A beginner's guide and authoritative source for one of the greatest social innovations of modern times: the discipline of management. In this book, Joan Magretta, a former editor at Harvard Business Review, distils the wisdom of a bewildering sea of books and articles into one simple, clear volume, explaining both the logic of successful organizations, and how that logic works in practice. Are you a new, experienced or would-be manager who isn't quite sure what value creation means? Could you articulate your company's business model in a single-page description? Do you understand the reasons for the disparate performance of such superficially similar companies as eBay and Priceline.com? These questions and many others are answered in What Management Is. The author makes rich use of samples - contemporary and historical - to bring to life management's high concepts: value creation, business models, competitive strategy, and organizational design. Newcomers will find the basics demystified. More experienced readers should recognize a store of useful wisdom, and a framework for improving their own performance.