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Transforming Bell Atlantic from a bureaucratic, monopolistic company into an efficient entrepreneurial competitor meant creating a new mind-set and sense of teamwork for each employee. Raymond Smith credits his company's successful change to behavior established through the Bell Atlantic Way -- an improvement program stressing teamwork and accountability.

As corporations restructure for greater flexibility and innovation, radical changes are taking place in managerial work. Collaborative work is increasing, hierarchy fading. Signs of change include more channels for instigating action, fewer differences between managers and those they manage, and the increasing importance of external relationships as sources of power and influence. Managers must master change in power and motivation; they accomplish things by building relationships and brokering deals. And because loss of hierarchy has deprived them of some capacity to guarantee promotion or direct work, they need new motivational tools.

Banc One Corp., an innovative and financially successful super-regional bank holding company, has a track record of upgrading performance of acquisitions while retaining previous management--doing better with the same people. In June 1989 Banc One made its first acquisition out of its home base region by purchasing McCorp's insolvent Bridge Bank in Texas, with assets almost half that of the entire Banc One system. Banc One is now much larger and operating on new territory at a time when its decentralized operating philosophy is already strained by growth and innovation. Chairman John B. McCoy, who describes himself as "chief personnel officer," has been active as a general manager in developing and upgrading people through a variety of means. What should he do to meet the performance challenges of the future?

Outlines the differences between convergent change, which is a process of incremental innovation and continuous improvement, and divergent change, which involves revolutionary changes. Discusses how to manage each type of change and the consequences associated with each. Organizational evolution typically involves longer periods of convergent change that are punctuated by short periods of divergent change in which managers realign the firm and react to external opportunities and challenges.

Intended to be used in cases dealing with crisis management and gives students a more theoretical perspective on leadership during volatile periods of business activity. Written to accompany the Lucky Stores case series.

Traditional compensation systems that value status instead of contribution do not reward the entrepreneurial activity U.S. companies need. They're also unfair, costly, and inefficient. Now U.S. employers are changing their pay practices to forge better links between compensation and performance. Traditional ideas about hierarchy come into question every time one of these changes is made, so attacks on pay that look like fine-tuning are actually revolutionary in what they portend for organizational design.

Power, the critical element in managerial behavior, is representative of efficacy and capacity, as well as dominance and oppression. An individual's power comes from his or her position in an organization and access to resources, information, and organizational support. Power positions allow job discretion, recognition, and task relevance. The more communication with superiors, peers, and subordinates, the more powerful the position is. Powerlessness is characteristic of task and routine oriented jobs. Managerial skills must be communicated to subordinates to ensure greater effectiveness in supervision. McKinsey Award Winner.