Articles

When someone asks, "What is your bottom line?" few negotiators tell the truth. How much bluffing is ok?

Managers know that the customer's impression of an organization is important. And sometimes companies attempt to determine just what that impression is. They conduct ad hoc surveys and focus groups. But too often the data is insubstantial, or difficult to analyze, or even inaccurate. Barich and Kotler introduce the concept of "marketing image" and describe a system of image management: designing a study, collecting data, analyzing image problems, modifying the image, and tracking responses to that image. They argue that only a systematic approach will yield useful and accurate information that a company can translate into action.

Let's say you run a U.S. corporation that sells widgets to Germans. The deutsche mark drops against the U.S. dollar. What happens? You can sell the same number of widgets, but when the marks are converted into dollars, you get fewer of them in your pocket. And, if your widgets are produced in the United States, your production costs are higher than for your German competitor. Nothing you can do about it, right? George and Schroth argue that you can do something about it, but it takes systematic planning. In this article, they describe the increasing effects of foreign exchange rates on the global market and ways to plan for them. By making foreign exchange planning a part of overall long-term strategy, organizations can avoid its negative effects and even exploit its positive ones.

Organizations need focus, but they also need balance.

Sales compensation is a crucial management decision, but it is too often approached as an exercise in comparative pay levels or as a debate concerning the relative merits of fixed-salary versus commission systems. This article provides a "preface" to sales compensation which outlines generic issues and choices implicated in designing a sales compensation plan. It discusses the following: (1) the links between compensation, evaluation and motivation; (2) an analytical process helpful in developing a compensation plan; (3) important choices in setting goals and rewarding results in sales; and (4) the relevance and limits of compensation policies within an effective sales management system.

In “The Fifth Discipline,” Senge explores how to craft learning organizations.

A strong brand name is an invaluable asset; managers must know when to exploit it, when to protect it, and how to tell the difference between the two. Because using an established brand name substantially reduces new-product introduction risks, there is an almost irresistable pull to "extend" brand names to new products. Doing so can be enormously profitable, but it can be dangerous, too: In the worst case, an ill-conceived brand extension may seriously damage the original product and preclude the establishment of another brand with its unique associations and growth potential. This article examines both the advantages and potential pitfalls of brand extensions.

It is time for U.S. companies to raise their service aspirations significantly and for U.S. executives to declare war on mediocre service and set their sights on consistently excellent service, say the authors. This goal is within reach if managers will provide the necessary leadership, remember that the sole judge of service quality is the customer, and implement what the authors call the "five service imperatives."

A new type of industrial engineering blends technological capabilities with business process redesign.

The concept -- and the practice -- of process consultation is enormously influential among students of organizational behavior. In this paper, Professor Schein describes the process that he went through to develop the process consultation approach. He focuses particularly on three ideas: helping as a general human process; the choices that helpers must make, as well as the assumptions that various choices rest on; and the importance of training clients to become helpers themselves.