The Truth About Managing People... and Nothing But The Truth

The Truth About Managing People... and Nothing But The Truth

by Stephen P. Robbins
Released June 2003
Publisher(s): Pearson
ISBN: 9780131838475

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Book description

This isn't just "someone's opinion"...It's the first, definitive, evidence-based guide to effective management. In The Truth About Managing People...and Nothing but the Truth, Robbins delivers principles you can rely on throughout your entire management career--regardless of your organization, role or title. This is a management book that cuts through the soft opinion and conjecture books that have dominated the business shelves in recent years and shows what management researchers know actually works, or doesn't work, when it comes to managing people.

Drawing on the author's 30+ years of research and textbook writing experience, Robbins has distilled the results of thousands of research studies on human behavior into over 60 proven "truths" that can transform how you manage people--and the results that are achieved. The author provides guidance to you organized around key, human-behavior-related problem areas that managers face (hiring, motivation, leadership, communication, team building, conflict management, job design, evaluating performance and coping with change), along with guidance to help you apply the information and improve your managerial effectiveness.

Table of contents

  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Page
  3. Financial Times Prentice Hall Books
  4. Contents
  5. Preface
  6. Part I: The Truth About Hiring
    1. Truth 1. Forget Traits; It's Behavior That Counts!
    2. Truth 2. Realistic Job Previews: What You See Is What You Get
    3. Truth 3. Tips for Improving Employee Interviews
    4. Truth 4. Want Pleasant Employees? It's in the Genes!
    5. Truth 5. Good Citizenship Counts!
    6. Truth 6. Brains Matter; or When in Doubt, Hire Smart People
    7. Truth 7. Don't Count Too Much on Reference Checks
    8. Truth 8. When in Doubt, Hire Conscientious People!
    9. Truth 9. Hire People Who Fit Your Culture: My "Good Employee" is Your Stinker!
    10. Truth 10. Match Personalities and Jobs
    11. Truth 11. Manage the Socialization of New Employees
  7. Part II: The Truth About Motivation
    1. Truth 12. Why Many Workers Aren't Motivated at Work Today
    2. Truth 13. Happy Workers Aren't Necessarily Productive Workers!
    3. Truth 14. Workforce Generations and Values
    4. Truth 15. Telling Employees to "Do Your Best" Isn't Likely to Achieve Their Best
    5. Truth 16. Not Everyone Wants to Participate in Setting Their Goals
    6. Truth 17. Professional Workers Go for the Flow
    7. Truth 18. Watch Out for Cyberloafing!
    8. Truth 19. When Giving Feedback: Criticize Behaviors, Not People
    9. Truth 20. You Get What You Reward
    10. Truth 21. It's All Relative!
    11. Truth 22. Recognition Motivates (and It Costs Very Little!)
    12. Truth 23. Ways to Motivate Low-Skill, Low-Pay Employees
    13. Truth 24. There's More to High Employee Performance Than Just Motivation
  8. Part III: The Truth About Leadership
    1. Truth 25. The Essence of Leadership is Trust
    2. Truth 26. Experience Counts! Wrong!
    3. Truth 27. Most People Think They Know What Good Leaders Look Like
    4. Truth 28. Effective Leaders Know How to Frame Issues
    5. Truth 29. You Get What You Expect
    6. Truth 30. Great Followers Make Great Leaders
    7. Truth 31. Charisma Can Be Learned
    8. Truth 32. Make Others Dependent on You
    9. Truth 33. There's No Ideal Leadership Style
    10. Truth 34. Adjust Your Leadership Style for Cultural Differences, or When in Rome . . .
    11. Truth 35. When Leadership ISN'T Important
  9. Part IV: The Truth About Communication
    1. Truth 36. Hearing Isn't Listening
    2. Truth 37. Choose the Right Communication Channel
    3. Truth 38. Listen To The Grapevine
    4. Truth 39. Men and Women Do Communicate Differently
    5. Truth 40. What You Do Overpowers What You Say
    6. Truth 41. The Case for Open-Book Management
  10. Part V: The Truth About Building Teams
    1. Truth 42. What We Know That Makes Teams Work
    2. Truth 43. 2+2 Doesn't Necessarily Equal 4
    3. Truth 44. We're Not All Equal: Status Matters!
    4. Truth 45. Not Everyone Is Team Material
  11. Part VI: The Truth About Managing Conflicts
    1. Truth 46. The Case For Conflict
    2. Truth 47. Poor Communication Isn't the Source of Most Conflicts
    3. Truth 48. Beware Of Groupthink
    4. Truth 49. How to Reduce Work–Life Conflicts
  12. Part VII: The Truth About Designing Jobs
    1. Truth 50. There's No Such Thing As A "Good Job"
    2. Truth 51. Not Everyone Wants a Challenging Job
    3. Truth 52. Four Job-Design Actions That Will Make Employees More Productive
  13. Part VIII: The Truth About Performance Evaluation
    1. Truth 53. Annual Reviews: The Best Surprise Is No Surprise!
    2. Truth 54. Don't Blame Me! The Role of Self-Serving Bias
    3. Truth 55. The Case for 360-Degree Feedback Appraisals: More IS Better!
  14. Part IX: The Truth About Coping With Change
    1. Truth 56. Most People Resist Any Change That Doesn't Jingle in Their Pockets!
    2. Truth 57. You Can Teach an Old Dog New Tricks
    3. Truth 58. Use Participation to Reduce Resistance to Change
    4. Truth 59. Layoffs Are as Tough on Survivors as Those Who Get Laid Off
  15. Part X: Some Final Thoughts About Managing Behavior
    1. Truth 60. I'll See It When I Believe It
    2. Truth 61. First Impressions Do Count!
    3. Truth 62. People Aren't Completely Rational: Don't Ignore Emotions!
    4. Truth 63. Beware of the Quick Fix
  16. References

Product information

  • Title: The Truth About Managing People... and Nothing But The Truth
  • Author(s): Stephen P. Robbins
  • Release date: June 2003
  • Publisher(s): Pearson
  • ISBN: 9780131838475