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Organizational Culture
Organizational culture is a relatively new type of organizational analysis that is borrowed from the field of anthropology. It first was described as an organizational unit of concern by Pettigrew (1979). In the short time since culture and its relevance to organizational systems have been matters of academic and professional concern, many books and articles have been written to define and to describe the nature of organizational culture. To date, no single, universally accepted definition exists; however, the term organizational culture generally is accepted as referring to the shared meanings, beliefs, and understandings held by a particular group or organization about its problems, practices, and goals (Reichers & Schneider, 1990). Edgar Schein (1985) contends that the concept of organizational culture often is misunderstood and is confused with the related concepts of climate, ideology, and style. For example, culture sometimes is defined in terms of: Overt organizational behavior; Organizational ideology and philosophy; Group and organizational norms; Espoused organizational values; Policies, procedures, and rules of socialization; and Climate. When considered in conjunction with members' interaction patterns, language, themes of everyday conversation, and rituals of daily routine, these definitions seem to reflect elements of organizational culture. But for Reichers and Schneider (1990) as well as for Schein, culture is less conscious; it exists at a deeper level. These theorists regard the above definitions as artifactual and resulting from culture. None describe the "essence of culture" itself. According to Schein, the essence of culture is the basic assumptions and beliefs that are "invented, discovered, or developed" by all members of a group as it copes with its problems of external adaptation and internal integration" and which are "taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems" (1985, p. 9).
Morgan (1986) contends that organizational cultures evolve from the social practices of members of organizations and are, therefore, socially created realities that exist in the heads and minds of organizational members as well as in the formal rules, policies, and procedures of organizational structures. For Morgan, culture is an ongoing process of reality construction, providing a pattern of understanding that helps members of organizations to interpret events and to give meaning to their working worlds. Thus, culture is an evolutionary and dynamic process that incorporates changing values, beliefs, and underlying assumptions regarding: The nature of the relationship between organization and environment (whether the organization controls, is controlled by, or coexists with the environment); The nature of reality and truth (what is right or wrong in terms of acquisition and use of information, time perspectives, physical environments, and social environments); The nature of human nature (intrinsic nature and basic instincts of human beings); The nature of human activity (active, passive, or in-between); and The nature of human relationships (the proper way for people to relate to one another). The above are fundamental assumptions about core and global realities that result in cultural predispositions that subsequently drive the more "superficial" cultural manifestations such as overt behavior, norms, espoused values, and the like.
Implications
Morgan believes that corporate cultures are mini-societies that manifest distinct patterns of thought, behavior, and belief. Similarly, Schein (1985) says that organizational cultures are highly visible and that they facilitate adaptation to the external environment as well as integration of internal processes. Adaptation and integration imply differences in environmental conditions and a degree of organizational-environmental fit. Culture can limit strategic options significantly and, consequently, can restrict the organization's ability to assess and to adapt to certain environments-so much so that Weick (1985) has asserted that it is becoming increasingly difficult to separate strategic change from cultural change. For Schein, it is clear that organizations must analyze their cultures and manage within their cultural boundaries. If the fit between culture and environment is inappropriate, organizations must change their cultures. Yet in order to manage effectively within boundaries or to change cultures, leaders and managers must learn to perceive the types of systems with which they are working. Successful leadership depends on an ability to create or to maintain a shared reality, as cohesive groups
evolve from shared reality and meaning (Morgan, 1986). Shared reality and meaning will be created or maintained only when leadership and management is symbolically consistent with some desired direction. In other words, culture cannot be controlled; it only can be influenced by leadership and managerial behavior.
References
Morgan, G. (1986). Images of organization. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Pettigrew, A.M. (1979). On studying organizational culture. Administrative Science Quarterly, 24, 570-581. Reichers, A.E., & Schneider, B. (1990). Climate and culture: An evolution of constructs. In B. Schneider (Ed.), Organizational climate and culture. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Schein, E.H. (1985). Organizational culture and leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Weick, K.E. (1985). The significance of corporate culture. In P. Frost, L.F. Moore, M.R. Louis, C.C. Lundberg, & J. Martin (Eds.), Organizational culture. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
'The dominant values espoused by an organization". (T.Deal & A. Kennedy, 1982) "The philosophy that guides an organization's policy toward employees and customers". (R. Pascal & A. Athos, 1981) 'The way things are done around here". (M. Bower, 1966) 'The basic assumptions and beliefs that are shared by members of an organization". (E.Schein, 1985)
in every organization, there are patterns of beliefs, symbols, rituals, myths, and practices that have evolved overtime.
these create common understandings among members as to what the organization is and how its members should behave.
