Showing papers in "Harvard Business Review in 1979"

Chief executives define their own data needs.

Abstract: Identification of information needs of top management is discussed in this article by comparing four methods now in use with a new approach, "identification of critical success factors," developed at the Sloan School of Management. The author argues that the CSF method, implemented through a series of two to three interview sessions, helps top management define its own current information needs. Critical success factors are those performance factors which must receive the on-going attention of management if the company is to remain competitive. While not intended for strategic planning purposes, the identification of critical success factors can help top management by: (1) determining where management attention should be directed; (2) developing measures for critical success factors; and (3) determining the amount of information required and thus limiting gathering unnecessary data. The author concludes that the CSF method is both effective and efficient and should be seriously considered by top management as an important tool in assessing data needs.

Power Failure in Management Circuits

Abstract: When one thinks of "power", one often assumes that a person is the source of it and that some mystical charismatic element is at work. Of course, with some people this is undoubtedly so; they derive power from how other people perceive them. In organizations, however--says this author--power is not so much a question of people but of positions. Drawing a distinction between productive and oppressive power, the author maintains that the former is a function of having open channels to supplies, support, and information; the latter is a function of these channels being closed. She then descriges three positions that are classically powerless: first-line supervisors, staff professionals, and, surprisingly, chief executive officers. These positions can be powerless because of difficulties in maintaining open lines of information and support. Seeing powerlessness in these positions as dangerous for organizations, she urges managers to restructure and redesign their organizations in order to eliminate pockets of powerlessness.

Much ado about mentors.

Abstract: An international management firm conducted a study of executives that included questions regarding compensations, personal data, and current position. It was of special interest to determine the effect of mentor and protege relationships on business careers. Of the individuals surveyed, two-thirds reported a relationship with a senior person who took a special interest in their career, during the first five years of their professional development. In general, executives who had a mentor are better educated, earn more money at an earlier age, more apt to follow a career plan and report high job satisfaction. The majority of sponsors are older businessmen holding positions of authority and who feel that personnel development and management succession are key responsibilities. The following characteristics of a mentor are judged most important: willingness to share experiences, knowledge of the organization, organizational power and respect from peers. Mentor-protege relationships frequently develop into lengthy friendships which in turn encourage young executives to eventually sponsor their own proteges.

The subordinate's predicaments.

Abstract: How can subordinates improve relations with their superiors? And how can superiors help their subordinates feel comfortable in what is often a tense relationship? These questions have usually been dealt with only indirectly in management circles. Yet the relationship is so threatening to many subordinates that they react in ways that are damaging to themselves and their ogranizations. Drawing heavily on the work of psychologist Erik Erikson, the authors present dilemmas that commonly confront the subordinate. They point out that being aware of these dilemmas can make them more manageable and then offer advice to superiors to aid subordinates in handling such situations.

Leadership: sad facts and silver linings.

Abstract: The typical CEO has endless interruptions and limited options for action. In addition, he may not even hear about his choices, or any bad news that might require action, until it is almost too late. Finally, any decision he does make will probably require months or years to implement fully. This author suggests that this gloomy picture has another side. In fact, each of these "sad facts" of managerial life can be turned into an opportunity to communicate values and to persuade, and they add up to a new notion of the chief executive's function.

Changing employee values: deepening discontent?

Abstract: This article presents a synthesis of data on employee attitudes gathered over the last 25 years. Most of the findings confirm the hypothesis that employees are discontented and expect more from their jobs now than they have in the past. While managerial satisfaction has remained relatively constant, the work satisfaction among hourly and clerical employees has sharply decreased. The authors attribute dissatisfaction to changes in the expectations and values of employees and warn that the deterioration of work attitudes may result in increased operating costs due to poor quality work, reduced output, absenteeism, etc. Instituting an employer attitude survey is suggested as a means of improving communication between management and employees and increasing job satisfaction.

The hidden messages managers send.

Abstract: If a manager in an organization talks about making an "end run," what is he saying? Is he seeing life in the organization as a game; is he seeing it as hazardous and maybe nominating himself for a hero role; or is he merely saying he's going all the way with a project, regardless. The truth is we don't know what he's saying. It is all too easy both to interpret the metaphors others use to fit out own meanings and to ignore the fact that metaphors have idiosyncratic meanings that should be listened to. The author describes three ways managers convey messages about themselves and the ways they see the world. He encourages the reader to see these ways--their metaphors, office settings, and body language and tones that accompany their speech--as means of communicating. Just as speech or mathematics, these are languages that can be learned. With skill in them, a manager can see or hear what is really going on when people talk, what hidden messages we are sending all the time. The author gives some hints on what to look and listen for in trying to understand others, but he warns against simplistic interpretations: all messages occur in context.

Managers can drive their subordinates mad.

