Articles

When faced with a global IT infrastructure transition project, Xerox managers decided to launch a knowledge-sharing initiative called the Transition Alliance. When fully functional, the Alliance comprised fifty IT professionals responsible for managing 70,000 desktop workstations, nearly 1,200 servers, and networking hardware on five continents. Storck and Hill observed that community members provided high-quality, validated solutions; handled unstructured problems well; and dealt effectively with new developments in hardware and software. The authors also point out that the motivation for learning and developing at an individual level seemed greater in this community structure than in other organizational forms, which has important implications for the longer-term job performance of the participants. The Alliance was more than simply a group that met occasionally to discuss common issues related to a single functional or professional area. It had a defined relationship to formal organizational objectives yet was not formally required to report back to headquarters on its activities. Within the Alliance, the communication repertoire was built upon the leadership training required for all Xerox employees. Work processes that developed within the Alliance supplemented those used elsewhere in the organization. Handling action items, creating meeting agendas, and developing other processes were evidence of the self-directed nature of the group and provided a context for communication. Storck and Hill identified six guiding principles that were instrumental to Alliance success and are applicable whenever circumstances require organizational learning: -- Design an interaction format that promotes openness and allows for serendipity. -- Build upon a common organizational culture. -- Demonstrate the existence of mutual interests after the initial success at resolving issues and achieving corporate goals. -- Leverage those aspects of the organizational culture that respect the value of collective learning. -- Embed knowledge-sharing practices into the work processes of the group. -- Establish an environment in which knowledge sharing is based on processes and cultural norms that are defined by the community rather than other parts of the organization.

As companies rapidly expand the use of outsourcing, executives are discovering that the management of outsourcing projects requires a new blend of leadership qualities. Firms involved in outsourcing are seeking managers with capacities for lateral leadership -- the ability to negotiate results "outward" across boundaries rather than issue orders "downward" through a hierarchy. The authors interviewed 54 managers and surveyed 423 managers working at diverse firms and organizations from 1997 to 1998, and they present their findings in this article. Companies are looking for four specific capabilities in managers responsible for outsourcing initiatives: -- Strategic thinking. The ability to understand whether and how to outsource in ways that improve competitive advantage. -- Deal making. The ability to broker deals in two directions simultaneously -- securing the right services from external providers and ensuring their use by internal managers. -- Partnership governing. The ability to oversee the relationship proactively to ensure service quality and financial benefit for both sides. -- Managing change. The ability to anticipate resistance to change and to surmount it constructively. Managers employed at large and small companies in both the manufacturing and financial services sectors consistently stressed the importance of all four capabilities. Whether hiring anew or promoting from within, managers are willing to pay a significant premium for these skills. Two-thirds said they would pay at least 6 percent additional for each capability, and one-third were prepared to pay 11 percent or more. The authors point out that lateral leadership of outsourcing initiatives works best when top management is solidly supportive and when companies have built a finely honed system to quantify results and pinpoint accountability. For companies that are increasing their outsourcing of services and products, this new blend of leadership skills requires novel ways of recruiting and developing managers because relatively few possess the full repertoire of lateral capabilities required for effective sourcing.

A company's sales workforce must be able to present their products and services using state-of-the-art personal computer technology. To communicate effectively with the company's main office, a salesforce working in the field must also be able to collect and transmit order data from remote locations. The authors studied how a company combined salesforce automation with a telecommuting program to create two new business strategies designed to improve organizational performance. The authors not only describe a successful "telework" program, but they also provide a framework for conducting a cost/benefit analysis. They conclude that the start-up cost of the telework program was high because the IT infrastructure was not current; however, the direct costs and savings offset each other within 3 to 4 years. In addition, they report that ongoing costs declined rapidly, depending on the number of new teleworkers joining the organization. The telework program enhanced accountability because the new software applications allowed managers greater oversight of employee activities. Productivity also increased. After learning how to increase the speed and accuracy of internal operations, the salesforce spent more time with customers and generated more sales. By integrating0 technology into business processes, the telecommuting program also spurred organizational adjustments and cultural change. Gradually, business managers adjusted policies and procedures to conform to the program's technical and business needs. They shifted from managing by attendance to managing by results, which depended on a reliable IT infrastructure and technical tools for communicating with their employees. The telework program quickened the pace of IT adoption at this company by linking IT improvements to the organization's mission and survival. This mobilized the salesforce, the information systems staff, and middle managers to adapt to and accept the new business environment.

