introduced with “Road Maps” that help students tonavigate and contrast the mainstream and multi-stream perspectives that will be presented. In ad-dition, opening and closing cases in each chapterfeature an intriguing and diverse selection of prac-ticing managers representing both managementperspectives. The “What do you think?” boxessprinkled throughout the text contain thought-provoking questions aimed at facilitating reflec-tion and discussion, while the “Hands-On Exer-cises” at the end of each chapter allow students toassess their own views and values in order toplace themselves along the mainstream–multi-stream continuum for that particular topic. Ofcourse, the book also includes some of the samefeatures of other top-selling management books,including an Instructor Website, an Online Instruc-tors’ Resource Manual, PowerPoint slides, Class-room Response System (clicker) questions, a DVDwith supporting video clips and an electronic testbank.

Aside from its dualistic framework, the primarystrength of this text is a friendly and personablewriting style that most students will find accessi-ble. The book is simple enough to be easily readand understood, yet complex enough to challengestudents and fully capture their attention. Anotherbig positive is the book’s overall layout and de-sign. The pages are crisp, colorful, and visuallyappealing without being overly busy and annoy-ing. Although it is possible that some studentsmight become a little confused by the contrastingperspectives, particularly in a class in which theinstructor only discusses the mainstream ap-proach, Dyck and Neubert are very thorough inintroducing and explaining the contrasting per-spectives, and they continue to reinforce the differ-ences between the approaches throughout the text.If students become lost or confused, they are prob-ably not reading the text carefully and wouldlikely have experienced similar issues with anymanagement book. Overall, this is a very strongmanagement text with few downsides.

I recently finished my first semester of using thebook in my mass section introductory managementclass with excellent results. My colleagues teach-ing the other sections of the class are also enthu-siastic about the book, and we have heard verypositive comments from our students. Because Ihave taught management for many years and myclass outlines are already fairly well-established, Iplan to gradually work more of the multistreamconcepts into the course. That’s one of the nicethings about this book—it doesn’t require a drasticor immediate change in your approach to teaching,and it works perfectly well as a text for a predom-

inately mainstream management class. For me,the book is serving as a catalyst to reinvigorateand reenergize my management class, and I amfinding it both personally and professionally re-warding as I begin to incorporate ideas from themultistream perspective into my teaching. In addi-tion, the book also makes an excellent choice forsomeone new to teaching management classes.Building a course from the ground up to include therich ideas stemming from both perspectives onmanagement is an ideal situation, and I truly wisha book like this had existed when I first startedteaching.

Finally, although instructors who use this bookin their classes will certainly be enriched by itsunique content and novel approach, it is ultimatelythe students who will come out as the clear win-ners. Just as experiencing a foreign culture willhelp you better understand the strengths, weak-nesses, and idiosyncrasies of the culture in yourhome country, learning about management from asecond nontraditional perspective will help stu-dents to more fully appreciate the pros and cons ofthe “dominant” mainstream management perspec-tive. Learning two approaches may also enhancestudents’ critical and ethical thinking abilities.Ethical thinking is thoroughly embedded acrossthe entire management curriculum, and thus, be-comes something more than a mere “add-on” to thebasic mainstream framework of planning, organiz-ing, leading, and controlling. Similarly, true criti-cal thinking involves going beyond the ability tocriticize the status quo toward the ability to think ofalternative theories and practices. By showingstudents that it is possible to think about manage-ment in ways other than the traditional materialist–individualist model, we may be able to influence thisnext generation of managers to look beyond the Dyckand Neubert’s mainstream–multistream continuumto consider novel “third dimensions” that may havethe potential to inform management theory and prac-tice well into the future.

Atlas Black: Managing to Succeed, by Jer-emy C. Short, Talya Bauer, Dave Ketchen,& Len Simon. Nyack, NY. FlatWorld Knowl-edge, 2010. 194 pages, soft cover.

Reviewed by T. Russell Crook, University of Tennessee.

Do traditional textbooks remain the best way formanagement students to learn new material? Overthe years, I have used at least half a dozen text-

2010 355Book & Resource Reviews

FIGURE 1Page From Atlas Black. 2010. Used by permission from Flat World Knowledge, Inc., 13 North Mill Street,

Nyack, NY. © 2010 Flat World Knowledge, Inc.

