Atlas Black: Managing to Succeed
Watch the Atlas Black Movie Trailer to get excited about using a Graphic Novel for your business course!
Listen to a podcast of Jeremy Short discussing his Graphic Novel for use in Management courses or you can watch a brief YouTube Video for insight into his new text option.
“Atlas Black: Managing to Succeed” is the first ever graphic novel that encompasses key concepts and theories from the management field. For perhaps the first time, you will not struggle to get your students to read their assigned text.
Graphic novels are book length works that are targeted toward adult audiences. They are widely read by college students, and in recent years educators have incorporated graphic novels into many university courses like Chemistry, Psychology, History, Physics, Statistics, and ethics — to name a few. Today’s students encounter and thrive on a vast array of stimulation and media input. The Graphic Novel is one way to captivate their attention, and increase understanding of the material covered in the course.
The graphic novel format provides great versatility. “Atlas Black: Managing to Succeed” can add value as:
- A supplement or complementary text for Principles of Management, Organizational Behavior, Strategic Management, and Entrepreneurship courses.
- A replacement for a traditional text in an experiential or short course.
- A primer on business, management, and entrepreneurship for incoming freshmen within the ‘overview of business’ classes that are offered at many colleges and universities.
Who is Atlas Black anyway?
After a longer than anticipated 5-year engagement in college, Atlas Black is finally about to graduate. Unfortunately, Atlas has no job lined up, and he is facing problems with his landlord. He is just getting over his breakup with Maria, who graduated more than one year ago and is on the fast track with a local accounting firm. Atlas is a good guy with a quick wit, but he has been a bit of a slacker.
This graphic novel is about Atlas and his struggle to navigate his college career and plan his new life. With the help of his sidekick (and honors student), David Chan, the witty insights of their local barrista, Tess, his sage management professor, and the mysterious "Black", Atlas will work to fund his college expenses, start a new business, and act as a fledgling entrepreneur, along the way illustrating key concepts from principles of management, organizational behavior, strategic management, and entrepreneurship. In contrast to the often 'dry' descriptive approach of traditional texts, and the superficial cheerleading of the latest "pop management" books, Atlas Black: Managing to Succeed brings concepts to life using a graphic novel format that undergraduates, MBA's, entrepreneurs, and anyone interested in more deeply grasping business is certain to find both educational and entertaining.
The Atlas Black series will be serialized into ten chapters, with each chapter covering key topics in an engaging and memorable way. The ten chapters will be broken into two parts: Parts A and B.
Atlas Black: Managing to Succeed will include:
Chapter 1: Not So Ancient History (Overview of the Management Field, Management History, Frederick Taylor, Scientific Management, Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, Eadweard Muybridge, Upton Sinclair, Determinants of Firm Performance) View now for free
Chapter 2: How to Make Good Decisions (And Avoid Bad Ones) (Mission, Vision, Balanced Scorecard, Triple Bottom Line, Decision Biases, Rational Decision Making)
Chapter 3: Blood, SWOT, and Tears (SWOT Analysis, Big Five Personality Traits, Type A and B Personalities, Porter’s Five Forces, Environmental Trends)
Chapter 4: Human Resources- Sail or Anchor? (Generic Business Level Strategies, Resource-Based View of the Firm, Intellectual Property Rights (Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, Trade Secrets), Human Resources, Substantive and Contingent Selection, Legal and Illegal Hiring Questions)
Chapter 5: Charting the Future: Organizational Structure and Fit (Hierarchy of Authority, Unity of Command, Span of Control, Division of Labor, Bureaucracy, Simple Structure, Functional Structure, Multidivisional Structure, SBU Structure, Synergy, Strategic Network, Matrix Structure, Person-job Fit, Person-organization Fit, ASA Framework)
Atlas Black: Management Guru? (Available Fall 2009) will include:
Chapter 6: Effective Communication- Can You Hear Me Now?
Chapter 7: Negotiation and Conflict- Thriving on Chaos
Chapter 8: Group (Mis) Behavior
Chapter 9: How to Lose Friends and (De) Motivate People
Chapter 10: Leadership- I've Got the Power! Don't I?