Is there something like a "Bible" or a widely-followed book concerning managerial takeovers?

What I mean is this.

At the place where I work, there have been in the last five years the head of management has been fired twice.

In both cases, the new person that came in to take their place did the following, in order:

Fired higher ups in management who everyone knew was doing a bad job and who no one liked.

Replaced these people with personal friends and associates, as far as we (non-management) can tell with no candidate search for the position.

A while later, fired several people who were not generally thought of as having been doing a bad job, and who were generally liked.

Replaced these people with personal friends and associates, as far as we can tell with no candidate search for the position.

(In the latest case one position was announced in one case–but was filled the very next week in-house rather than by a personal friend or associate of the new head of management.)

In the case of both takeovers, the newly-hired friends and associates formed a power structure the shape of which had only the most tenuous connection with the structure that had existed before, leading to some confusion among those lower down the pole who had to deal with them. The higher-ups did not seem to mind this at all.

So this (the sameness of the seemingly irrational* process in both cases) all may just be a natural outcome of facts about human nature, or it may be common knowledge among people in positions like this.

OR

There’s are actual texts out there I could read in order to get the skinny on how things will likely proceed either from here, or at least starting out with the next management decapitation should there be one.

Is there a “bible” these people read? Or a list of principles and tactics they all learn somewhere?

*Emphasis on “seemingly.” These guys probably know more about the job performance of the well-liked-but-fired people than I or my colleagues ever will. Also, though I would think I’d want to hire the best person for the job rather than my personal friends and associates, maybe there’s some rationality to the idea of making sure you’ve got people around you who you “know how to work with” or something.

Dogbert’s Top Secret Management Handbook

Seriously. This is probably the most depressing book I’ve ever read. To be fair, the introduction does give fair warning.