All-round managers
A recently published book tells us how much management owes to the presence of women in companies
Talking about management means talking about women – this, at least, is what can be inferred not so much by current management practices but, above all, by looking at its history and evolution. And this is the thesis – confirmed with substantial “evidence” – that Luisa Pogliana develops in her work Una sorprendente genealogia.
L’autorità femminile nel management dall’800 a oggi (A surprising genealogy. Women’s authority in management from the 19th century to today), which reaches the conclusion that the notion of management itself, as well as of managers as social figures, was conceived by women. Corporate management, explains the author (who, for several years, was Director of Market Research and Studies for the Mondadori Group and then a consultant on international markets, in four continents) shows how women held leading roles starting from the 19th century, throughout the 20th century, and up to the present, and how, with impressive consistency, the theories of women’s researchers from the past two centuries tie in with today’s managerial practices.
The book is strictly organised into four sections: the first two concern, respectively, stories of women who studied management and women who, as managers, have shaped corporate history. Pogliana then goes on to clarify “the necessary shift” of paradigm in contemporary corporate management, before emphasising the presence of an “irreversible transformation” within corporate management and culture themselves.
But why women? Because, the author tells us, while men always seem to want more power, women – then as now – bring new visions to management, characterised by a different approach to power. The women included in the book attempt to transform the way in which companies are run, something that, as emphasised, cannot be achieved without women and their vision, although that is not enough: in other words, good enterprise (in all its aspects) can develop only through the collaboration of women and men.
Pogliana’s book is indeed aimed to women and men in managerial roles and is unquestionably stimulating – a must read, though not everyone might agree with all it says. “It is impressive,” we read in the last pages, “how, throughout the history of management, we find women who knew how to interpret their eras, and deeply understood the key principles from the very beginning, and up to today. We find continuity of thought, a passing of the torch. The genealogy of women in management not only makes for an interesting story. It also gives us confidence in our abilities to understand our contemporary times and find the answers we need.”
Una sorprendente genealogia. L’autorità femminile nel management dall’800 a oggi (A surprising genealogy. Women’s authority in management from the 19th century to today)
Luisa Pogliana
Guerini Next, 2022
A recently published book tells us how much management owes to the presence of women in companies
Talking about management means talking about women – this, at least, is what can be inferred not so much by current management practices but, above all, by looking at its history and evolution. And this is the thesis – confirmed with substantial “evidence” – that Luisa Pogliana develops in her work Una sorprendente genealogia.
L’autorità femminile nel management dall’800 a oggi (A surprising genealogy. Women’s authority in management from the 19th century to today), which reaches the conclusion that the notion of management itself, as well as of managers as social figures, was conceived by women. Corporate management, explains the author (who, for several years, was Director of Market Research and Studies for the Mondadori Group and then a consultant on international markets, in four continents) shows how women held leading roles starting from the 19th century, throughout the 20th century, and up to the present, and how, with impressive consistency, the theories of women’s researchers from the past two centuries tie in with today’s managerial practices.
The book is strictly organised into four sections: the first two concern, respectively, stories of women who studied management and women who, as managers, have shaped corporate history. Pogliana then goes on to clarify “the necessary shift” of paradigm in contemporary corporate management, before emphasising the presence of an “irreversible transformation” within corporate management and culture themselves.
But why women? Because, the author tells us, while men always seem to want more power, women – then as now – bring new visions to management, characterised by a different approach to power. The women included in the book attempt to transform the way in which companies are run, something that, as emphasised, cannot be achieved without women and their vision, although that is not enough: in other words, good enterprise (in all its aspects) can develop only through the collaboration of women and men.
Pogliana’s book is indeed aimed to women and men in managerial roles and is unquestionably stimulating – a must read, though not everyone might agree with all it says. “It is impressive,” we read in the last pages, “how, throughout the history of management, we find women who knew how to interpret their eras, and deeply understood the key principles from the very beginning, and up to today. We find continuity of thought, a passing of the torch. The genealogy of women in management not only makes for an interesting story. It also gives us confidence in our abilities to understand our contemporary times and find the answers we need.”
Una sorprendente genealogia. L’autorità femminile nel management dall’800 a oggi (A surprising genealogy. Women’s authority in management from the 19th century to today)
Luisa Pogliana
Guerini Next, 2022