In Random Acts of Management, cartoonist Scott Adams offers sardonic glimpses once again into the lunatic office life of Dilbert, Dogbert, Wally, and others, as they work in an all-too-believably ludicrous setting filled with incompetent management, incomprehensible project acronyms, and minuscule raises. Everyone, it seems, identifies with Dilbert, who struggles to navigate the constant tribulations of absurd company policies and idiot management strategies.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ database with this name.
Adams was born in Windham, New York in 1957 and received his Bachelor's degree in Economics from Hartwick College in 1979.
He also studied economics and management for his 1986 MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.
In recent years, Adams has been hurt with a series of debilitating health problems. Since late 2004, he has suffered from a reemergence of his focal dystonia which has affected his drawing. He can fool his brain by drawing using a graphics tablet. On December 12, 2005, Adams announced on his blog that he also suffers from spasmodic dysphonia, a condition that causes the vocal cords to behave in an abnormal manner. However, on October 24, 2006, he again blogged stating that he had recovered from this condition, although he is unsure if the recovery is permanent. He claims to have developed a method to work around the disorder and has been able to speak normally since. Also, on January 21, 2007, he posted a blog entry detailing his experiences with treatment by Dr. Morton Cooper.
Adams is also a trained hypnotist, as well as a vegetarian. (Mentioned in, "Dilbert: A Treasury of Sunday Strips 00).
I know that the management is supposed to be random, but I don’t see it. If anything, the chaos all seems planned and rehearsed for the impact.
But the comic is hilarious and I love the book dearly. Not all the characters, though.
I hate the pointy-headed boss, and Dilbert and his friends, or should I say his co-workers. Also, Dogbert and Catbert, I despise. And the secretary and the secretary of the secretary.
Also, I hate the ex-girlfriend of Dilbert, including his new girlfriend and his future girlfriend. I hate ‘em all.
But I love this book. I loved reading the whole thing. And just read it yourself to see what I mean.
PHB: "Before I eat a sandwich, I always remove the useless edges of the bread. That tells you what kind of manager I am." Asok (the Intern): "You're the Anti-Crust?"
Possessed Pointy-Haired Boss: "YOUR MOTHER IMPLEMENTS MULTI-VENDOR PROCESSES WITHOUT SYNERGY!!"
Great fun. Although some of the jokes goes way, way over my head. But that's part of this comics charm. On the whole, I really enjoyed reading this one.
Ever wondered what is the management thinking... Tired of annual reorgs? You might just find the answer here.. But in my opinion, this book is not as funny as the others.
I didn't get Dilbert as a kid. Now, I mostly don't get Dilbert. Maybe it's a different kind of office from the one I've experienced. I've also seen The Office, which has a lot of heart, and Dilbert definitely doesn't.
Like, it's a newspaper comic, and those aren't necessarily known for being "deep". But I've seen comics with some stellar character development, and it makes Dilbert--a strip that seems opportune for fleshing out work relationships--seem lame by comparison. Mostly, it's an endless stream of "work is hell, your boss is insane, your job is meaningless, bureaucratic red tape is funny". Dilbert is at its best in the weekly story times where, ya know, stuff happens. Otherwise, it's just...mundane. Which is the point, maybe?
Also, Dilbert's a certifiable creep and watches a woman sleep. Just...Scott Adams is a strange man.
I’ve always suspected Scott Adams had the office that I used to work at bugged. There are a lot of similarities between Dilbert’s office and that one I worked at in the 1990’s. I always enjoy reading Dilbert books and this one was no exception. There might be a certain number of the comic strip that I don’t “get�, but there is a lot that I not only get, but have experienced in some form or another.
I was really enjoying this book until I hit one section and I realized this is my life. The way management worked and the co-workers. It's sad when reading a comic book and you realize it’s the company you work for. Now you’re putting your manager's head in the strips along with your co-workers. The author was using the exact same words my management team was using on us. How did he do it?
There really are some classic punchlines in this book and I encourage everyone experiencing some sort of office life to enjoy the content and irreverent reality.
Good black and white strips that are easily mounted on cubicle walls. Recently some idiots have objected to this humor because our education system is at a 50 year low.
Scott Adams is misogynistic & insane. He's gotten worse as time goes on & certainly you can see the warning signs in some of his earlier comics. Not sure if I could read his current content, but the old stuff is entertaining enough.
I love Dilbert! It amazes me how Scott Adams finds the truth behind all those assinine decisions that corporate America seems to make each and every day! You'll love seeing Dilbert try to survive daily work when his co-workers seem to plot against him and management seems to be completely lost. A great read for anyone who enjoys work related humor.
He may not be an engineer like Dilbert and the others, but Pointy-Haired Boss knows a thing or two about hitting goals...as long as it doesn't involve too much work on his part...and means his checks remains in the triple digits...Adams will have fans smiling the whole way through in another short but sweet collection of comics. Surely there's some sort of thought process to this madness...right?
We all might have started out like Calvin with a great view of life. But after hitting the workforce we all somewhat become Dilbert. Everyone knows someone like one of the characters in the strips. Highly recommended