Fasttrack Management and Organizational Behavior by James S. Sagner, PhD Published by Fasttrack Textbooks Why do we need another book on management and organizational behavior? There are many good texts on these topics that are available for classroom use, but an instructor must explain and update most of the content. Here are eight reasons that Fasttrack Management and Organizational Behavior is different from other textbooks. 1.The author. Nearly all books that deal with management are written by academics. The few exceptions deal with the mechanics of personnel management such as hiring practices or how to create a successful management-by-objectives program. While Dr. Sagner does teach MBA students, much of his career was as a bank vice-president (at the First National Bank of Chicago, now JPMorgan Chase). What managers do each day varies significantly from what most textbooks say they do. 2.The writing. Much of what you'll find in other books is padding. In some texts you'll find endless discussions, numerous references to practices in companies so obscure that no one has ever heard of them, detours into topics not specifically related to management and organization behavior, and other material that adds words but not much real content. Students today are busy and do not have the time or the focus to wade throughout 150,000 words. This book (and others planned for this series) is about 75,000 comprised mostly one, two or three syllable words, roughly half of the usual length. 3.The timeliness of coverage. This book addresses current topics (Obamacare, the effect of the recession on management, global differences in management style, the increasing relevance of control in managing organizations, disappearing human resources departments, contingent workers, interpersonal dynamics and managing in a time of change). Some of these issues did not even exist until recently, and many are not mentioned in other management texts. 4.The integration of cases with the text. The ten cases written to be used in conjunction with this text address such varied management concerns as change management, controlling, decision-making, directing, group dynamics, individual motivation, leadership, individual decision-making, personnel/human resources and planning. Instructors will have access to suggested solutions through our website. In addition, some short cases are included within the text material. 5.The breath of business coverage. Management does not occur in a vacuum. The work of the manager touches every business discipline, and to ignore these relationships is simply not realistic. As appropriate, reference is made to accounting, finance, marketing, law and manufacturing, all of which affect the success or failure of the organization. 6.The use of "helps" to support the student. Every chapter begins with a lead-in of major topics to be covered. Within the chapter, icons tell the reader whether the content level is basic or advanced, and the chapters end with important issues that should be addressed to bring modern management and organizational behavior concepts to an organization as well as review and discussion questions. 7.Instructor support. Our website provides access to useful teaching aids: test banks of multiple choice and short essay questions and answers, PowerPoint slides for each chapter, teaching ideas for the classroom and illustrative syllabi. Sample PowerPoints and teaching ideas can be accessed through the website sub-menus. In addition, Fasttrack Textbooks will respond to any requests for additional material, for clarification or for other support. 8.A standardized series of business texts. Over the next few years, texts will be prepared in exactly the same style for accounting, finance, international business and other important "core" courses. This will make learning easier for many students, particularly for those for whom English is not the native language.
About the Author: Dr. James S. Sagner (jsagner@optimum.net) is a Principal of Sagner/Marks (founded in 1992) and of Bank Credit Training Partners (founded in 2010). From 1981 to 1992 Sagner was a Vice President with the First National Bank of Chicago (now J.P. Morgan Chase). During his tenure with that bank and now at Sagner/Marks, he managed over 250 large scale studies and credit analyses for companies and non profit organizations worldwide. Dr. Sagner is on the faculty of the University of Bridgeport, teaching MBA and undergraduate courses in finance, international business, management and economics. From 2001 through 2008, he was on the faculties of Metropolitan College of New York and Albertus Magnus College (CT). His experience includes working capital analysis, corporate finance and organizational design and re-engineering. His clients, many of whom are the leaders in their industries, have included insurance companies, securities firms, finance companies, banks, hospitals, manufacturing companies and service organizations. Previously, Sagner was with the consulting firm of A. T. Kearney working with transportation and manufacturing companies and governmental agencies, and was Chief Economist of the MD Department of Transportation. He has taught undergraduate and MBA management, finance, statistics and economics courses for universities in MD, NY, CT, IL and MO. He is a regular faculty member in executive education for the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He is the author of some 60 papers and articles that have appeared in various journals and publications. He has written nine texts, including Cashflow Reengineering, AMACOM Books, 1997 (along with a self-study guide), selected by the editors of QFinance (Bloomsbury Press, 2009) as one of the titles that is "...ground-breaking and [a] most popular work." The books selected are called "cornerstone and the most influential." His other books include Essentials of Managing Corporate Cash, 2003; Is U.S. Business Overregulated?, 2008; Essentials of Working Capital Management, 2010; and Handbook of Corporate Lending, 2011. He is a frequent speaker at seminars and meetings throughout the country. Dr. Sagner received his BS in Accounting from Washington and Lee University, his MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and his PhD in Business and Economics from American University. Sagner, who was honored as a Rockefeller Fellow, is a CCM, a CMC, and a member of Beta Gamma Sigma.