There are few writers out there as effective for putting across the message on good management painlessly - in fact hilariously - than Scott Adams.

His Dilbert cartoons, once the well-shared secret of computer departments and other business oddities, are now mainstream, but his humour remains painfully to the point.

Where previous Adams management books (as opposed to pure cartoon collections) have achieved some balance between the positive and the negative, this plunges whole heartedly into the BAD side of business.

In a way this is sad, because it becomes a bit relentless, but let's face it, it's easy enough to find bad examples, and is more fun for Adams to write too.

This is all about being a weasel - a weasel manager or a weasel employee, out to screw everyone and the business for as much as you can get - is not just about being negative, though. The fact is there's plenty to learn, because pretty well everything in here is what not to do, and there are very few of us who work in organizations where some of these bad practices don't occur.

Do be a little wary of pointing the finger, though. You might be surprised to discover just how many of your own ways fit in with the way of the weasel...