Effective management is as much an art as a science. Without it, organizations flounder and fail; with it, people excel and organizations succeed. That's simple in concept, yet difficult to achieve, despite the plethora of writings on the topic and the best practices that have accumulated through decades of example. As the authors demonstrate, the key to success is the integration of strategic concepts and front-line applications-which have, to date, been treated separately in both theory and practice. Employing the Strategic Management Model, developed by Huffmire, and applied as both an analytical tool and a practical framework for improving performance, the authors provide a comprehensive approach to management and supervision that will contribute to individual, team, and organization-wide success.

Illustrating their principles through numerous real-life experiences, from organizations as diverse as Ford Motor Company, Johnsonville Foods, and Emerson Electric, the authors eschew fads and superficial palliatives in favor of basic skills and qualities. Focusing on such skills as delegation, prioritization, motivation, and decision making, Huffmire and Holmes show managers how to deliver results through their employees. The net effect is the development of people and organizations that are able to adapt to a constantly changing environment, set and achieve goals, conduct effective performance appraisals, retain the best people and develop successors, reduce costs, and increase profits. Featuring diagnostic tools, checklists, and an appendix with in-depth case studies, the Handbook of Effective Management is an essential resource for managers and supervisors in all types of organizations, as well as for professors and students of management and human resource and training professionals.

Donald W. Huffmire is Emeritus Associate Professor of Management in the School of Business, the University of Connecticut, where he taught strategic management, small business management and entrepreneurship, and international business in the M.B.A. program, before retiring in 1997. During his teaching career, he served as Director of the M.B.A. program for three years and Director of the Small Business Institute from 1983 through 1997. Using his Strategic Management Model, he has analyzed and improved the management systems at a wide array of organizations, and he has delivered presentations to managers and supervisors around the United States and abroad. His articles on management, supervision, and strategic management have appeared in such journals as The Journal of Business Policy, Long Range Planning, and The Journal of General Management.

Jane D. Holmes has maintained a private counseling practice for more than 10 years, and in 2000 began training for a parallel career in coaching, specializing in personal, executive, and small business coaching.