Routledge has published a textbook that directly addresses the needs of English-taught business programmes: “Management: A European Perspective”. The book organises the foundations of modern management while firmly embedding them in the socioeconomic realities of Central and Eastern Europe – where managerial decisions are shaped by economic transformation, competitive pressure, regulatory volatility, technology and geopolitics.
The authors are scholars affiliated with Kozminski University: Professor Andrzej K. Koźmiński, Professor Dariusz Jemielniak, Professor Dominika Latusek-Jurczak and Dr Anna Pikos. The publisher’s notes underline a compelling blend of academic and practical perspectives – from institution-building experience and strategic thinking, through research on organisations in the digital world (including Professor Jemielniak’s collaboration with Harvard University), to expertise in trust and organisational functioning.
It is worth emphasising that the author team brings complementary strengths and international experience. Professor Andrzej K. Koźmiński is the founder of Kozminski University and one of the most widely recognised management scholars. Professor Dariusz Jemielniak contributes an up-to-date perspective on management in the digital world, research on online collaboration and new forms of organising work, drawing on experience across different academic environments. Professor Dominika Latusek-Jurczak heads the Trust Research Center at Kozminski University, focusing on inter-organisational relationships, social networks and trust, including in international research, among others at Stanford University. Dr Anna Pikos, in turn, specialises in organisational longevity, business history and trust, leading numerous research projects supported, among others, by the National Science Centre (NCN) and European programmes.
Management as a “living” subject, not just theory
What stands out in this publication is its consistent, learning-oriented design. The book is structured to strengthen learning outcomes: each chapter sets clear learning objectives, introduces key concepts through concise explanations, and then guides readers through exercises, review questions, and mini case studies that “ground” theory in real managerial situations. This matters especially in English-taught programmes, where students work with international literature and need material that not only explains concepts, but also demonstrates their practical relevance.
“Management can no longer be taught exclusively from the perspective of a single market. This book presents the foundations and today’s management challenges in a European context – where change, technology and responsibility converge in everyday managerial decisions,” emphasises Professor Dariusz Jemielniak, one of the authors.
The book also has a clearly modern thematic profile, covering leadership, adapting to change and technology, ethics and responsibility, diversity, as well as climate challenges and sustainable business practices. As a result, it can serve as the main textbook for introductory management courses, while also connecting modules that are often spread across multiple sources in many curricula.
A scope that aligns well with business syllabi
The structure comprises twelve chapters that move from fundamentals to contemporary areas of management: from the history of management thought, through management and leadership, ethics and responsibility, the environment and stakeholders, innovation and entrepreneurship, international and strategic contexts, to formalisation and structure, organisational culture, HR and diversity. This makes the textbook useful both as a “core” resource for first-year students and as a shared reference point in international cohorts, where prior preparation levels can vary significantly.
The format is also noteworthy: a substantial, illustrated book (320 pages, 53 illustrations), designed for semester-long work – with space for examples, models and tools, rather than only condensed definitions.
Resources that support teaching in English
From a teaching-quality perspective, it is particularly valuable that the publisher provides online resources that support instruction: PowerPoint slides and a test bank. For instructors teaching in English, this translates into faster development of coherent classes; for students, it offers a clear structure for revision and knowledge checks.
Overall, “Management: A European Perspective” brings together three elements that rarely appear in a single title: a solid management canon, the current challenges of the business world, and a European perspective with a meaningful focus on Central and Eastern Europe. For English-taught business programmes, it is a particularly strong fit – both as an initial, organising read and as a reference point for discussions on how theory translates into decisions in a specific socioeconomic context.
The book is available on the publisher’s website (Routledge)
