Understanding the Theory and Design of Organizations

Richard L. Daft, Ph.D., is the Brownlee O. Currey, Jr. Professor of Management and Principal Senior Lecturer in the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University, where he specializes in the study of leadership and organization theory. Dr. Daft is a fellow of the Academy of Management and has served on the editorial boards of Academy of Management Journal, Administrative Science Quarterly, and Journal of Management Education. He was associate editor-in-chief of Organization Science and associate editor of Administrative Science Quarterly. Dr. Daft has authored or co-authored 13 books, including The Executive and the Elephant, Organization Theory and Design, and Management. He also has authored dozens of scholarly articles, papers, and chapters, and he has published in the Administrative Science Quarterly, Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Management; Accounting, Organizations and Society, Management Science, MIS Quarterly, and Organizational Behavior Teaching Review. Dr. Daft has received several government research grants in organization design, organizational innovation and change, strategy implementation, and organizational information processing. An active teacher and respected consultant, Dr. Daft has served as associate dean and helped manage a start-up enterprise. He has been involved in management development and consulting for numerous organizations, including the American Banking Association, AutoZone, Bridgestone, Vulcan Materials, TVA, Pratt & Whitney, Allstate Insurance, State Farm Insurance, the United States Air Force, the U.S. Army, Central Parking System, USAA, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Vanderbilt University Medical Center.