Understanding Management, 12th Edition

Richard L. Daft, Ph.D., is the Brownlee O. Currey, Jr., Professor in the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University. Professor Daft specializes in the study of organization theory and leadership; he is a fellow of the Academy of Management and has served on the editorial boards of the Academy of Management Journal, Administrative Science Quarterly, and Journal of Management Education. He was the associate editor-in-chief of Organization Science and served for three years as associate editor of Administrative Science Quarterly. Professor Daft has authored or co-authored 14 books, including The Leadership Experience (Cengage/South-Western, 2018), Organization Theory and Design (Cengage, 2021), The Executive and the Elephant: A Leader’s Guide for Building Inner Excellence ( Jossey-Bass, 2010), and Understanding Management (with Dorothy Marcic; Cengage, 2020). He has also written dozens of scholarly articles, papers, and chapters in other books. His work has been published in Organizational Dynamics, Administrative Science Quarterly, Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Management, Accounting Organizations and Society, Management Science, MIS Quarterly, California Management Review, and Organizational Behavior Teaching Review. In addition, Professor Daft is an active teacher and consultant. He has taught management, leadership, organizational change, organizational theory, and organizational behaviour. Professor Daft has served as associate dean, produced for-profit theatrical productions, and helped manage a start-up enterprise. He has been involved in management development and consulting for many companies and government organizations.

Dorothy Marcic, Ed.D., M.P.H., is a professor at Columbia University and a former faculty member at Vanderbilt University. Dr. Marcic is also a former Fulbright Scholar at the University of Economics in Prague and the Czech Management Center, where she taught courses and conducted research in leadership, organizational behavior and cross-cultural management. She has taught courses at the Monterrey Institute of International Studies, the University of Economics in Prague, the Helsinki School of Economics, Slovenia Management Center, College of Trade in Bulgaria, City University of Slovakia, Landegg Institute in Switzerland, the Swedish Management Association, Technion University in Israel and the London School of Economics. She has also served on the boards of the Organizational Teaching Society, the Health Administration Section of the American Public Health Association and the Journal of Applied Business Research. Dr. Marcic has authored 16 books addressing organizational behavior, international management and the roles of women and men in organizations. Her book, MANAGING WITH THE WISDOM OF LOVE: UNCOVERING THE VIRTUE IN PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS, was rated one of the top 10 business books of the year by Management General. Dr. Marcic has also written dozens of articles for professional publications, such as Journal of Management Development, International Quarterly of Community Health Education, Psychological Report and Executive Development. She has conducted hundreds of seminars on various business topics and consulted for executives at various companies. In addition, Dr. Marcic has written two successful musicals: RESPECT: A Musical Journey of Women (played in 92 cities) and SISTAS: The Musical, which played off-Broadway for nine years. She has also written a true-crime book, With One Shot, which was turned into the leading podcast, Manslaughter.