This book had been produced by the BCS as part of a series of publications designed to be of value to those working within IT Management. It's composed of a series of short sections that focus on key aspects of management and uses a number of examples to re-inforce the concepts.
At first reading, it is tempting to view this book as a handbook aimed at those people that work primarily within very large organisations; it certainly seems to be positioned for those individuals, rather than for those that work within the SME size business. This is not to say that the points raised within the publication are not relevant to those people within an SME; I would argue that good management skills are needed at all levels from the smallest business to the largest; and sadly are often lacking. Many of the scenarios portrayed can occur even within relatively small businesses, and the challenges will be as great; possibly greater due to the reduced numbers of people within the IT teams.
It is still the case that many IT staff have little or no formal qualification; many are hobbyists that have turned their pastime into a job skill. Those that have undertaken formal training often do so in a way that does not always relate to the actual job function. Most training is technically based and the quality of this can vary considerably. There is simply too little opportunity for most IT people to undertake non-technical training, unless they do so at their own cognisance.
I would suggest that part of the problem is one of perception; IT is still a relatively young industry compared to most other disciplines. The fact that technology changes so rapidly does not help; and as the majority of IT workers seldom work within an established structure at any time in their career means that poor practice is commonplace, and good practice is not always easy to institute or disseminate.
This book can be of real value to those within IT Management that are willing to be more open minded. My only criticism is that it could usefully use a few more examples from the SME to highlight some of the key points; and I hope that the BCS will consider this in the next edition.
