Keywords
Citation
Line, M.B. (2000), "Smart Working", The Electronic Library, Vol. 18 No. 6, pp. 448-469. https://doi.org/10.1108/el.2000.18.6.448.6
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
This book is firmly aimed at working managers. Its 164 pages deal with three separate topics, all related to “smart working”: time management, interpersonal communication, and the management of meetings. Roughly equal space is given to each. Why should managers buy this book when there are several good works on each of these topics?
One reason is that they get all three covered in one work at an affordable price. Although the case for lumping the three topics together under “smart working” seems a little weak (except that each section on its own would make a very short booklet), all three are important, and any manager needs to know about all of them. Another is that they can’t borrow it without defacing it, unless they photocopy the numerous pages devoted to practical exercises that they are supposed to complete. A third is that, although there is nothing very special about the contents of the book, and even though the space spent on each topic is small, it is well spent – a lot is covered, and three times as much space would certainly not yield three times as much value to the practical manager.
The exercises, which are an essential element in the book, are good; I did several myself (photocopying the relevant pages first so as not to spoil my copy!), and found them very much to the point, as well as fairly quick and easy to do – complex and time‐consuming exercises are unlikely to be done by busy managers. The authors say that “the written part of [this book] will probably take you about six hours to complete”; this estimate, which seems about right, means only two hours per section.
Time management is linked, sensibly, with life satisfaction, and leisure time is also included. The last section is actually called “Group communication and meetings”, and includes a chapter on “making sense of group behaviour”, but solely in the context of meetings, although of course group behaviour occurs elsewhere.
The middle section calls for a little more comment. Interpersonal communication deals with non‐verbal as well as oral communication, but not with non‐oral verbal communication – e‐mail and memoranda. This is perhaps because it is not regarded as interpersonal, but this is by no means always the case. An account of the advantages and disadvantages of the now ubiquitous e‐mail, compared with other forms of written communication as well as with oral communication, would have been very useful – as would a consideration of the styles and conventions of e‐mail that have grown up, and suggestions on how best to use them for interpersonal communication, both formal and informal.
Just as the space in this short book is well used, so the money on it would also be well spent. The work is – well – plainly written, without being patronising. Recommended.