xxiv, 360 pages : 20 cm There is an art of American management -- and it works! To discover the secrets of our "native art," Thomas Peters, an alumnus of the management consulting firm of McKinsey & Company who runs his own consulting firm, and Robert Waterman, now a director of McKinsey, studied forty-three successful American companies. Some of these organizations, such as Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble, specialize in consumer goods; some, like IBM and Hewlett-Packard, are in high technology; some, such as Delta Airlines and McDonald's, are in services. Shared by all of them are eight basic principles of management -- action-stimulating, people-oriented, profit-maximizing practices -- that are readily transferable. Here they are, amply illustrated with anecdotes and examples from the experiences of these best-run companies to make them accessible and practical for you to use. - Back cover Includes bibliographical references (pages 327-349) and index Introduction -- Part one : The saving remnant. Successful American companies -- Part two : Toward new theory. The rational model -- Man waiting for motivation -- Part three : Back to basics. Managing ambiguity and paradox -- A bias for action -- Close to the customer -- Autonomy and entrepreneurship -- Productivity through people -- Hands-on, value-driven -- Stick to the knitting -- Simple form, lean staff -- Simultaneous loose-tight properties