How the business world must serve its environment is changing in front of our very eyes. We must not only recognize but also embrace the change. The context of your business training called for man- agement behavior that was straightforward. You were required to write your managerial story in rational, cause-and-effect terms.
Logical thinking was critical to developing your story. Your business produced things, so your management style was deterministic. You solved problems based on simplistic laws that boiled decisions down to predictability of what worked and didn’t work.
Management and leadership were based on one-way communica- tion, centralized authority, and command and control. Businesses were treated as a giant machine with interchangeable parts.
Unfortunately, people were considered part of that machine and treated accordingly1 The structure was traditional, with clear lines of reporting and command and control (see Figure 3-1).
Figure 3-1. The old model of management was rational, logical, and linear while the new model requires interactive relationships as the foundation.
In management circles there is a name for the aforementioned management theory—Scientific Management. This theory was derived from the Newtonian concept of how the universe is ordered. For a long time this construct of order was helpful in organizing our management knowledge when applied to business situations. However, not all parts of the theory fit today because we are experiencing modern times calling for modern management. In fact, every model we are using is subject to being questioned in light of applicability. Therefore, we may make the following obser- vations:
■ Traditional models are not bad—they just don’t work as well anymore.
■ Every business model we learned is shifting.
■ Every model is therefore suspect.
Lurking in the background has been a competing theory of how businesses should be led and managed. Events, circumstances, and the nature of the evolving fundamental processes of society have brought the competing theories into vogue. Now you are being asked to look at your business from a shifted point of view.
Concepts such as self-directed work teams, empowerment, and shared decision making are terms frequently found in your business meetings. Instead of just making things you are now being asked to put your customers’ needs in the center of the ring and respond accordingly.
Consumers take quality as a given, want the product yesterday, and expect to pay less and less. The Henry Ford quote, “Any color you want, so long as it’s black,” worked well for his time but wouldn’t survive till the sun goes down in view of this shift in management thinking.2
No area of business is protected from the effects of the shifting business models. Areas once considered safe are the focus of atten- tion. Consider services being outsourced as a prime example of the shift from owning everything to paying for services as needed.
That’s what the whole outsourcing movement is about. Think of typical company staff functions such as human resources, informa- tion technology, and administrative services. Many companies are turning to experts in the functional fields and paying them a fee to perform the services. Give serious consideration to how the shifts in thinking are affecting the roles of each part of your business. (A case study at the end of this chapter provides an exercise designed to help you understand the new roles of each of your functions and departments as they move from a highly structured approach to one of a fast-breaking, fluid business situation.) We must become more flexible in applying the lessons from a virtual model. Terms
such as strategic partnerships, alliances,and outsourcingare the watch- words of the new business language.
Jim Dean has thirty-plus years of involvement with the human resources business. When he and I discussed the changing role of human resources in the new millennium, he observed that the role of the human resources manager is shifting from the traditional model to that of the champion of change as it relates to a virtual model of business. Jim goes further to suggest that human resources managers should be the champions of the company’s business planning process. He sees that role as necessary to connect the strategic with the tactical functions of a business. His reasoning is logical. Who else touches the major resources and all parts of the business in the same fashion as the human resources business unit?
To avoid the trap of outdated management models consider the following four planning techniques:
1. Challenge every belief you have about leading and managing your business.One of the first places to look is at your the- ory of people. Do you see people as part of a big machine or as a valuable resource? For example, do employees need to be involved in planning, or can the management team just tell them what to do?
2. Challenge every concept you have about customers. Are cus- tomers and their inherent complaints a necessary part of doing business, or are they the key to your existence? For example, when do you consider the customer’s needs and wants in your product development? Traditionally we asked the customer’s opinion last when developing a new product. In the new models of the business future, cus- tomers will be at the center of the equation.
3. Challenge your internal time orientation. Customers are demanding goods and services in real time. Are you pre- pared to operate on a next-day-delivery concept? Is your model of the world still “Please allow four to six weeks for delivery”? FedEx and the other overnight-delivery services
have rethought, redesigned, and reoriented the time issues.
4. Challenge the roles and functions of your organization. How can you redefine roles to make them more challenging?
For example, examine your organization’s structure. Can you get more done through strategic partnerships and outsourcing?