Fredmund Malik

Fredmund Malik
Born	1 September 1944(1944-09-01) Lustenau, Austria
Alma mater	University of St. Gallen
Occupation	Professor, Management consultant
Influenced by	Stafford Beer, Heinz von Foerster, Hans Ulrich, Peter Drucker
Awards	2009 Cross of Honor for Science and Art of the Republic of Austria for his Wholistic Management Systems, 2010 Heinz von Foerster-Award for Organizational Cybernetics by the German Association for Cybernetics

Fredmund Malik (born September 1, 1944 in Lustenau, Vorarlberg) is an Austrian economist with focus on management and the founder and chairman of a management consultancy in St. Gallen.^[1][2]

Malik applies systems theory and cybernetics to analyse and design management systems. From 1974 to 2004 he was teaching at the University of St. Gallen, where he is titular professor for general management, leadership and governance.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Honorary positions 3 Selected Works 4 External links 5 References

Biography

Malik studied economics, social sciences, logic and philosophy of science at the universities of Innsbruck and St. Gallen ^[3] He earned his doctoral degree in 1975 at the University of St. Gallen, where he habilitated in 1978 for managerial economics. From 1978 to 1986, he was associate professor for managerial economics at the University of St. Gallen. From 1979 to 1984 he was also member of the board of the School of Management at University of St. Gallen. For many years, he worked closely with Hans Ulrich, the founder of the St. Gallen Management Model. From 1981 to 1982 he was guest professor at the University of Innsbruck. In 1986 he was appointed titular professor at University of St. Gallen. From 1992 to 1997 he was guest professor at the Vienna University of Economics and Business. Since 1977 he is also chairman of the Management Zentrum St. Gallen.

Malik analyses complexity by applying management cybernetics in an interdisciplinary combination of methods and on the basis of different philosophies of science. He is influenced by Peter F. Drucker, the avant-garde thinker of management and by philosophers like Karl Popper and cyberneticians like Norbert Wiener, Heinz von Foerster and Stafford Beer.

Malik is author of numerous writings on management theory, general management, strategy and human resource development. He is regarded as a generatlist and besides his theoretical background, he gained practical experience as management consultant, managemnt educator and entrepreneur, and as member and chairman of several supervisory bodies. In particular, he aims at effective management action and applies cybernetics to management practice.

From his wholistic, system-oriented standpoint, he criticizes pure shareholder value orientation and education programs in business administration that in his opinion mostly teach too limited views on economics and management.^[4] He argues that applying the laws, models and methods of management cybernetics, enables an organization to function more effective- and efficiently. With this knowledge of cybernetics applied in any societal organization including the political sphere, he asserts that a “New World of Functioning” can be achieved that will benefit all society.^[5]

Honorary positions

Malik is a jury member of the "Top 100" award for the most innovative companies of the German Mittelstand. With practical and theoretical expert knowledge, he decides which company is awarded "Innovator of the Year".^[6]

Selected Works

• Series: Management: Mastering Complexity:

• Volume 1: Management: The essence of the craft, 2010, in English, Campus Verlag, Frankfurt/New York ISBN 978-3-593-39129-8
• Volume 2: Corporate Policy and Corporate Governance, 2008, in German: ISBN 978-3-593-38286-9
• Volume 3: Strategy: Navigating in the New World, 2011, in German: ISBN 978-3-593-38287-6

• Uncluttered Management Thinking: 46 Concepts for Masterful Management, 2011, in English, ISBN 978-3-593-39365-0
• Managing Performing Living: Effective Management for a New Era, 2009, in English, 978-3-593-38278-4
• Effective Top Management: Beyond the Failure of Corporate Governance and Shareholder Value, 2006, in English, ISBN 978-3-527-50117-5
• The New Corporate Governance, in German
• Systemic Management, Evolution, Self-organisation, new edition 2009, in German: ISBN 978-3-258-07494-8
• Strategy of the Management of Complex Systems (Habilitation), new edition 2008, in German: 978-3-258-07396-5
• Management-Systems, in German
• Danger of Crisis in the World Economy, in German (with Daniel Stelter)
• Praxis of System-orientiented Management, in German (Editor)
• Systemmethodoligy, in German (Doctoral Dissertation, with Peter Gomez and Karl-Heinz Oeller)
• System-orientiented Management, in German (Editor, with Bénédict Hentsch)

External links

• Literature by and about Fredmund Malik in the German National Library catalogue
• Website of Fredmund Malik

References

1. ^ Die Schweizerische Post: Interview with Fredmund Malik of August 12, 2009, last accessed August 6, 2011.
2. ^ Malik Management: Unternehmen – Geschichtlicher Abriss last accessessed August 6, 2011.
3. ^ Fredmund Malik Biographie last accessed August 6, 2011.
4. ^ Handelsblatt: Interview with Fredmund Malik of January 17, 2010, last accessed August 6, 2011.
5. ^ Fredmund Malik: "Strategy: Navigating in the New World", 2011, in German: ISBN 978-3-593-38287-6
6. ^ compamedia GmbH: Die „Top 100“-Jury last accessed, August 6, 2011.

Persondata
Name
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Date of birth	September 1, 1944
Place of birth	Lustenau, Austria
Date of death
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