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Effective presentations do not just happen, they are the result of careful planning and practice. The more appropriate to audience, situation, and topic your planning and delivery, the more likely it is that you will achieve your communication goal. An active, involved audience is one of the speaker's greatest assets.

How do you manage yourself and your interaction with others when you feel your personal values challenged? What should you be aware of as you proceed with sensitive, ethical issues? Jonah Creighton coordinates the company's fast-track training program, and when he tries to place some participants at two of the company's overseas divisions, he learns of their discriminatory hiring practices. He finds this deeply troubling and attempts to have the issue addressed by his supervisor and others at the company. As he tries to act in accordance with his personal standards and convictions, his relationship with his supervisor deteriorates, and he feels increasingly uncertain about his future at the company. People do not seem to be responding to the problems he sees, and Jonah wonders how to proceed.

Covers Jonah's two-hour meeting with the company's executive vice president who is next in line to become president, and the outcome of the discriminatory hiring incident that initially troubled Jonah.

Traces the history of a collaborative effort to create an organization to manage a major international development project in the slums of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Focuses on a serious set of disagreements which develops several months into the project between the two principals, an Ethiopian woman who founded the project and a British entrepreneur who is the coordinator of the donor consortium. Designed to provide 1) an example of entrepreneurial action in the nonprofit sector, particularly in international development, 2) the opportunity to diagnose problems in the working relationship of two people who have very different backgrounds, and 3) the opportunity to devise plans for each person to take in addressing the problems.

In ever more turbulent environments, executive leadership matters as never before. Organization speed, flexibility, and the need to execute discontinuous change require sharpened leadership skills. Charismatic leaders are important. These relatively rare leaders provide vision, direction, and energy for their firms. However, charisma is never enough to build competitive, agile organizations. Charismatic leadership must be bolstered by institutional leadership through attention to details on roles, structures, and rewards. Further, as most organizations are too large and complex for any one executive or senior team to manage directly, responsibility for managing in turbulent environments must be institutionalized throughout the management system.

In the spring of 1987, Mauritz Sahlin, CEO of SKF, the world's largest bearing company, decided to transform the company to improve profitability and return on assets. Production had already been rationalized and was fully automated, leaving little room for savings. Neither could R&D expenditures be cut, given the company's reputation for technological prowess and quality standards. The only viable long-term solution was to change the strategic orientation of SKF from the production line to the market, which would now be segmented into the before market and aftermarket. The plan required a complex reorganization of the company with far-reaching consequences throughout the organization, but there was no other option. Intended to be the springboard to a new SKF market culture, SKF Bearing Services was created, and Goran Malm was asked to be its CEO. A 1995 and 1997 ECCH award winner.

Shortly after accepting the offer to become CEO of the newly created SKF Bearings Services in 1987, Goran Malm, long a proponent of market-driven change at SKF, defined his mission: trouble-free operations. Rather than simply make and sell bearings, which SKF, the world's largest bearing company, had excelled at, SKF Bearing Services was to offer customers solutions. Quickly selecting his key team members, Malm set about instituting a market-driven approach throughout his division, which was responsible for handling the vehicle and industrial aftermarket. Push through distributors and pull through advertising and the creation of maintenance support centers, which he called service factories, were key to implementing the change process.

Supplements the (A) case.

SKF, the world's largest bearing manufacturer, decided in 1987 to change its focus significantly. Although the Swedish company was still No. 1 in the field, its profitability and return on assets had been going flat since 1985. To remain the industry leader, the company had to give customers what they wanted, not simply what the firm manufactured. Goran Malm was appointed to implement the change process within SKF.

Brief description of the life history of a Xerox manager. When used with Managing Xerox's Multinational Development Center it allows for the discussion of the relationship between personal history, personal values, and career choices.

Describes a manager's role in developing a staff group responsible for enhancing the efficiency of Xerox's worldwide logistics and inventory management systems. Illustrates a range of management strategies for upward and lateral influence in a complex organizational context, as well as the use of a number of innovative human resource management techniques. If used with John A. Clendenin it allows for the discussion of career development issues.

Distills memos written by the author each time he took over as head of a different company, memos intended to make sure his managers understood how he intended to run the company. Included are: a call for a stable earning pattern over time to be duplicated by each business unit; a requirement that the company live by operating plans underlaid by corporate and division strategy; an expectation of productivity improvement; and fairness in dealings with employees. The ground rules for managers' "core responsibilities" are organization and staffing, planning and execution, and people development.

Describes the challenge of creating, communicating, and committing to a "vision" for an organization. Visions are characterized as a critical building block for stimulating a successful major change in an organization. Considers characteristics of a good vision, an effective visionary, and a process for giving commitment to a vision.

Traces the career development of People Express founder Don Burr. Shows how an individual's evolving set of needs and values influences career choices and how each successive working environment meets these needs or spurs the individual to move on. Concludes as Burr is faced with the difficult choice of what he is going to do after the sale of People Express.

Traces the career development of a well-known British entrepreneur who, as a young girl, was forced to flee the Nazi's occupation of Central Europe. Details her early work experiences in the heavily male dominated workplace of post-war Britain and follows the development of her highly successful career as founder and chairman of F International, a software consulting company that employs primarily young mothers working from their homes. Clearly illustrates the evolution of an entrepreneur's career and the struggles involved in balancing family concerns with high pressure work life.

This article, originally printed in March-April 1972, analyzes the plight of middle managers--they have a boss's responsibility without a boss's authority; they function as specialists and generalists at the same time; and they must meet the conflicting demands of superiors, subordinates, and peers. Although middle management positions are increasingly common in divisionalized corporations, they are often misunderstood. The author looks at the job requirements from both top and middle management perspectives and includes a commentary outlining his perspective 17 years later.

A considerable amount of our working lives is spent in meetings. However, as most managers will attest, meetings are often inefficient and tedious and fail to accomplish their intended objectives. Fortunately, these problems can often be avoided by carefully considering several important issues when planning and conducting a meeting. This note summarizes these issues.

The notion of "corporate culture" has received widespread attention in the past several years. But what is meant by the term and why should managers be concerned with it? Culture can be thought of as a mechanism for social control. As such, culture is important for both the implementation of strategy and as a mechanism for generating commitment among organizational members. Based on a comparison of strong culture organizations, ranging from cults and religious organizations to strong culture firms, this article argues that culture and commitment result from: systems of participation that rely on processes of incremental commitment; management as symbolic action that helps employees interpret their reasons for working; strong and consistent cues from fellow workers that focus attention and shape attitudes and behavior; and comprehensive reward systems that use recognition and approval. These techniques characterize "strong culture" organizations.

A reporter from a regional newspaper examines several major news stories that address significant recent developments at Emery Air Freight. His concerns invite discussion of the implications of Emery's apparent "no comment" policy and other factors that can lead to negative press coverage of company news.

Catching problems early is important to managers, and the best way to find out about developing headaches is to have subordinates tell you. This depends on candor and trust, but both have strict natural limits. Managers must carefully nurture trust and be aware of the six areas critical to its development: communication, support, respect, fairness, predictability, and competence. But managers must also watch for telltale signs of trouble. Managers must develop a communication network based on properly using, spreading, and creating information.