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books, and I always hear the same comment fromstudents. It sounds something like this: “Professor,the text is boring; it could be written in a way thatmakes the material more exciting to learn.” Givensuch criticisms, it seems like there should be abetter way for students to learn new material, andI think I might have found an alternative to “boringtextbooks.”

I recently came across Atlas Black: Managing toSucceed (hereafter Atlas Black), which is a graphicnovel written by Jeremy Short, Talya Bauer, andDave Ketchen with illustrations by Len Simon.Graphic novels not only contain content, but alsoillustrations similar to comics that help add life tothe content. While the author team is well known tomanagement educators and scholars, the illustratoris a newcomer to management education. However,you might have heard his name in movies such asAnastasia, Curious George, Fat Albert, and EightCrazy Nights. To the best of my knowledge, AtlasBlack is the first textbook geared toward manage-ment education that combines theoretical ideas andconcepts with graphics that help students grasp thematerial more thoroughly. The book publisher—Flat-World Knowledge—asserts that “[f]or perhaps thefirst time, you will not struggle to get your students toread their assigned text” (www.flatworldknowl-edge.com). From my own reading, I agree.

Atlas Black is a unique textbook in the sense thatit integrates insights from a number of manage-ment courses. As noted on the back cover, promi-nent management scholar Duane Ireland notes,“Written in an engaging style, Atlas Black gets atthe heart of management by integrating entrepre-neurship, strategic thinking, and organizationalbehavior into a storyline that is as entertaining asit is informative.” I, too, liked the approach ofblending a number of disciplines, as it conveys asense of realism that occurs in the “real world.” Inmy view, elements of strategic management, orga-nizational behavior, organization theory, and en-trepreneurship are all important, and the authorsblended these elements throughout the five chap-ters of the book.

Chapter 1, which is available to view free on-line on the publisher’s website, is titled Not SoAncient History. It begins by introducing AtlasBlack, a college student who is behind on his rent.While in college, he realizes that much of what hehas learned is based on memorizing managementdefinitions and buzzwords, and that, because ofthis, it is hard to apply what he has learned inbusiness. Atlas has also had difficulty finding asolid job when the mysterious “Black” appears.Black suggests that Atlas consider starting his ownbusiness venture, given Atlas’s other prospects. As

the chapter unfolds, management ideas and con-cepts such as scientific management are described.

Chapter 2 is titled How To Make Good Decisions(And Avoid Bad Ones). Here, Atlas attempts to fundhis venture. In the process, he needs his tax returnsin order and gets help from an accounting firm,where he encounters his ex-girlfriend, Maria. Atlasmakes the case that he is now taking school moreseriously, so much so that he is applying thebalanced-scorecard concept to his personal life. Asthe chapter unfolds, concepts such as the balancedscorecard as well as central ideas from decisiontheory, such as rational decision making and de-cision biases that inhibit rational decisions, arediscussed. The chapter also covers concepts suchas mission, vision, and the triple bottom line (I alsoliked the reference to Grameen Bank and the intro-duction of social entrepreneurship).

Chapter 3 is titled Blood, SWOT, and Tears. In thischapter, Atlas discovers that starting a business ven-ture is not that difficult as long as he has a strategy.Like many college students, Atlas believes that col-lege towns are great places to start new ventures. Healso believes that restaurants are viable businessventures, but that the only way to succeed is to dosomething different. This chapter covers conceptssuch as SWOT analysis, Porter’s Five Forces model,the Big Five Personality types, and self-efficacy.

In Chapter 4, Human Resources: Sail or Anchor?,Atlas believes that the idea of the No Cover Cafemight be the right recipe for success. He believesthat people that live in college towns would findhis idea appealing because he would serve mod-estly priced food and provide free live music. Thischapter covers theories and concepts such as theresource-based view, generic business level strat-egies, intellectual property, and human resourcesand selection.

Chapter 5 is titled Charting the Future: Organi-zational Structure and Fit. Atlas realizes that start-ing a new business can be difficult, especiallywithout a structure. In particular, he discovers thathe must become more organized if the No CoverCafe is to get off the ground. This chapter coversideas about organizational structure and the divi-sion of labor. The chapter also covers Max Weber’sideas about bureaucracy and describes the notionof person–job fit. From my perspective as a strate-gic management professor, I found this chapter’sexplanation of synergy to be particularly helpful.Synergy strikes many students as an abstract con-cept, but the examples provided on the pageshown (see Fig. 1) bring it alive. Business studentswill appreciate the clear discussions of GeneralMotors and General Electric, and even nonbusi-

2010 357Book & Resource Reviews

ness students can relate to the synergy embeddedin a popular snack food.