EMPHASIS
EFFICIENCY
MARKETORIENTED ORGANIZATION
LIMITED IND. INITATIVE HIGH IN CONTROL MINIMUM RISK& CONFLICT CENTRALIZED DECISIONMAIKING
DYNAMIC ENVIRONMENTS
STABLE ENVIRONMENTS
INTERNAL FIT CULTURE
CLAN
Characteristics: Cohesiveness, participation, teamwork, sense of family Leader: Mentor, facilitator, parent-figure Glue: Loyalty, tradition, interpersonal cohesion Strategic emphases: Toward developing human resources, commitment, morale
ADHOCRA CY
Characteristics: Entrepreneurship, creativity, adaptability Leader: Entrepreneur, innovator, risktaker Glue: Entrepreneurship, flexibility, risk Strategic emphases: Toward innovation, growth, new resources
Internal Maintenance
HIERACHY
Characteristics: Order, rules and regulations Leader: Coordinator, organizer, administrator Glue: Rules, policies and procedures Strategic emphases: Toward stability, predictability, smooth operation
MARKET
Characteristics: Competitiveness, goal achievement, environment exchange Leader: Decisive, production and achievement oriented Glue: Goal orientation, production, competition Strategic emphases: Toward competitive advantage and market superiority
External Positioning
Mechanistic Processes
VALUES IN SOME TRADITIONAL ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURES Bigness Obsession: Success is measured by how big or profitable we are. Charge what the market will bear, expand, grow in size. Departmental View: We measure success by how well this department does. We're the best, let the rest of the organization do as well as it can. Closed System: We know what is true and best in our field. Outsiders cannot understand it, and thus they cannot really contribute. Reject what was not invented or discovered here. Individual Competition: As the pyramid still narrows at the top, we are in competition with one another for fewer and fewer positions as our careers progress. Sorry if / step on you from time to time. Individual Responsibility: I am responsible for my job, you for yours. If / do better than you, I get promoted or rewarded, and you do not. Different Processes: We use what works for this department. That's the way we have always done it, it works for us. Within Tolerance: We believe that there is a certain point at which further improvements are not necessary. If it isn't broken, don't fix it. Short-Term Focus: All we need to do is get through another day, put out the fires, and make a dollar or two. Tomorrow will have to take care of itself.
VALUES IN A TOTAL QUALITY CULTURE Customer Obsession: We exist to meet customer needs. Success and growth depend on satisfied audiences, constituents, and customers. System View: We consider the organization as a whole, intentionally suboptimizing parts as necessary so that the whole can be optimal. Open System: We accept new ideas from outside the field and adapt them as appropriate. We encourage creative/innovative approaches. Teamwork: We work together, sharing, listening, building on one another's ideas without undue attention to awarding individual credit. Shared Responsibility: We succeed or fail as a team. Each person has a personal commitment to the success of the organization and the profession or field. Common Process: We know and use the same language and disciplined process in problem solving, planning, and improvement efforts. Continuous Improvement: We believe that there is no 'I here," no perfect solution; we are always seeking improvement. Balanced Focus: Board and staff members balance long-term goals with necessary short-term objectives.
JAPAN vs WEST
PROCESS-ORIENTED METHOD AIM PRIMARY FOCUS MANAGEMENT ROLE SCOPE Longer term-oriented, often requires behavior change CRITERIA Discipline Time management Skill development Participation and Morale Communication More direct and short term-oriented Sales Costs Profit Qualitative Improvement of process Peoples attitude/efforts for improvement Supportive, stimulative Controlling RESULT-ORIENTED Quantitative Outcome/results Peoples performance
Involvement
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II. ESSENTIAL ASPECTS OF JAPANESE MANAGEMENT: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Lifetime employment Seniority system (nenko) Continuous training and development Emphasis on group work (kacho, jishu kami) Decision-making by consensus (ringi, memawashi) Complex performance evaluation Father leadership (kacho) Benefits for employees Simple and flexible organization Long-term strategies
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+ CORPORATE PHILOSOPHY Our first commitment is to customer satisfaction. Through diligent efforts to develop new customers and expand our customer base we are contributing to the ongoing progress and enrichment of society. + CORPORATE PRINCIPLES 1. To create attractive products by capatilizing on the company's innovative and highly reliable technologies, staying in constant touch with the needs of the global market. To be sensitive to customers' needs and offer them maximum satisfaction based on steadfast sincerity and ceaseless efforts to meet their requirements. To focus on global trends, making the world the stage for our activities, and to nurture a strong company that will grow with the times. To foster the development of an active and vital group of people who are ready and willing at all times to take on the challenge of achieving new goals.