Even the best-intentioned senior managers may find it difficult to translate aspirations into action, when molding a more market-driven company. Although the underlying principles and prescription of generic change programs offer valuable guidance, a firm must tailor its own change program to the particular challenges it faces in understanding, attracting, and keeping its valuable customers. In this article, Day discusses six conditions that ensure change-process success. He uses the experiences of four corporate change programs (Fidelity Investments; Sears, Roebuck and Co.; Eurotunnel; and Owens Corning) and post-audits of some failed change initiatives to illustrate this change model and explain the necessary conditions for a firm's durable shift to a market orientation. Two pressures initiate a firm's change process: (1) its inclination to focus inwardly and become remote from its customers and unresponsive to competitive challenges; and (2) external market, technology, and competitive forces that pull the business out of alignment with its present market. The interplay of these forces leads to one or more of the following triggers for change: market disruptions that threaten a firm's business model, continuing erosion of market alignment that results in a market disadvantage, strategic necessity, or intolerable opportunity costs. Successful change programs have six overlapping stages: 1. Demonstrating leadership commitment. A leader owns and champions the change, invests time and resources, and creates a sense of urgency. 2. Understanding the need for change. Key implementers understand market responsiveness, know the changes needed, and see the benefits of the initiative. 3. Shaping the vision. All employees know what they are trying to accomplish and understand how to create superior value. 4. Mobilizing commitment at all levels. Those responsible have credibility and know how to form a coalition of supporters to overcome resistance. 5. Aligning structures, systems, and incentives. Key implementers have the resources they need to create a credible plan for alignment. 6. Reinforcing the change. Those responsible know how to start the program and keep attention focused on the change and benchmark measures. Any program to create a market-driven organization must begin quickly but be sustained over many years. Fidelity's approach, which took five years to reach 60 percent completion, resulted in increased customer-retention rates and a doubling of "share of wallet" -- two results that would justify and sustain any firm's change efforts.

Most large corporations developed in an era of abundant raw materials, cheap energy, and limitless sinks for waste disposal. It has become increasingly clear that many technologies developed during this earlier period contribute to the destruction of the ecological systems on which the global economy depends. In the absence of dramatic change, few would dispute that the world is destined to devolve toward environmental degradation, social upheaval, and mass migration. Hart and Milstein argue that the emerging challenge of global sustainability will catalyze a new round of "creative destruction" that innovators and entrepreneurs will view as one of the biggest business opportunities in the history of commerce. In this article, the authors propose a framework to help managers look beyond continuous, incremental improvement of existing products and processes to see the business world differently and make sustainable opportunities more apparent. To better understand sustainability-driven creative destruction, managers must evaluate business opportunities on the basis of three types of markets or economies that exist in all countries or geographical regions: developed (nearly 1 billion global customers), emerging (estimated at roughly 2 billion people), and surviving (roughly half of humanity or 3 billion customers). The authors discuss the different strategies required to achieve sustainable development in each economy. To compete in the consumer economy, managers must focus on reducing the life-cycle ("cradle to grave") impacts -- that is, the "ecological footprint" of their firms' activities -- by reinventing their products and processes. The combination of large footprint and technological maturity widens the gap between price and life-cycle cost, producing the technological and environmental forces that drive creative destruction. Because it is unlikely that senior managers will commit resources without a clear understanding of how sustainability-driven creative destruction can improve a firm's economic payoff, the authors offer ideas for sustainability metrics tied to the three economies discussed and show how they relate to key business and financial payoffs. Managers who treat sustainable development as an opportunity will drive the creative destruction process and build the foundation to compete in the twenty-first century.

Manufacturers have four strategic options when facing the dynamics of consolidating channels.