The strength of Atlas Black is how the book sto-rylines key management concepts and appliesthese concepts in an entrepreneurial context. Thisis in stark contrast to the many texts that contain adifferent S&P 500 company for each example. De-spite the many positives of Atlas Black, the trade-off to this approach is that this book does not con-tain the detailed prose found in many traditionaltextbooks. Concepts such as corporate diversifica-tion are explained using a few examples in a min-imum of pages compared to some books that mightdevote several chapters to this subject. However, Ibelieve the trade-off between providing memora-ble content and detailed explanation is an accept-able one with this approach. I know that a numberof business students can memorize line and verseof business related movies such as Office Space,and I believe Atlas Black could potentially capturethis kind of enthusiasm. And, the introduction ofvarious concepts offers instructors an opportunityto expand on the concepts however they choose.

Overall, this book was a delight to read, and Ibelieve this approach could reshape the way weapproach management education. Given that thebook is priced at only $14.95, this work could be in-corporated into a number of classes at both theundergraduate and MBA levels. For example, itcould be used as a supplement or complementarytext for principles of management, organizationalbehavior, strategic management, and entrepre-neurship courses. In such cases, the instructorscould substitute articles available from library re-sources if they want to offer additional details. Thebook might even be a full substitute for a text in ashort course or an experiential course, for example,where the majority of student time is spent focus-ing on their unique business ideas. Given the fo-cus on career management throughout the book,Atlas Black might also serve as a primer on busi-ness, management, and entrepreneurship for in-coming freshmen within the “overview of busi-ness” classes that are offered at many collegesand universities. Finally, I would not be surprisedto see this book at a local bookstore, as I could seethis work enjoyed by practitioners, individualswith a general interest in business, written in away that incorporates key management conceptswhile in a format that would be interest to thegeneral population. In conclusion, I do not thinkthat traditional textbooks are always the best wayfor management students to learn new material,and Atlas Black uses a “novel” approach that willbecome a viable substitute.

Designing and Assessing Courses and Cur-ricula: A Practical Guide, 3rd edition, byRobert M. Diamond. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2008. 512 pages, paperback.

Reviewed by G. A. Hrivnak, Bond University.

If teaching is a part of your job, then defining, prior-itizing, achieving, and assessing student learningoutcomes is a topic that has most likely been re-ceiving increased attention from both inside andoutside the walls of your proverbial ivory tower.Whether driven by questions of practical rele-vance, return on investment, instructor perfor-mance, utilization of new technology, or some com-bination thereof, chances are either you or yourinstitution is questioning (or is in search of evi-dence supporting) the effectiveness of the coursesand curricula you offer. Thankfully, Robert Dia-mond’s posthumous third edition of Designing andAssessing Courses and Curricula offers a practicalguide for faculty, administrators, and others grap-pling with the topic of curricular design and as-sessment. Diamond’s advice is worth heeding.Over the course of his career, he was a highlyregarded researcher, practitioner, and thoughtleader in instructional design, innovation, andchange in higher education.

The book itself is organized in six sections. PartOne (A Frame of Reference) includes six chaptersthat provide a foundation for the rest of the book.The entire section is a well-organized sequence oftopics beginning with a general overview of thedesign and assessment model used throughout thebook (chapter 1) and ending with suggestions forgetting curricula design efforts recognized and re-warded as important scholarly work (chapter 4).Concerning the latter topic, the book’s Prefacemakes several relevant points about the currentand future context of teaching and learning thatshould not be missed.

Part Two (The Process) offers a detailed, step-by-step presentation of the curriculum design modelthat is the core of the book. Diamond notes that themodel has been refined over nearly half a centuryof use and has been successfully employed in anumber of widely varying educational institutions.This history allows Diamond to include a numberof case studies, each with its own lessons learnedand embedded practical implications, both at theend of the chapters and in a separate section at theend of the book. Diamond argues that in order toachieve a successful curriculum or course designproject, the project managers must start by clearlyestablishing the need and ensuring the necessary

358 JuneAcademy of Management Learning & Education