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Ref.:
(NISSAN)
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USA
Mobile, individualistic society, deemphasizing strong social ties. Individual is the important part of society - LIBERTY. Friendly and open to newcomers. Nuclear & mobile families; divorce rate at 50%. Education is investment in personal development and success. Decline in work ethic and hierarchy; entertainment! Consumption oriented; throw-away society. Informality and competence are important. Conflict is energy and to be managed; "aggressive". Public service is regarded with mistrust, demand for lower tax burden; 'social evil".
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TELECOMMUNICATION
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it's one that IBM doesn't want to miss out on. According to Park Ki Soon, managing director of marketing operations at LG IBM PC Co, IBM Korea executives studied potential market growth and found one clear conclusion. 'At least 50% [of the growth] would be in PCs, revenue-wise. With only 1% in the PC sector, they could never be a big player in the IT industry [in South Korea].' What LGE needed was a technology boost. It already had a good reputation in most areas of consumer electronics, but PCs required more commitment in research and development than LGE could easily swallow. IBM, with its multi-billion-dollar research and development programs in the US and world-renowned notebook computer technology, had what LGE needed. Meanwhile, BM saw that it could not succeed without a local partner. Getting IBM computers to the shops was a problem. Unlike in the US and Europe, South Korea has no network of independent distributors. Distributors' links to manufacturers they were far likelier to push local brands. 'There is no mass distributor [here], like there is in the States,' says i Park. 'All the channels of distribution belong to the manufacturers. There is a new concept of channel distribution coming out but it's not very strong yet.' After-sales service presented similar problems: all of it was done by the manufacturers and there were no local companies to provide independent customer support for IBM. In the low margin sector of PCs, maintaining a customer support team is a cost most firms want to avoid. IBM was not alone in failing to crack the South Korean market. Compaq, the top PC supplier by revenue in the Asia Pacific, has only managed a 2% share of the market, complied with about 20% in other Asian countries. Dell and Packard Bell have also tried, and failed to gain 1%. IBM believes LGE can provide the sales and distribution network and customer service that it needs. Both firms have strong reasons for wanting the partnership to
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work but Park admit the clash of cultures between the US multinational and the South Korean chaebol was so great that it initially brought negotiations to a halt. The compromise carefully weighs the contribution of one against the other. The joint venture is subject to US accounting systems, but has royalty-free access to IBM patents. The CEO of the new company comes from IBM Korea and the chief financial officer from LGE. The sales head is from IBM Korea and the marketing head from LGE. IBM supplies the notebooks and servers for the new company's products and LGE supplies the desktops. Formed with an initial capital of 24 billion won (about US$27 million), LG IBM PC Co aims for turnover of US$500 million in its first year and 25% of the market by 2000. From the outset, IBM and LGE expected a higher market share as a joint venture than previous combined market share of the two separate entities. According to Dataquest figures, the two companies' combined market share last year was around 9%. 'This year, we're shooting for 15 %,'says Park. The new company says it sold more than 20,000 units in January more than the combined monthly sales of the two separate entities before the merger. CORPORATE CULTURE DIFFERENCES But despite such signs of success, many in South Korea's PC industry say friction remains between the two very different corporate cultures. 'We are still in the process of adjusting to each other,' says Park. 'All the internal processes were different ... We are setting up new processes for everything.' The aim is to create a new identity for the joint venture and not follow the IBM model or that of LGE. But the process is slow and three months into the operation, staff were still attending workshops to learn the new culture and new ways of working. Despite rumours of internal strife, many PC manufacturers are envious of the success of the merger. The combination of IBM's technology and LGE's highly regarded aftersales service is powerful, says a Samsung spokesman. But, while agreeing it makes competition tougher, he expects most of the new company's gains to be at the expense of smaller local firms.
