American Management Association
A nonprofit professional association and management-development organization serving managers, organizations, and public-sector institutions.
Last updated August 22, 2026
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Overview
The American Management Association (AMA) is a United States-based nonprofit educational and membership organization focused on management practice, leadership development, workplace effectiveness, and professional education. Headquartered in New York City, it serves individual professionals as well as companies, government agencies, and other institutions through training, seminars, conferences, research, publications, assessment, and consulting-related services. Its subject areas include leadership, communication, human resources, finance and accounting, marketing and sales, international management, industrial and commercial administration, and emerging management issues such as artificial intelligence. AMA traces its institutional origins to the early twentieth-century growth of organized industrial training. In 1913, professional schools and large corporations formed the National Association of Corporation Schools to promote vocational education and employee development. The organization later moved closer to the Employment Managers' Association, which was reorganized as the Industrial Relations Association of America in 1920. These organizations combined in 1922 to create the National Personnel Association, which adopted the name American Management Association in 1923. The resulting association broadened its remit from technical and vocational instruction to the development of management knowledge, personnel administration, industrial relations, and executive capability. During the interwar period, AMA provided a forum through which business leaders discussed labor relations, organizational administration, and the social responsibilities of management. The Great Depression encouraged the association to take a more reform-oriented approach to workplace and management questions rather than concentrating solely on direct policy intervention in business. During the Second World War, it addressed workforce mobilization and workplace equality. Its publications examined the employment of Black workers and women, while its leaders participated in wartime manpower-policy networks. After the war, AMA continued publishing guidance and research on financial reporting, labor-management cooperation, personnel administration, and business leadership. The organization expanded internationally beginning in 1961, when it established a European center in Brussels. Further centers and activities followed in Mexico City, Canada, Japan, Shanghai, and Latin America, alongside U.S. locations in cities including Atlanta, Chicago, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. AMA also widened its educational audience. Operation Enterprise, established in 1963, introduced management and business concepts to high-school and college students. Its publishing activity grew through the creation of AMACOM in 1963 and the launch of Organizational Dynamics in 1972. A later publication, MWorld, was introduced in 2000. AMACOM was sold to HarperCollins in 2018, separating the publishing imprint from AMA's core association and training operations. Today, AMA operates as a professional development and organizational learning provider rather than a conventional commercial brand. Its offerings combine instructor-led and other educational formats with conferences, studies, management publications, and member services. The association's audience includes first-line supervisors, experienced executives, human-resources professionals, specialists, consultants, organizations, and public agencies. Its historical identity is rooted in linking management education with changing workplace conditions, while its contemporary positioning emphasizes practical capabilities that organizations and individuals can apply to leadership, communication, talent management, finance, sales, and operational performance.
History
The American Management Association developed from the early twentieth-century movement to formalize industrial and workplace education. As large American companies expanded, they sought systematic ways to train employees and supervisors. On January 24, 1913, representatives of 35 professional schools and corporations, led by the New York Edison Company, established the National Association of Corporation Schools at a convention held at New York University. Arthur Williams served as its first president, with E. St. Elmo Lewis, Charles Proteus Steinmetz, Lee Galloway, and E. J. Mehren among its early officers. The association's initial purpose was closely connected to vocational instruction and the use of organized training to improve industrial competitiveness. The new body quickly built support among major corporations. Its first national convention took place in Dayton, Ohio, later in 1913 under the auspices of the National Cash Register Company. In the years following the First World War, the association increasingly addressed personnel administration and industrial relations. The Employment Managers' Association was reorganized as the Industrial Relations Association of America in 1920. In 1922, that organization merged with the National Association of Corporation Schools to form the National Personnel Association. One year later, the association adopted the name American Management Association, establishing the identity it retains today. AMA's remit expanded beyond technical training. In the 1920s it became a meeting place for executives and specialists concerned with labor relations, personnel systems, organizational administration, and the broader responsibilities of management. The social and economic pressures of the period shaped its priorities. After the First World War, it addressed tensions involving industrial relations and organized labor. During the Great Depression, it adopted comparatively progressive positions on workplace and management questions and reduced emphasis on direct political intervention in enterprise management. The Second World War brought the association into closer contact with national workforce policy. AMA promoted more equal treatment in employment and published studies in 1942 on the integration of Black workers and in 1943 on women's work. Lawrence A. Appley, who later became president in 1948, served as a vice-president and participated in the War Manpower Commission. After the war, AMA continued to influence management discussion through recommendations concerning financial reporting, personnel administration, and cooperation between management and trade unions. Its role combined professional association, executive forum, educational provider, and publisher. International growth began in 1961 with a European center in Brussels. AMA subsequently established or supported operations in Mexico City, Canada, Japan, Shanghai, and Latin America, while also developing U.S. centers in several major cities. The organization broadened its educational reach in 1963 through Operation Enterprise, which introduced business and management concepts to secondary-school and college students. That same year, it created the AMACOM publishing unit, adding a more substantial editorial and book-publishing dimension to its work. Organizational Dynamics followed in 1972, and MWorld was launched in 2000. In 2018, AMA sold AMACOM to HarperCollins. The sale separated the publishing business from the association's principal education and professional-development activities. AMA's current work centers on management training, seminars, conferences, research, publications, membership, and services for corporate, governmental, and individual clients. Its subject coverage now includes traditional management disciplines such as leadership, human resources, finance, marketing, and communication, as well as newer topics including artificial intelligence. The association remains active as a nonprofit organization headquartered in New York City, with an international orientation and a business model centered on learning and organizational development rather than public-market ownership.