Abstract: This article explores the phenomenon of "folie a deux"--an aberrant relationship between manager and subordinates that is characterized by shared delusions. Though most visible among public figures like Adolf Hitler, J. Edgar Hoover and Jim Jones, the problem also surfaces among private managers and their associates with dangerous implications for the firm. In folie a deux, the unusual behavior patterns of a manager in an isolated setting become mirrored by dependent subordinates, and the organization loses touch with its original goals and strategies. The author describes the dynamics of this phenomenon and details steps to remedy the situation. Once recognized, he suggests that the manager establish a trusting relationship with the instigator as a prelude to altering the behavior patterns, then transfer the subordinates and reorient the work climate so that independence and responsibility are encouraged. If the instigator is a powerful executive, the author suggests enlisting the support of a countervailing force, such as the government or a union, to guide the organization away from possible self-destructive adventures.

Making Behavioral Science More Useful.

Abstract: Universal theories do not always fit the situation in which they are used, and management practice is no exception In fact, the difficulty in applying such behavioral science theories has been the interpretation that they are applicable to all situations This author asks managers and academics alike to recognize that the easy way does not always work, that more theories should be developed to fit different situations, and that staffs should be educated in the theories and techniques that are available

Should you have an internal consultant

Abstract: During the past 10 years, quietly, without much fanfare, between 250 and 500 organizations have developed an internal consultant function. Many of these consultants play similar roles to the ones traditionally played by external consultants such as troubleshooting, advising the CEO, analyzing research, and implementing new programs. Because the internal consultants can respond rapidly to organizational needs and are immediately accountable to the CEO, these functions have been successful so far. There are, however, according to this author, who has surveyed 200 internal consultants and personally interviewed many of them, areas where an external consultant still works out better. In the main these are the politically sensitive areas where an internal consultant's credibility can be too easily damaged. The author discusses other aspects of the problems that surround the internal consultant, the controversy about the merits of the outsider versus the insider, and ends his article with some guidelines for developing an in-house function.

The board's most important function.

Abstract: We continue in this issue the discussion of the proper role of outside directors in determining the strategy of a company and in evaluating capital investments in its future. The comments on Sam Felton's case in HBR's July-August issue are logically followed now by William Wommack's recommendation that a corporate objectives or strategy committee should become the usual structural means for reviewing management's recommendation for investments. The author argues that management must organize well to relate to such a committee and that someone should be clearly designated the chief strategic officer (if not the CEO, then not the chief operating officer). He outlines the processes leading to management-board involvement in funding strategies (not projects) and in determining direction.

Consumer-centered vs. job-centered health insurance.

Abstract: Most employees and their dependents in the United States have health insurance provided by the employer or labor-management health and welfare fund. In this system, employees and their families lose their health insurance when the breadwinner loses his or her job while, at the same time, a Medicaid beneficiary can lose Medicaid eligibility by getting a job, even a poorly paid one. Most health insurance pays the doctor on the basis of fee-for-service and the hospital on the basis of cost-reimbursement, rewarding both with more revenue for providing more and more costly services. The insured employee has little or no incentive to seek out a less costly provider. There are no rewards for economy in this system. It should be little wonder, then, that health care costs are out of control. There are alternative financing and delivery systems with built-in incentives to use resources economically, but, the author of this article asserts, their ability to compete and attract patients with their superior economic efficiency is blocked by many laws and government programs. The author believes that the most effective and acceptable way to get costs under control, and at the same time achieve universal coverage, would be through a system of fair economic competition. He discusses his Consumer Choice Health Plan proposal and describes how one of the main barriers to competition is today's system of job-linked health insurance.

Human resources in the 1980s.

Abstract: As the decade of the 1970s closes, new trends in human resources will test the ingenuity of corporate planners to produce policies for the 1980s that will match changing corporate demands with changing employee expectations. The 1970s have produced much-publicized problems--for example, the introduction to the work force of larger numbers of minorities and women--that are not yet fully resolved and that can be expected to continue. But the 1980s will bring their own special challenges. Shifting populations (such as legal and illegal immigrants), the women's movement's demand for equal pay for work of comparable worth, and the push for civil liberties at the workplace are all factors that will dramatically change the business climate. With these factors in mind, the author examines the 1980s' business environment, takes a backward look at planning policies in the 1970s, and shows how the priorities of those policies will have to be reevaluated to meet the challenges of the future.

Are unions an anachronism

Abstract: The labor movement in the United States has its roots deep in the soil of worker discontent over grueling working conditions, low pay, and indifference of bosses, who profited from others' sweaty labor. As more and more grubby jobs are replaced by technological innovations, as work becomes more abstract and everyone wears a white shirt, and as managers schooled in motivation theory and humane ideals of participation replace the owner-bosses of yesterday, what role will the unions have left to play? The author of this article, who has been in both the labor force and management, explores what the changes in the labor market will be in the future and what these changes will mean for labor-management relations. He does not conclude that there is no role for unions-only that it will be very different and that to survive unions will have to tackle new issues in the workplace. That adaptation will affect management's stance as well.