politics. Conceived by Chris Grey as an antidote to conventional textbooks, each book in the ‘Very Short, Fairly Interesting and Reasonably Cheap’ series takes a core area of the curriculum and turns it on its head by providing a critical and sophisticated overview of the key issues and debates in an informal, conversational and often humorous way. An entertaining read for Undergraduate, Postgraduate and MBA students or anyone interested in looking for different ways of thinking about coaching and mentoring.

In Coaching and Mentoring, the author inspires and provokes readers by asking questions such as ′Are coaching and mentoring the same?′ ′Are we obsessed with skills?′ and ′What is performance?′ He also delves into contemporary debates such as concerns about standards, competencies and codes of ethics, interspersed with views on power, control and politics. Conceived by Chris Grey as an antidote to conventional textbooks, each book in the ‘Very Short, Fairly Interesting and Reasonably Cheap’ series takes a core area of the curriculum and turns it on its head by providing a critical and sophisticated overview of the key issues and debates in an informal, conversational and often humorous way. An entertaining read for Undergraduate, Postgraduate and MBA students or anyone interested in looking for different ways of thinking about coaching and mentoring.

Emma Bell and Richard Thorpe are engaging companions for this journey into the complex world of management research. They provide a stimulating and critical overview of the key theoretical debates on research paradigms and methodologies and relate them to the day to day practice of the research, demystifying the process and providing invaluable insights into the politics and practice of research. Unlike most books about management research, this little book does not present the process as logical, rational and predictable. Instead, it explores the messy and unpredictable nature of management research and the fascinating reasons behind this. In doing so, it will give you the confidence and understanding to experiment and improvise while carrying out your research. Incorporating research tales from within the workplace, Bell and Thorpe have triumphed in bringing you a fun and thought-provoking discourse on management research that you will treasure. An electronic inspection copy is available for instructors.

Written in a lively, conversational style, Knowledge Management looks at the nature of knowledge, including its definition and measurement, before the main concepts and theoretical contributions to knowledge management are reviewed and challenged, providing fresh insights into the central debates. Conceived by Chris Grey as an antidote to conventional textbooks, each book in the ‘Very Short, Fairly Interesting and Reasonably Cheap’ series takes a core area of the curriculum and turns it on its head by providing a critical and sophisticated overview of the key issues and debates in an informal, conversational and often humorous way. Suitable for students of Business and Management courses at Undergraduate and Postgraduate level and anyone interested in the concept of knowledge management.

Written to inform, challenge and entertain, A Very Short, Fairly Interesting and Reasonably Cheap Book About Management explains alternative ways of thinking about management and managing people in a way that is easy to understand and enjoyable. New to the Second Edition: Updated content includes current issues such as the economic crisis and unemployment More international examples Suggestions for further reading Ann Cunliffe covers topics that are central to management, organizational behaviour or leadership courses: what managers do, motivation, communication, and ethics. The book breathes fresh air into these topics, emphasizing the importance of relations when thinking about management and drawing on a range of disciplines such as philosophy and linguistics. Electronic inspection copies are available for instructors.

The first edition of this popular and acclaimed book quickly became a favourite among students for the engaging way in which it guided them through the cacophony of competing perspectives and models of leadership. This new edition includes an expanded discussion of hot topics like followership, gender, ethics, authenticity and leadership and the arts set against the backdrop of the global financial crisis. In teaching you how to critically appraise and work with leadership theories rather than faithfully accept them, this book will not merely make you a better student of leadership; it could make you a better leader too.

Conceived by Chris Grey and written to get you thinking, the “Very Short, Fairly Interesting and Reasonably Cheap” series offers an informal, conversational, accessible yet sophisticated and critical overview of what you find in conventional textbooks. The Third Edition of Studying Organizations has been updated in light of the continuing financial and economic crisis. It shows how this grew out of a thirty year experiment in 'new capitalism' and links this to changes in the world of work organizations in terms of growing insecurity, inequality and to shifts in the status of management. Suitable for students of organizational studies and management, professionals working in organizations and anyone curious about the workings of organizations. Visit Chris Grey's accompanying blog and read his comments on current news stories and how they relate to themes in the book.