I would like to briefly announce the availability of a book I have co-authored entitled The Sergeant Major Syndrome. It is intended as a career advice book for the popular reader. It can also be a suitable (and free)resource for HRM or Careers courses. Initial readers have also suggested it is a fun read.
Due to the nature of the publishing industry today, we have made the book available for free online. Please feel free to browse it, download it, incorporate it into syllabi and/or recommend it.
http://www.managementdevelopment.biz/thebook/main.php
Here's the introduction:
" In the glory days of the British Empire, commissioned officers in the military were children of the aristocracy. A commoner entering the ranks might hope to rise to the rank of Sergeant Major (Master Sergeant), but there was no chance of crossing the glass ceiling separating the enlisted men from the commissioned officers, Lieutenant and above. It was widely known that the British Army was run by its Sergeant Majors, but, no matter how much a Sergeant Major was valued, the reward for performing well was no more than another seniority stripe on his sleeve and another, more impossible assignment. Those who lived to retire ended their careers with Her Majesty's sincerest gratitude – and little else.
" I have served as a corporate Sergeant Major and, if you are reading this book with interest, then probably so have you. Unlike our military predecessor, today’s organizational Sergeant Major is not held down by tradition or policy, but by a variety of factors which, if understood, can be changed. Part One of this book will help you to understand what a Sergeant Major is and how these limiting factors operate. In Part Two, we outline a plan for strategizing what you will choose to do about being – or not being – a Sergeant Major."
A. Prof. Roy Stager Jacques, MBA, PhD
Dept of Management, QB 2.06
Massey University
Albany, Auckland, New Zealand