2. Settle in and observe. Go to your selected workplace and observe the people working there for at least 20 minutes. You should take along something like a notebook or PDA so that you can jot down a few notes.

It is a good idea to go during a busy time, so long as it is not so crowded that you will be unable to easily observe the workers. 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.