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 < back to authors list Tom Wheelen:
It was a book that defined the new field of strategic management when it was introduced. It holds a 1999 McGuffey Award from text and Academic Authors as a book whose value has been proven by being not only in publication but thriving for more than 15 years. "It is a great honor to be recognized by my peers," Wheelen said in an interview. "It is one of the nicest things to be awarded." What made the book such a success? "Professors want a book that contains current literature and has up-to-date footnotes," Wheelen said in an interview. . "Students want readability." Readability, he said, is what he and Hunger strive for in each edition. "It's what makes our book the best." Wheelen and Hunger wrote the first edition of Strategic Management and Business Policy in the early 1980s as the field of strategic management was just developing. The two paired up while teaching a business policy course at the University of Virginia. Business policy was new to both and they were learning on the job. With little content in the field, and almost nothing in the way of textbooks, they had to do a lot of research. They discovered that as the field was gaining content from research, the title of the area was changing from business policy to strategic management. It's the reason why both names are in the title of their book. Both take pride in the book's style and organization. It's widely regarded not only as readable and up-to-date but also as flowing and well integrated as a whole. To make sure that all of the chapters are connected, Wheelen and Hunger included a model of the process of strategic decision-making. It's a big book -- 1,000 pages: 400 pages on strategic management and business policy and 600 pages of cases. A unique feature is an emphasis on the strategic audit -- including its definition and purpose, a strategic decision-making process model, strategic audit questions which parallel each element of the model, suggested case analysis methodology, and examples of student written strategic audits. The audit provides the student with a complete package of text and illustrations, said Wheelen, so that he or she can do a strategic audit of an assigned case. The audit is revised each edition to reflect changes in the text. The sixth edition of Strategic Management and Business Policy, which won TAA's McGuffey, was praised by judges as "a solid book that is well-organized and up-to-date with numerous references from business that will appeal to students." Wheelen ranks receiving the McGuffey Award as a highlight of his career -- right up there with his being named to the Ralph E. Beeten Endowed Chair at the University of Virginia. Also, the McGuffey came a surprise. "I didn't even know David (Hunger) filled out the application," said Wheelen. "I was amazed to receive the award." In addition to the main Strategic Management and Business Policy text, there are three spin-offs:
Wheelen was skeptical about the Essentials book, but Hunger was insistent and eventually talked Wheelen and the publisher into doing the fourth book. Hunger argued that there would be many students in graduate courses without an undergraduate degree in business and no background in strategic management. The Essentials book, he argued, could help those students get up to speed. The eighth edition of Strategic Management and Business Policy includes a new chapter on the Internet, and illustrates unique strategic planning issues for Internet companies. Another addition to the eighth edition was a section, "Projections for the 21st Century," which told students what the world was going to look like in the long term. In addition to his textbooks, Wheelen has also co-developed four software programs: Strategic and Financial Analyzer (ST.FAN), Versions 1.0 and 2.0; and Financial Analyzer (FAN), Versions 1.0 and 1.1, published by Addison Wesley. Wheelen was graduated from Boston College with a bachelor's degree in 1957. He earned his master's in business administration from Babson College in 1961 and his doctorate in business administration from George Washington University in 1969. In college, he worked for General Electric as a systems programmer. He also took three years of night courses in a manufacturing training program between 1961 and 1964, the equivalent of an master's degree in industrial engineering. Wheelen was the Ralph Beeton Professor of Free Enterprise at the University of Virginia from 1981 to 1985, but wanted to move south, so he gave it up to become professor of strategic management at the University of South Florida. He won a teaching award at USF in 1997. "I like to see students grow," said Wheelen of his love for teaching. "I will keep teaching until I lose that." In 2000 he was one of only two authors inducted into Text and Academic Authors' Council of Fellows, a recognition afforded few authors and only after a rigorous nomination and review process. Wheelen has this advice for new authors:
Wheelen has three children: Katharyn, born in 1967; Tom, born in 1968; and Richard, born in 1970. His hobbies are going to the movies and to the beach. He also enjoys traveling. — reported by Kim Pawlak, 2000 |
