個案總覽

Negotiating with the Japanese involves many cultural complications which executives may profitably overcome through study and sensitivity. Japanese negotiations involve predictable steps and actions: establishing good personal relations, making a presentation, testing sincerity through style of approach, overcoming opposition or crises, drawing up the contract and closing the discussions. Americans may refine their philosophy of individualism by understanding the selfless Japanese emphasis on the harmony of the whole.

Douglas McGregor's "Theory Y" fails to explain worker motivation under all circumstances. Recent studies show that there is not one best organizational approach, and that the best approach is one fitted to the nature of the work to be done. The "Contingency Theory" states that an individual's central need is to achieve a sense of competence. Competence is most likely to be fulfilled when there is a fit between task and organization. In this situation, competence continues after the achievement of initial goals.

Organizations are political structures which provide platforms for the expression of individual interests, and which revolve around the accumulation of power as a vehicle for transforming personal interests into activities. A "political pyramid" exists when people compete for power in an economy of scarcity. The organizational structure is an instrument rather than an end. It represents the working coalition attached to a CEO, and is a product of negotiation and compromise among executives who hold semiautonomous power bases. McKinsey Award Winner.

Performance appraisal can have negative as well as positive motivational consequences, especially in "zero-sum" systems in which an employee's performance is ranked against that of his other peers. As alternatives, there are a number of "management by objectives" systems which center on the establishment of goals and the subsequent contrasting of performance with these goals. Employees are measured against agreed-upon goals rather than against each other. These systems are future-oriented, non zero-sum and flexible.

Companies should develop contingency plans aimed at preserving and managing the flow of funds to handle the problem of the unforeseen event. Companies should first maximize the amount of available reaction time by conducting a contingency analysis of possible events that would affect the company's performance. A computerized model of the company's finances can simulate contingency events and explore a range of alternative actions. The company should then make an inventory of resources it could draw upon to cover unexpected deficits.

The three major functions of management are conceptual thinking, of which planning is an essential part; administration, managing the details of executive affairs; and leadership, influencing people to accomplish desired objectives. A three-dimensional diagram, which shows the activities, functions, and basic elements of the executive's job, is useful in establishing the differences between leadership and administration.

Return on investment (ROI), as a measure of division contribution to profits in decentralized companies, is of limited use. ROI is too simple a model for a complex process, especially when different profit objectives and types of fixed assets exist. ROI application problems include: setting proper annual profit objectives, assigning responsibility for deviation, and measuring accounted profit in a short period of time. Increased familiarity with division operations and more realistic profit objectives and time span evaluations are needed. Recentralization is an inappropriate alternative for ROI, and correction of the technical drawbacks and implementation constraints of ROI procedures is necessary pending further improvements for new research.

Corporate strategy affects manufacturing goals and processes. Manufacturing must pay attention to the cost, time, and quality factors that go into production. Trade-offs in efficiency, cost and productivity become necessary in pursuing specific markets. As a result, product quality suffers. Computer specialists have replaced efficiency experts as the reigning technical experts in manufacturing. Top management shies away from both of these technical areas. Companies must develop and use a management policy for manufacturing.

Five separate studies, conducted under confidential but controlled conditions, investigate the feasibility of job enrichment in several varied occupations. Companies participating in the study reported high financial gains, improved job performance, and gradual growth in job satisfaction. Job enrichment allows managers to concentrate primarily on task organization and task support. The job itself functions as the primary vehicle for individual development; management provides authentic and motivational tasks.

Two studies investigating resistance to change reveal that the social aspects of change, rather than the technological aspects, cause the most strident resistance in workers. Everyday changes among employees working closely together elicit little resistance. Management action, usually initiated by staff people outside of the small work group, brings on the symptoms of resistance. The manner in which staff specialists effect changes threatens and disrupts social relationships. Self-preoccupation frequently blinds staff specialists to the social aspects of change.

The prevailing view of multinational companies (MNCs) is that marketing strategy is a local problem which differs from country to country. There are, however, potential benefits in standardizing multinational marketing strategy. Significant cost savings, consistency in dealing with customers, improved planning and control, and the exploitation of good ideas represent potential gains with an integrated approach to marketing strategy. In view of the trend toward at least partial centralization of marketing management, the right balance between local autonomy and central coordination is essential if marketing strategy is to encompass a multinational perspective.

A discussion of a study of two similar manufacturing plants, one organized by product, the other by function, offers clues for managers concerned with how to structure their corporations to enable employees, particularly specialists, to do their jobs with maximum efficiency and productivity. Managers traditionally use technical and economic criteria that ignore the complex set of tradeoffs involved in deciding between a product or functional basis for organization. The recommended solution to the problem of which structure to adopt depends on the analysis of multiple tasks, differences between specialists, the objective of integration and the mechanisms and behavior required to resolve conflict and arrive at the desired states of differentiation and integration.

The "New Left" is a relatively small but hard core of young student revolutionaries aiming at nothing less than the destruction of U.S. society in general and the Business Establishment in particular. What is the philosophy of the New Left? Where are its blind spots? How should businessmen respond to it? The author urges readers to speak with students outside the inner hard core of radicals, to promote Job Corps Centers, and to improve the quality of life in organizations and society.

What happens when a management group turns its attention to strategic planning? Is such planning worth the unusual demands it places on management? Why does it perplex some executive teams that are otherwise effective in running their businesses? These related questions are explored. Synthesizes the experience of many organizations that have struggled with strategic planning.

An actual case history emphasizes the personal and business ethics managers currently face. Interviews gain insight into the reactions of three managers who were aware that their superiors were falsifying records for the home office. The managers suggested greater communication between the home office and the company office in order to avoid a similar occurrence. HBR readers respond in Sequel to Quasar Stellar, #68504.

A control system developed and refined for six years at a large electronics corporation has helped top executives to effectively manage the performance of about 100 different projects. The heart of the multi-project control system, the Program Status Report, gives information simultaneously on cost, schedule, and technical status. The development of a system for visually displaying essential elements of all projects allows top executives to pinpoint projects demanding immediate attention. The project manager must report the progress of the project monthly and answer for the end results of the project.

Business, like poker, is often a game of strategic bluffs. The worlds of private and business life are separate and demand separate codes of ethics. The pressure to deceive is felt everywhere in business and deceptions are ethically justifiable. If public opinion and legal authorities raise a clamor, industry will create and enforce its own code to avoid government regulation. Blatantly unethical practices only serve to spoil the consumer environment in the long run. Aggression and competition are built into our society and business provides a useful outlet for them. The individual is pressured in many of these instances and must subordinate his feelings to carry out the objective. Departing from the strict truth and the golden rule is part of the strategy of business.

Capital investment decisions are usually gambles based on little empirical information. An analysis of risk-based profiles determines which factors influence future costs and revenues and weighs them to develop an uncertainty profile. Each variable's estimates are placed on a probability distribution curve. A company's simulation reveals the range of possible outcomes for the individual criteria, such as ROI and payback. The simulation is a useful way for management to evaluate past investments and select new ones.

The use of preference theory facilitates more consistent decision making and helps management convey a better understanding of the desired corporate attitude toward risk taking. The process of obtaining decision makers' preference curves consists of two stages: 1) the assessment of preliminary curve, and 2) the verification and correction of that curve. Preference theory helps managers not only to enhance their own decision making, but also to gain insights into the thinking of other decision makers in the organization.

Many organizations are now adopting a revolutionary attitude toward change. There are a number of approaches: those that rely on unilateral authority, those that share the power, and those that delegate authority. The goal is the same: to get all levels of management psychologically redirected toward solving the problems and challenges of today's business environment.