Managing Information Services

Citation

Ole Pors, N. (2006), "Managing Information Services", Journal of Documentation, Vol. 62 No. 3, pp. 417-418. https://doi.org/10.1108/00220410610666556

According to the introduction, the intended audience for this book is students in library and information management. It is also very suitable as a handbook or a reference work for professionals and teachers, not least due to its many references and definitions. It is obvious that the text is introductory and it must be judged accordingly.

The book consists of eight chapters. The first two chapters are about information organisations and management principles. The next two chapters deal with people issues and human resource management. Chapters 5 and 6 have together a focus on users or customers. These chapters introduce marketing principles and quality management. The last two chapters focus on finances and strategy. According to the authors, the plan of the book has been carefully laid out starting with organisational context and leadership. This context is followed by a focus on people in the organisation emphasising the need for managers to work closely together with staff, understanding organisational behaviour and motivation among other topics. The internal focus is followed by an external focus with focus on the customers and quality of services. The final two chapters are about internal and external processes (finance and strategy) and the integration of these perspectives.

Looking at the single chapters it is evident that it is an introductory textbook. Each chapter includes learning objectives, summaries, reflection points, review questions, challenge questions and a small case study. There are also very useful references and comprehensive lists of additional reading. The book has a very good index.

As a whole, the authors succeed in putting together quite a lot of management theories and thinking. One of the strengths of the book is that it also includes rather new theories and approaches like for example Kolb's learning cycle. Indirectly, the book is cramped with references to organisational literature and often one get the feeling the book only scratches the surface. I am quite sure the authors acknowledge this, as the book is planned as a working book with many opportunities for students to follow the discussion in more detail for example by examining some of the topics by means of the references. It is probably another way to state that the book need to be complemented by other texts or a careful planned teaching module, at least when it is used in relation to students who have their first meeting with these issues.

The book is very well written, clear and concise and it covers a lot of ground.

I hope it is apparent that I like this book and find it very useful both as a teaching aid and as a reference text for people with at least some knowledge of the subject. However, I have two considerations in relation to the book. The first is that the authors omit some of the newer theoretical approaches to organisational topics. To give an example, the chapter on strategies and strategic planning has a very deep emphasis on strategic planning as a rational approach, not discussing the theories of strategy as legitimating or symbolic expressions. The second consideration concerns the balance between breadth and depth in the discourse. It is of course an act of balance. To give an example, the theories of motivation and job satisfaction cover approximately three pages and introduce, among others, Maslow and Herzberg and several process approaches. It means that the main points of the theories are stated, but not really discussed in relation to applications and limitations.

Overall, the authors succeed doing what they state they want to do in the introduction and it is a book I certainly would consider using both as a supplementary textbook and as a handbook in my office.