- 2018
AMACOM sold to HarperCollins
[1]AMA sold its AMACOM publishing business to HarperCollins.
- 2017
Manny Avramidis appointed president and chief executive
[1]Manny Avramidis was named the association's 18th president and chief executive.
- 2000
MWorld launched
[1]AMA launched MWorld as an additional publication focused on management and organizational topics.
- 1972
Organizational Dynamics founded
[1]AMA founded the management publication Organizational Dynamics.
- 1963
Operation Enterprise and AMACOM launched
[1]AMA created Operation Enterprise for high-school and college students and established the AMACOM publishing unit.
- 1961
International expansion begins in Brussels
[1]AMA opened a European center in Brussels, beginning a sustained international expansion.
- 1943
Study on women's work published
[1]AMA issued a related study on women's work and employment during the Second World War.
- 1942
Study on Black worker integration published
[1]AMA published work addressing the integration of Black workers into employment during the wartime labor mobilization period.
- 1923
American Management Association name adopted
[1]The National Personnel Association changed its name to the American Management Association.
- 1922
National Personnel Association formed
[1]The Industrial Relations Association of America merged with the National Association of Corporation Schools to create the National Personnel Association.
Products and positioning
A nonprofit, practice-oriented professional development association that helps managers and organizations build leadership, operational, interpersonal, and business-management capabilities.
Professional education
Management training
AMA provides structured learning for managers and professionals across leadership, communication, human resources, finance, marketing, sales, and general management. Programs are designed for individual development as well as organizational capability building and may be delivered through seminars, courses, and other educational formats.
Leadership education
Leadership development programs
Leadership offerings address the practical skills required to supervise teams, make decisions, communicate direction, manage performance, and develop talent. They form a central part of AMA's positioning as a management-development association serving both emerging and experienced leaders.
Events
Seminars and conferences
AMA organizes seminars, conferences, and related forums where managers and specialists can receive instruction and discuss current organizational and business issues. These events extend the association's historic role as a professional network and convening platform.
Management knowledge · 1963
Research and publications
The association produces or has historically supported management studies, guidance, and periodicals. Its publishing history includes Organizational Dynamics and MWorld, while the former AMACOM unit was sold to HarperCollins in 2018.
Organizational development
Corporate and government training
AMA works with businesses, government agencies, and other institutions on management education and organizational development. These services adapt professional learning to employer needs rather than serving only individual members.
Brand decisions
2018
Sale of AMACOM to HarperCollinsM&ABackground
AMA reviewed the place of its publishing operation within an organization increasingly focused on training, membership, and professional development.
Action taken
The association sold AMACOM to HarperCollins.
Aftermath
Publishing ownership moved to HarperCollins while AMA retained its core association, education, and management-development activities.
1963
Launch Operation Enterprise and AMACOMProduct launchBackground
AMA was broadening both its educational audience and its role as a producer of management knowledge.
Action taken
It introduced Operation Enterprise for high-school and college students and created the AMACOM publishing unit.
Aftermath
The initiatives expanded AMA beyond conventional management seminars into youth education and publishing.
1961
Begin international expansionStrategyBackground
AMA sought to extend its management education and professional network beyond the United States.
Action taken
The association opened a European center in Brussels and later expanded into additional international markets.
Aftermath
The move established an international operating footprint that later included centers or activities in Mexico, Canada, Japan, China, and Latin America.
Recent events
OpenSesame adds AMA courses to its subscription[3]
Reported:
OpenSesame announced that American Management Association courses had been added to the OpenSesame Plus subscription to expand its leadership, management, and business-skills offering.
Sources3 sources
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