Properties of Management Fads
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
They are relatively simple.
They are falsely encouraging.
One size fits all.
Easy to cut and paste.
They resonate with today’s problems.
They are novel but not necessarily radical.
They are legitimized by Gurus and Disciples.
Source: HBR 2002
American vs Japanese Orgs.
Type A
Employment
Decision Making
(nonroutine)
Responsibility
Eval. & Promotion
Control System
Career Path
Concern for
Employees
Type J
Short-term Long-term
Individual Consensual
Individual
Rapid
Explicit/
Formal
Specialized
Segmented
Collective
Slow
Implicit/
Informal
Unspecialized
Holistic
Theory Z Organizations
Employment
Decision Making
(nonroutine)
Responsibility
Eval. & Promotion
Control System
Career Path
Concern for
Employees
Long-term
Consensual
Individual
Slower
Implicit/Informal with
Explicit Measures
Moderately Specialized
Holistic
(including family)
3 Common TQM Elements
1. Customer Focus
2. Continuous Improvement
3. Teamwork
A sampling of Deming’s 14 points
2. Constantly improve every system
3. Eliminate financial goals & quotas
4. Drive out fear
7. Remove barriers between depts.
9. Eliminate annual ratings
10. Education & self-improvement
11. Abandon slogans
12. Cease dependence on mass inspection
The Learning Org: A Change in Values
Dimension
Org. Metaphor
Main Constraint
Value
Focus
Markets
Strategic Obj.
Structure
Org. Principle
Leadership
Relationships
Information
Traditional
View
Machine
Capital
Stability
Profits
Domestic
Efficiency
Hierarchy
Div. of Labor
Autocratic
Competition
Power Source
Learning
Organization
Organism
Creativity
Change
Consumers/Empl.
Global
Effectiveness
Work Teams
Synthesis of Minds
Empowerment
Cooperation
Open Access
Daft, 5th edition & Wall Street Journal (2/26/99, p. B1)
Data Miners
In Search of Excellence
Good to Great
What Really works
8 attributes of “excellent” firms
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
A bias toward action
Closeness to the customer
Autonomy & entrepreneurship
Productivity through people
Hands-on and value-driven
Sticking to the knitting
Simple form and lean staff
Simultaneous loose-tight properties
Good To Great: Jim Collins
Why some companies make the leap to Great
and others don’t
Good is the enemy of Great
Level 5 leadership
First who … then what
Hedgehog not a fox – What are you deeply passionate
about
What can you be the best in the
world at
A culture of discipline (never lose faith)
Good to Great
Good to Great Companies – cumulative returns
3X market over 15 years
Abbott Labs
Circuit City
Fannie Mae
Gillette
Kimberly-Clark
Walgreens
Wells Fargo
What Really Works: William Joyce et al
10 years of data on 160 companies and
200 management practices
Identified winners (Walmart), tumblers (LA Gear),
climbers (Target) & losers (K Mart)
in terms of total return to shareholders &
other financial measures
Most practices were unrelated to financial performance
Found: successful companies mastered 6 practices
all not equally important: 4X2 model
What Really Works
4 Primary practices: Must do
Clear and focused strategy
Execute flawlessly
Build a performance based culture
Make your organization flexible, fast and flat
2 Secondary practices: Pick any 2
Keep and develop talent
Leaders who are committed to the business
Make industry transforming innovations
Growth through mergers and joint ventures
Research on Management Fads
1. Fads tend to display a symetrical life-cycle
discovery
wild acceptance
digestion
disillusionment
only hard core remain
2. More recent fads are
Broader based
Shorter-lived
More difficult for management to implement
3. There is little evidence they improve profits
They do have reputational value
They do affect top management salaries
Source: 1. Gibson & Tesone AME 2001, 122-133; 2. Carson et al AMJ, 2000, 1143-1158;
3. Staw & Epstein ASQ,2000, 523-556 (quality, empowerment, teams)