The Necessary Nature of Future Firms

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"While many books deal with
decision making and many more deal with environmental complexity, this is one
of the first to lucidly tie them together and provide executives with the
specific tools and mind-set necessary to bring about significant organizational
change. The University of Wisconsin-Madison is a key driver of the integration
of business and science, and this book will be a must-read for many of the students
in our masters and executive education programs." -- Mason A. Carpenter "The
book offers yet another outstanding contribution by an author known for
scholarship and insightful observations about the state of organizations and
their management. The topic is timely and the book offers many useful ideas
that will find their way into practice. I highly recommend it." -- Paul C. Nutt "This
book is a must read for managers concerned with guiding their organizations
into the information age. Management futurologists and academic writers have
speculated on the features and characteristics of new organizational forms. The Necessary Nature of Future Firms by
George Huber represents the first rigorous in-depth effort at anticipating the
shape of new organizations by combining, recombining, and interpreting a vast
management research literature and presenting it to managerial audiences. The
book is very accessible to a broad managerial audience but especially to
forward looking thoughtful managers concerned with the future of their
organizations." -- Arie Y. Lewin "In The
Necessary Nature of Future Firms, George Huber does what Huber does
best--paint a compelling vision of the design of (near) future organizations as
well as the implications of this design. What differentiates Huber's
'visioning' efforts from most others is that they are derived not from
speculation but rather from the collective thinking of a generation of
organizational scientists as interpreted through Huber's own research and
consulting experiences. This vision of how future firms will be designed
(and, hence, how they will behave) emerges in fact from well-founded
conceptualizations and validated observations." -- Robert Zmud "George Huber has written a
wonderfully comprehensive and integrative book on organizational change,
learning, and adaptation. Huber synthesizes the research-based work on change
in a way that will be helpful to scholars, graduate students, as well as
managers interested in organizational learning and change. The book is well
written and provocative. It is a state of the art literature review with an
experienced, practical point of view. This book belongs on both the scholar's
desk as well as in the practitioner's office."



-- Michael L. Tushman "Professor
Huber has produced a valuable and very well researched guide for firms making
the necessary transition to the knowledge economy. His sage advice and
experiences will greatly help any organization navigate these tricky and
dangerous waters." -- Dr. Lawrence Prusak "George
Huber has achieved an amazing feat in this book. He has eloquently described
what it will take for companies to prosper in the future by drawing upon what
we know today--what we really know, based on rigorous research--about speed
flexibility, learning, and innovation. Anyone interested in preparing firms for
tomorrow will benefit from this important book." -- Don Hambrick "Provocative, insightful, and an extraordinary useful look at
managing complex organizations in rapidly changing environments. This book must be read by managers
and scholars trying to comprehend the challenge of managing in uncertain times
under compressed time constraints." -- Ken G. Smith "In this rich and comprehensive book, George Huber calls on
managers to take stock of their companies through a careful and systematic
analysis of environmental and other pressures that will shape the nature of
business into the future. The depth of analysis and detailed advice for
managers is impressive. The book provides leading-edge perspectives on
knowledge management, change, culture, strategy, and many aspects of decision
making and human resource management. This is a timely and comprehensive book that
includes everything the informed manager needs to know to examine his or her
business and move it successfully into the future. This is a must read for the
serious, thoughtful executive." -- Gerardine DeSanctis "The Necessary Nature of Future Firms is
cleverly written, grounded in history, integrates an unusually extensive survey
of organizational research, and is filled with evocative examples and practical
guidelines which should make it great reading for practitioner and theorist
alike. Huber has accomplished a rare feat--he has created a book that is both
practically relevant for executives and suggests many viable avenues for
organizational scholarship." -- Kathleen M. Sutcliffe "After a
lifetime of important insights in the areas of organizational design and
decision making, Huber has produced his magnum opus. His insights and ideas can
help even the most seasoned manager see the world differently and become more
effective." -- C. Chet Miller "This
is an important book for any manager who faces a rapidly changing and
increasingly competitive environment--which is to say, virtually every manager.
Huber makes a cogent case for the fact that businesses will face much more
dynamic and competitive environments in the future than they face today. More
importantly, he offers practical advice for how managers can prepare for the
uncertain future they face. Clearly written and carefully grounded in the best
research evidence available, this book stands head and shoulders above the many
management books offering short-term fads, fashions, and therapies of the
moment." -- Richard T. Mowday "Huber
gives a compelling account of the future landscape that many managers have to
face today. Filled with solid academic research laced with real-world examples,
Huber not only conveys the shape of that landscape, but also the roadmap to
navigate it." -- Kathleen M. Eisenhardt "George
Huber makes an important contribution with profound insights on what the future
firm will look like. It will be congruent with its environment. To realize
opportunities from continuing advances in science and technology and
environmental complexity, the successful firm in the future will be especially
good at gaining environmental intelligence, learning and integrating knowledge,
and being innovative and flexible. This
is not a fanciful prophesy; it is a necessary logical conclusion that Huber
draws from an extensive body of scientific knowledge." -- Andrew H. Van de Ven "Huber's The
Necessary Nature of Future Firms is a remarkable tour de force of
state-of-the-art knowledge about organizational structures, processes and
performance. The book integrates what we know about fundamental phenomenon in
organizations such as decision making, learning, and innovation. What is
exceptional about the book is Huber's ability to integrate research findings to
develop thoughtful guidelines for managers about how to design their firms to
be effective, both now and in the future." -- Linda Argote "The book is written in an easy style and has no management jargon. It also provides flow charts and appendices wherever necessary to facilitate understanding. The notes at the end of each chapter and selected references at the end of the book provide an inquisitive reader a rich source to dig deeper. The book also provides interim and final summaries of each chapter, which greatly enhances recapitulation. the book is mainly meant for managers and graduate management students." -- Amit Dhiman