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As much as 25% to 30% of PC sales has been attributed to the 'clones' or 'no brand' models. Assembled in South Korea, usually with parts from Taiwan, large number, of 'no brand' PCs are produced by small local companies that quickly appear and disappear. A combination of factors put several clone-makers out of business at the start of the year. IPC - one of the few international clone manufacturers - pulled out of South Korea in January, sending jitters through the market. As labour unrest in December 1996 and January this year took its toll on South Korea's economy, local bank loans to the clone-makers froze up. Many went bankrupt, sources say. LG IBM PC Co, however, could be well placed to take up the slack. The success of the venture has not gone unnoticed, and other South Korean chaebol and US PC giants are expected to follow the move. The most strongly rumoured is a tie-up between Compaq and Trigem, although neither firm was able to comment. However, Samsung, which owns a majority take in US PC giant AST Research, is unlikely to join the fray. A company spokesman says a trend towards alliances could hurt the PC market in South Korea. By using alliances to supply the best PC technology, South Korean manufacturers would be neglecting their own expertise. 'The [South] Korean manufacturers don't have any chance to learn about technology [through these alliances]. They could weaken the whole [South] Korean computer manufacturing base.' For now, the South Korean companies are likely to be in the strongest negotiating position in any East-West alliance. Daniel Sim, PC analyst for the Asia Pacific for Dataquest, says that if the US multinationals want success in Asia, they have to work with the local conditions. 'They are trying to penetrate the [South] Korea market, not the other way round.'
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Consumer tastes and tax policies that favour locally made goods have given South Korea's manufacturers a tight grip on the market. 'It takes a lot of time for Koreans to change,' says Sim. Helen Johnstone Asian Business May 1997
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Organizational Change
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The word vision connotates something grand or mystical, but the direction that guides successful transformations is often simple and mundane, as in: "It's going to pour, let's go under that apple tree for shelter and eat some of the fruit for lunch." A vision can be mundane and simple, at least partially, because in successful transformations it is only one element in a larger system that also includes strategies, plans, and budgets (see exhibit 2 above). But although it is only one factor in a large system, it is an especially important factor. Without vision, strategy making can be a much more contentious activity and budgeting can dissolve into a mindless exercise of taking last year's numbers and changing them 5 percent one way or the other. Even more so, without a good vision, a clever strategy or a logical plan can rarely inspire the kind of action needed to produce
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AN EXAMPLE OF RESISTANCE
Example: An employee may resist the introduction of advanced person computer at his work station, because: He had never before used the computer's operating system and was apprehensive that he could learn to use it successfully. He sensed the manager was forcing the computer on him without discussing his feelings on the matter first. He felt he was doing his job fine and didn't need the new computer. He was really busy at the present time and didn't want to try something new until the work slackened a bit. He wasn't sure "Why" the change was being made and wondered if the manager just wanted to "get rid" of him.
COMMUNICATION!
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FORCEFIELD ANALYSIS
A technique to identify those forces which assist or obstruct the implementation of change. User Involvement in Systems Development Driving Forces Restraining Forces
Users' motivation and interest 'Ownership requirement Users I right of veto Proven quality benefits Radical thinking Knowledge of store needs "Jury service" possibility
Budgetary constraints System knowledge requirement Store staffing pressures Understanding of overall strategy Impact on development timescales Integration into development team
Method of Operation
1. Describe the planned change in a simple sentence at the top of a flipchart. 2. List the driving forces which support the planned change on the left hand side of the chart. 3. List the restraining forces which may obstruct the planned change on the right hand side of the chart. 4. Determine which of the restraining forces pose the greatest threat to change and highlight them for specific action. 5. Determine which of the driving forces represent the best levers for implementing change and highlight them for specific action.
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ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE
1. WEBSTER's DICTIONARY: is a pattern, example, or model. 2. JOEL BARKER (futurist): is a set of rules and regulations that do two things: establish boundaries, provide rules for success: how to be successful -by solving problems within these boundaries. 3. Professor Coon: PARADIGMS act as filters that screen data coming in to the mind. 4. SOME FINDINGS: (Joel Barker) When paradigms shift, everyone goes back to zero zero-rule). Your past success guarantees nothing. Your past success may block your vision to the future!
WHAT IS PARADIGM?
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The deep system doesn't process orders, develop new products, or in any way create Management and customer value. Instead, it monitors, adjusts, and re-forms the surface system that Measurement Systems creates customer value.
