Professional Readings for Managers

Professional Readings for Managers

"Information was once a sought-after and treasured commodity like a fine wine. Now, it's regarded more like crabgrass, something to be kept at bay," observes Richard Saul Wurman in his book Information Anxiety2. Professional reading, like every other aspect of a manager's professional activities, must be well thought out. Today's manager is surrounded, even bombarded, by information, but the shape, scope and delivery method of this professional literature changes daily. To keep up with general trends or focus in-depth on one industry, it is not sufficient to read traditional print titles. Information savvy managers monitor a variety of information streams. The Internet, e-mail, cell phones, seminars, webinars, blogs, television, radio, industry DVDs, popular business magazines, newsletters, e-zines, scholarly journals, newspapers, books, and technical reports compete continuously for the busy manager's time and attention.

The Internet

By its nature, the Internet is too much for one manager to take on. Guides are needed to make the most of the incredible wealth of information available online. The Business Reference and Services Section (BRASS) of the American Library Association's (ALA) Best of the Best Business Web Sites product (http://www.ala.org/ala/rusa/rusa.htm) is an excellent guide. This free service identifies and categorizes significant Web sites within broad business categories such as "general management," "human resource management and labor relations," and "MIS and knowledge management." Each category then contains lists of topic-based, content-rich Web sites.

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