Faced with increasing global competition, many firms are finding that price-based or target costing is emerging as a key strategic tool. The target cost is a financial goal for the full cost of a product, derived from estimates of selling price and desired profit (which top management sets on the basis of firm strategy and financial goals). Product selling price is constrained by the marketplace and is determined by analysis along the entire industry value chain and across all functions in a firm. Common to most target-cost applications is a belief that large-scale cost planning and reduction must occur early in the product life cycle. However, Shank and Fisher believe there is no conceptual reason the methodology cannot be a value-added exercise applied to existing products during manufacturing. They posit that if managers were to believe that, during manufacturing, only incremental (i.e., slight) change is possible (through kaizen costing or controlling costs with standard-cost systems), firms would likely miss significant strategic opportunities. Shank and Fisher present a case study that demonstrates the relevance of target-costing techniques for a process-industry plant built in the 1890s that had been making largely the same products for fifty years. The firm's managers, who had used a standard-cost system for many years, might have concluded that kaizen costing was most appropriate for this plant. However, competitive realities necessi-tated a major strategic change that employed target costing as an important ingredient in cost-reduction efforts leading to strategic revitalization. At the beginning of this field study, plant managers focused too much attention on standard cost versus actual cost. There was heavy pressure to move standard cost toward actual cost in order to minimize unfavorable variances for public financial reporting. Managers focused too little attention on ideal manufacturing cost, and target costing received no attention. At the end of the field study, the most useful cost-management tool focused on ideal manufacturing cost versus target cost in relation to actual cost. The standard cost concept essentially dropped out of the picture. Target costing forced managers to rewrite the rules of the game by changing the way the mill delivered value to the customer. Because standard costing accepts the existing game rules and the existing value chain, the authors believe that fundamental cost breakthroughs are much more probable when using target costing.

Some industry observers claim that the steady increase in trade promotion expenditures in the packaged goods industry is symptomatic of a shift in power toward retailers and away from manufacturers. As firms sell more goods on deal, managers complain that promotions are eroding the power of brands. More preferable, they say, are "everyday low prices" (EDLP) rather than strategies that involve price discounts and other allowances. Trade promotion is a prime cause of the "bullwhip effect" in channels, and EDLP is perceived as a solution. However, the authors point out that EDLP may cause its own unexpected side effects. Because certain incentives and trade deals may perform important functions, managers must consider the second- and third-order effects of discontinuing them. The same logic applies to channels, so managers must assess how channel members are likely to react to various pricing strategies. In this article, the authors discuss the underappreciated role of well-designed trade promotions. Using the example of a single manufacturer selling to and through a retailer, they show how certain promotions increase total channel profits and the manufacturer's share of those profits beyond levels achievable with a single price and without promotions. Furthermore, they believe that firms can implement these promotions in ways that avoid many issues associated with retailer forward-buying and gray markets. In fact, certain trade promotions may benefit the manufacturer as much as the retailer -- if not more. Although some trade promotions create more problems than they solve, not all forms of trade promotion are bad. Manufacturers can effectively influence a retailer's selling activity and coordinate the distribution channel by using price-up and deal-down strategies that link manufacturer prices to the price featured by the retailer. However, manufacturers and retailers must set margins in a sustainable way, which requires a combination of margin and volume that produces acceptable profits for both channel partners.

Evidence indicates that satisfied customers defect at a high rate in many industries. Because satisfaction alone does not translate linearly into outcomes such as loyalty in terms of purchases, businesses must strive for 100 percent, or total, customer satisfaction and even delight to achieve the kind of loyalty they desire. Current studies attribute a higher degree of emotionality to the dissatisfaction end of the satisfaction continuum than in the past. For example, customers who have experienced service failures feel annoyed or victimized. Although victimization is felt at a deeper emotional level than irritation, both can result in outrage. By focusing on more intense customer emotions, such as outrage and delight, the authors explore the dynamics of customer emotions and their effect on customer behavior and loyalty. Schneider and Bowen base their conceptualization on people's needs rather than the more conventional model that focuses on customer expectations about their interactions with a firm. The authors propose a complementary needs-based model for service businesses that assumes customer delight and outrage originate with the handling of three basic human needs -- security, justice, and self-esteem. By recasting a situation as one that has violated any of a customer's fundamental needs, the deeper emotional outcome (e.g., outrage) does not seem incongruous. The authors describe each need and offer specific managerial tactics for avoiding outrage and creating delight. Recent emphasis on relationship marketing -- that is, attracting, developing, and retaining customers -- is pertinent because building relationships requires that companies view customers as people first and consumers second. Service is an exchange relationship in which customers swap their money and loyalty for what Schneider and Bowen argue is need gratification -- a psychological contract with service firms to have their needs gratified. The authors discuss strategies that help firms gratify and, in some cases, delight customers, while avoiding the perception that they do not respect customer needs. Companies must manage how they show concern for customer needs in all actions, including the activities of the back office (e.g., billing, shipping), not just front-office personnel who directly contact the customer.

How faulty decision making led to the ruin of a once profitable ordnance manufacturer.