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The deep system is a sensor that is always turned on to the surface system to sense when change is needed. When the alarm goes off, the deep system kicks into gear and make the necessary changes. How It Works An invisible deep system may sound philosophical and abstract. It is not. The deep system depends on concrete processes perform by real people. Specifically, the deep system has three primary processes: Learning . This process identifies, analyzes, and disseminates important information through out the company so that decisions about change can be made. It looks beyond obvious information such as customer trend surveys. Major change is always a surprise, and looking for it in familiar places is a waste of time. Redesign. Using the information gathered and analyzed, the deep system redesigns the Surface system to fit the new realities. Transition. In this process, the old surface system is replaced with the newly designed system. While the deep system has its own processes, it is not a separate, self-contained unit. Everyone in the company, whatever his or her job in the surface system, also works in the deep system. For example, the sales rep in the field stays alert to change in customer needs, understands what formation is important, and knows how and with whom to share that knowledge. The deep system thus builds chance processes into the company - preventing paralysis in the face of change. L-
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CULTURE
STRATEGY
People
Technology
Competitive wedge
The market
International Environment
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Application in Vietnam:
Vietnam has a open-door economic policy global competition is
tech industry Vietnam lies in Asian area, a fierce competitive area in the high-tech industry challenge to Vietnam Most current Vietnamese, companies in the field have high levels of bureaucracy slow react to changing environment. A big number of companies having too large groups not creativity and
motivation. In order to close the gap with other countries in this field and to compete in global market we should: Peak down levels of bureaucracy into small groups and flat structure to adapt to changing Create high activity and motivation Empower to small groups in order to quickly react to opportunities and threats, Create a free flow of information throughout company, Train and retrain their employees to meet new requirement in the field.
environment,
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DEVELOPING POLITICAL SUPPORT Assessing change agent power identifying key stakeholders Influencing stakeholder
SUSTAINING MOMENTUM Providing resources for change Building a supp. syst. for change agents Developing new competencies & skills Reinforcing new behaviors
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Continual change requires focus if it is not to degenerate into change overload on the front-line. In their attempt to keep up with a rapidly changing environment, many companies have burdened themselves with too many uncoordinated change initiatives. One privatized English company had ten different consulting firms advising it at one time. Another client had as many as sixty different major change initiatives going at once. Even in a large company, that many consultants, or simultaneous change efforts, are doomed to fritter away commitment in conflicting priorities. Frontline confusion is the inevitable result, unless the initiatives are part of a clearly understood change focus. This focus has to incorporate multiple change efforts, while keeping pace with the rapidly changing business environment. To do so, the focus has to shift with the critical pressure point, or opportunity, imposed by the evolving relationship between the company and its business environment. Companies that are successful at continual change periodically refocus their change effort around successive priorities that provide the greatest leverage for value creation. The success of continual change requires leadership at the top to periodically select the next critical leverage point with the greatest potential for overall value creation. Top management cannot escape its strategic responsibility by hiding behind a smokescreen of organizational design and cultural nurturing, assuming that those on the front-line who are closest to the action, always can best find the way forward for the organization as a whole. Nor is it enough to create a so-called learning organization and hope that it will grope its way into the future through bottom-up initiatives alone. This approach, which is the current darling of management gurus, exposes the company to the hazards of random Darwinian selection as the business environment inevitably shifts in particular directions at a pace that the bottom-up organization cannot adapt to. The financial services industry, which perhaps has gone the furthest
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towards a hands-off top management approach, ha I s provided a continuing series of dramatic stories about what happens to heavily bottom-up organizations when the environment shifts. To identify the next critical leverage point for continual change, management has to truly understand the nature of its business and how it fits into the evolving environment. This requires a sense for interactions and feedback effects, how a potential leverage point could unlock a new wave of value creation throughout the organization. A simple business model, based on Goldratt's theory of constraints, can facilitate this understanding and focus the search for leverage points (see figure below). The model depicts the basic process links between the different classes of tangible and intangible assets that a company deploys to create value, together with the stakeholder relationships that complement those processes. The model provides a framework that management can use as a starting point, to work out the details of how its business works and interacts with its environment. The details, of course, depend on the nature of the company and its industry. Companies have more or less cash that is available f6r investment via a-financing process (dependent on their performance and standing in the financial markets), which is used to develop core competencies with a people development process (including learning partners). An innovation process (complemented by alliances with innovation partners) converts the core competencies into a product/service portfolio, which in turn is translated into market demand through a marketing process (dependent on relationships with customers). To satisfy the demand, an order fulfillment process is deployed (with external partners to form a complete value chain), to deliver the offering and generate cash for further investments. At any moment in time, the company is subject to bottlenecks in its processes, constraints on its relationships with its stakeholders and the opportunity cost of unexploited assets, and new opportunities. The next critical leverage point for refocusing the change effort is that bottleneck, constraint, or unexploited asset/opportunity, that is most limiting the company's value creating potential. By
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refocusing change around this leverage point, top management can unleash a wave of additional value creation, as the effect of removing the limitation cascades through the value creation cycle. (The same can be done at the divisional, or business unit levels, subject to the guidelines of the corporate change focus.) Once the change effort has removed the limitation, anew bottleneck, constraint, or unexploited asset/opportunity emerges, thereby becoming the next leverage point for change.
