ABSTRACT
Charles Handy has been variously described as Europe’s leading management guru and the man who has brought philosophy back into the study of management. Originally a theorist on organisation behaviour, Handy has gone on to consider the nature of work and employment and the role of management in modern society, and to argue for a more holistic and ethical view of management as a discipline and practice. His work has resonances for economics, organisation theory and business ethics. In 2001, a poll of managers and academics conducted over the Internet to determine the most important management thinkers of all time ranked Handy as second only in importance behind Peter Drucker.1
