1. Find an observation point. Identify a place where you can unobtrusively observe a group of people as they go about their work. You might select a coffee shop, bookstore, or restaurant. The topic of management history may sound like old news, but many of the issues and problems addressed by Max Weber, Chester Barnard, and other management theorists still challenge managers today. How can we structure an organization for maximum effi ciency and just treatment of individuals? What is the basis for, and limits to, authority in organizations? It is rather amazing that these thinkers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries generated such a wealth of theory that still infl uences our discussion of management and leadership challenges in the 21st century. This exercise will give you the opportunity to draw upon some ideas that trace their roots back to the pioneers of management thinking.