Management Textbooks as Propaganda

Abstract

Are management textbooks propaganda? Do textbook authors write to advance the interests of a particular group or groups (such as employees, organizations, and/or society)? Do they write to present the theory and research of the academic discipline? Do they write primarily to produce a product that consumers (faculty and students) will buy in sufficient numbers and at a price that will yield financial profit? This article explores these and related questions by asking four well-established management textbook authors—Kim Cameron, Duane Ireland, Bob Lussier, and Steve Robbins—to react to the metaphor of “management textbooks as propaganda or ideology.” Their responses provide insights into the role of textbook authors in shaping the direction of management education.