Henry Mintzberg: photo, biography and major works

Henry Mintzberg was born in 1939 into a simple but fairly wealthy family. His father ran a small clothing company. Henry studied well at school, but then no one could even imagine that he would achieve world success.

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

Over time, he invariably occupied leading positions in the lists of well-known specialists in the field of management.

Professor Biography

Henry Mintzberg graduated from the Department of Engineering at McGill University, after which he worked in the Operations Research Division of the Canadian Railroad. After receiving a master’s degree and a candidate’s degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (one of the best institutes in the US and around the world), he began to teach at the Department of Management at McGill University. He is also a professor at Carnegie Mellon University (a private university and research center in Pittsburgh) and a professor at the Commerciales School of Higher Studies, the London School of Business and the European Business School. Henry Mintzberg holds fifteen honorary degrees from universities around the world.

Activities

Each work of Mintzberg is a peculiar challenge to the established public and professional opinion. In his books, the author analyzes business training systems in large European countries and in the USA. He raises questions about whether the education system in higher education institutions can even grow 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 the Harvard Business Review magazine award, which is published 10 times a year by a subsidiary of Harvard University.

Management and strategic planning

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

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

Mintsberg 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 its inception to decline. The author offers a non-standard way to look at different types of strategic planning. By analyzing shortcomings and mistakes, Mintzberg demonstrates how the wrong process can destroy the interest of workers and change the vision of the company.
"Managing Health Myths" - in this book, Henry Mintzberg draws attention to the revision of the management and organization of health. The author talks about the structure of a modern healthcare 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 patient care are developed.
Henry Mintzberg in “Structure in the Fist” reveals the secrets of the successful existence of the organization, the effective distribution of responsibilities, and avoiding unnecessary bureaucracy. The book is recommended not only for students or specialists in the field of management, but also for young entrepreneurs who are just starting their own business.
"Strategic safari" - a guide for modern managers who are interested in strategic management, explore the main points, strengths and weaknesses of management practices.
“Managers are required, not MBA graduates” - here Mintzberg describes his approach to managerial education, in which a practicing manager should always learn from his own experience. You cannot become an experienced manager, studying only theory. And the training system should include as much practice as possible.
“Strategic process” is an excellent manual for students and teachers, 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 is necessary for successful and effective management.
“Act efficiently! Best Management Practice ”- practical management in various business fields.
“Why I hate flying” - the author criticizes the flaws of flights, errors in the management business related to 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 branches (divisions) and their corresponding levels of management.
Adhocracy - specialists work in a team coordinating their activities.

Henry Mintzberg loves to write short stories, the plot of which is based on personal experience. Here are some of them:

“Reflection at the door”;
Gopi Farm
"Less cruelty in the world."

Managerial roles

Formulated by Henry Mintzberg and 10 manager roles. These are behavioral rules that correspond to a particular position.

Interpersonal Roles:

The main leader is the head who exercises legal and social responsibilities.
Leader - responsible for the motivation, recruitment and training of subordinates.
Link - combines external contacts and information sources.

Information Roles:

Information receiver - Searches for specialized information that is used in the interests of a common cause.
Disseminating information - transfers data to employees of the organization.
Representative - communicates information to external contacts.

Making decisions:

Entrepreneur - seeks opportunities within the organization and beyond, develops projects to improve the organization.
Eliminating violations - is responsible for corrective actions.
Resource Managing - Responsible for the distribution of organization resources.
Negotiator - responsible for representing the organization in the negotiations.

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