This book provides a brief overview of the fundamental presumptions underlying the idea of management. It is argued that managers and others must endorse these presumptions – the teachings of management – even though they are well aware that their applicability to managerial practice is limited. The author analyzes how the teachings of management are similar to political or religious beliefs and why, unlike such doctrines, they cannot be easily dismissed as outdated or irrelevant. Instead, these assumptions help to construct the idea of the organization, and thus constitute a vital factor in a contemporary society of organizations.