This book has always presented a particular challenge, knowing that its long-term success has been largely because it has been written to be very readable and accessible to a wide range of readers. This book has never been addressed solely to the academic community – instead it is addressed to practising managers and to students intending to be managers, and to their teachers. More than anything else we aim to indicate ‘best practice’. What constitutes ‘best practice’ is a question of opinion but we are basing what we consider ‘best practice’ on a wide range of sources including publications and research and discussions with many managers from many companies and countries.