Customers
Marketing process Market Image & Demand Order Fulfillment process Net Cash Available Finance process Employees
In the corporate growth phase, for example, financial and then employee constraints often dominate, whereas in the mature phase, process bottlenecks become critical. Similarly, on the industry level, when competitive offerings are converging and margins are under pressure, stakeholder constraints often become paramount as they begin to compete for the shrinking pie. Whereas when the industry is shifting and offerings are diverging, it is emerging opportunities that provide the greatest leverage.
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"In the corporate growth phase, for example, financial and then employee constraints often dominate, whereas in the mature phase, process bottlenecks become critical." To illustrate how this works in practice, let us look at how Harley Davidson has managed continual change over the last two decades. In the mid-seventies Harley, had sunk to the point where more than half the machines coming off the production line had missing parts and had to be fixed before being shipped; its market share had fallen from 7 5 9o' to 2 5 9o, the company was in a financial crisis. As in most crises, the initial leverage point for change was clear, but more management insight was needed to select subsequent focal points for the change effort. Loosening stakeholder constraints The first place to look for a critical leverage point is in the relationships with stakeholders. Many companies today have key performance indicators that capture the state of their stakeholder relationships, especially on the financial, customer, and employee fronts. To get the full support of its stakeholders, the company has to offer them a better deal than they can get elsewhere. When stakeholders are dissatisfied, they begin withdrawing their support. This shows up immediately in a falling share price, or declining market share, less employee commitment, less reliable partners, and so on. When a severe deterioration in performance occurs, as in the case of Harley Davidson, the critical leverage point is easy to see. It is the one that is most essential for the survival of the company. When Vaughn Beals took charge of Harley in 1975, the critical leverage points for change were the financing constraint imposed by the banks and the disaster in the marketplace. To keep the company in business, he had to secure the support of the banks first with a convincing turnaround plan and then halt the decline in market share. After securing the financing lifeline, Beals set up an ad hoc quality control effort to repair the bikes before shipping them to the dealers. However, since this program cost soon accounted for 25 ,percent of the final retail price of 4000 dollars, the senior managers decided at a strategy retreat that, if they were to catch up with the Japanese, cost reduction had to be the number one priority.
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"Harley had to focus its change effort on something with more immediate payoff in terms of value creation." But this wasn't the critical leverage point at that time. On reflection, Beals and his team realized that catching up would take years. Harley had to focus its change effort on something with more immediate pay-off in terms of value creation. They decided to draw on the Harley Davidson image of the macho biker's bike, as the next leverage point, to loosen the constraint imposed by declining market share. He called on William G. Davidson, grandson of one of the founders and styling vice-president, to exploit the product image to the full. Davidson used rapid cosmetic innovation to design the Super Glide, a factory-built custom bike that looked like the garage creations put together by do-it-yourself Harley fanatics. Together with other models, like the Low Rider and Wide Glide, they recovered the support of customers, and stemmed the loss in market share. Removing process bottlenecks The second place to look for a critical leverage point is in the processes that link up the value creation cycle. Identifying the critical process bottleneck is either a matter of focusing on that process giving the most problems in the value creation cycle (very often the process limiting the speed of the cycle), or a matter of comparing with what other companies are capable of doing (benchmarking against other companies). Once a particular bottleneck has been removed, the cycle can be accelerated until a new bottleneck appears. At Harley Davidson, the slow, indeed negative rate of cost and quality improvement was crying out for action. Without a positive change here, the cash flow would not be available to do anything else. Improving the order fulfillment process had to be the next leverage point. After visiting Honda's plant in Marysville, Ohio, Beals and his team went for a Japanese approach to lean management, just-in-time inventory control, and quality improvement. People on the shop floor resisted. Months were spent meeting employees from all departments to explain how it would work and get
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their input. This intense involvement turned out to be key to their commitment. After its introduction, the new system quickly produced results. Once the order fulfillment process was capable of turning out quality bikes at a competitive speed and cost, the weak demand for bikes soon became the next factor limiting further improvement in Harley's value creation cycle. The management team turned the change spotlight onto the marketing process, the next critical leverage point. Among several marketing initiatives, a series of TV commercials introduced Super Ride, a demonstration program inviting bikers to try out a new Harley at any of the 600 plus dealers. As potential buyers became more and more convinced that Harley had solved its quality problems, the Super Ride program turned out to be so successful that Harley started taking a fleet of demo bikes to all motorcycle rallies. Yet, as sales picked up, top management did not rest on its laurels. They began casting about for the next leverage point. Exploiting existing assets Critical opportunities are often latent in the assets embedded in the different stages of the value creation cycle, which suddenly become more valuable as the business and its environment evolve. Those assets with new potential might be among existing . investments, or core competencies, or in the quality of the products, or in the brand image and market loyalty, or the cash available to capitalize on new opportunities as the industry shifts. "Critical opportunities are often latent in the assets embedded in the different stages of the value creation cycle." According to a member of Beals' team, when they compared Harley to their competitors, they realized that their strongest competitive advantage was the Harley brand image. Exploiting this image to the full was the next leverage point they selected. They boosted the dealers and formed the Harlev Owners Group (HOG). The club sponsors biker events, that include managers and their wives, all over the world where there are Harley owners, giving them the opportunity to celebrate the use of their bikes and socialize together at big jamborees. Harley was not only selling
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bikes, ' it was now selling the American biking experience. Exploiting this American cultural factor was a unique Harley advantage, which the foreign competitors could not easily duplicate. Indeed, Honda failed in its first attempt to create its own version of HOG. In 1983, Harley was profitable again. Its market share started to climb; by the end of the decade it had recaptured 50 percent of the super-heavyweight bike market and the share price had tripled. However, success began to undermine the commitment to value creation. In the words of one senior executive. there were increasing signs of "complacency, arrogance, and greed." Creating new opportunities The ultimate challenge in the management of continual change is to take charge of events and become proactive, by focusing selectively on those parts of the value creation cycle that will permit the company to outpace the competition and lead the industry. This is where bottom-up learning to develop new core competencies, or the development of strategic options in the form of new products/services, or new market alternatives, or large scale commitment to new investments, may be critical. The right choice requires a well honedforesight about the evolutionary trajectory of the industry, in addition to a deep understanding of the company's value creation cycle. When Harley's performance began to slip in the early nineties, management believed that greater employee commitment was the stakeholder leverage point that would reverse the slippage. They turned- to the unions to help put in place a self-sustaining people development process. This top down approach backfired, however, by alienating the workers on the shop floor. It was then that management started promoting bottom-up learning, as the next leverage point, involving everyone throughout the company in working and innovation circles. The new development process linked individual plans, commitments and results, to work unit, divisional and corporate objectives. As the nineties draw to a close, everyone at Harley is responsible for their own individual performance and career development plan. The new learning process for developing and deploying competence has begun to
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generate impressive gains in productivity, as well as new marketing opportunities, such as the licensing of Harley accessories and the Harley designer stores. Leverage points don't come in a neat sequence The Harley story might suggest that the leverage points for change come in a neat sequence, like the one described above. Yet, every business has its particular value creation cycle and every industry its own evolutionary trajectory. In the end, there is no substitute for a management that understands the nature of value creation in both its company and industry deeply enough, to identify the next leverage point for change.
IMD is generally regarded as the business school in the vanguard of executive education; Its global outlook is Particularly relevant to companies and organizations operating internationally. The school has a unique range of progra,7@s for uppermiddle management up to and including board-level. For more information bout our programs, please contact the editor at the address below: IDM International Institute for Management Development P.O. Box 915, CH-1001 Lausanne Switzerland
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