Reading list

Reading List 97

NATIONAL PRODUCTIVITY REVIEW / Spring 2000

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©2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

97

EADING LIST

B O O K S A N D A R T I C L E S I N B R I E F

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James W. Marcum, Ph.D., is professor and chief librarian, The College of Staten Island, City University of New York; Rachael Green, MLS, is referencelibrarian at Noel Memorial Library, Lousiana State University, Shreveport; LaRoi Lawton, MLS is director, Media Services, Bronx Community College,CUNY; Thomas E. Shaefer, Ph.D., is professor, John Ben Shepperd Public Leadership Institute, University of Texas—Permian Basin, in Odessa; AlanZimmerman, Ph.D., is assistant professor of marketing, College of Staten Island.

Laurence D. AckermanIdentity is Destiny: Leadership and theRoots of Value CreationSan Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, 2000233 pages; $27.95

The author, a consultant, acknowl-edges his debt to many ideas uponwhich he built his perspective, includ-ing the notion of corporate cultures,corporate competencies, the importanceof vision, and the realization that orga-nizations exhibit very human character-istics. The perspective he offers is thepower of identity. The “laws” of iden-tity include self-consciousness of one’suniqueness, immutability, purpose, andthe extent to which our effectiveness isdetermined by relationships—healthy,productive, or otherwise—with thosearound us.

With effort we can all bring tomind authentic people we haveknown. Those individuals are veryclear about who and what they areand, perhaps most importantly, whatthey are not. In like manner, compa-

by James W. Marcum, Rachael Green, LaRoi Lawton, Thomas E. Schaefer, and Alan Zimmerman

BOOKS

nies occasionally convey such au-thenticity. It may come from the en-trepreneurial leader, such as MaryKay Asch or Konosuke Matsushita.Or it may come from a focused con-sistency, as with an Intel or a Coca-Cola. In either event everyone whoworks for the company will reflectthat identity.

There are competing perspectivesaround, assumptions of humanity asa “blank slate” or belief in an essen-tial “plasticity” that permits easytransformation. Corporate mergers of-ten do not allow for the pervasivenessof a corporate culture. Leaders maycling to the power of command. Read-ers of this book will harbor no suchillusions. —JWM

Dan Ciampa and Michael WatkinsRight From the Start: Taking Charge In ANew Leadership RoleBoston: Harvard Business School Press,1999316 pages; $24.95

The authors bring experience andresearch skills to this analysis of “thetransition period”—the critical earlyphase in leading an organization. Thefocus is on challenges facing the out-side change agent who comes to a newfirm as second-in-command, with theexpectation of soon occupying the topspot. Ciampa is a long-time consult-ant to major companies and Watkinsteaches at the Harvard BusinessSchool; both are students of organiza-tional development.

While the focus is narrow—lead-ing in the first two or three years, andparticularly during the crucial first sixmonths, of one’s career in a new orga-nization—the ideas employed arebroad, relevant to leadership generally.Well-known management concepts arebrought into the context oftransitioning to a fresh leadership role.Beyond having a vision for the neworganization, the effective changeagent must lay a basis for realizing thisvision by quickly learning the organi-zational culture. One cannot start this

James W. Marcum, Rachael Green, LaRoi Lawton, Thomas E. Schaefer, and Alan Zimmerman98


learning process too soon; successfultransitioning starts before one’s firstday on the job. Judicious use of coun-selors inside and outside the firm and,especially, cultivating amiable rela-tions with the retiring CEO, helpgreatly here. No less important, thenewly arrived leader must quicklyforge alliances with key actors in theorganization, deciphering the layout ofcoalitions and judging how to use, ordiffuse, the power they exert. Earlyvictories to showcase effectiveness andfoster momentum are particularly sig-nificant during the early stages oftransitioning. At the same time, self-management and “walking the talk”must be front and center if new waysare to take hold and genuine confi-dence vested in the new leader.

With sound priorities and abilityto communicate enthusiasm for higherstandards, the new decision makermust be a time manager and avoidoverconfidence. Misplaced ego createsblindness to political realities, which,in turn, spawns the worst possible con-dition that can infect new leaders: iso-lation. Without appropriate internalalliances and an understanding of thevalues driving their followers, leadersput themselves out of touch with thelifeblood of their organizations. Fail-ure is sure to follow.

This book makes good, concretesuggestions for avoiding such failure.Actual case histories of transitioningleaders, and advice from them in theirown words, give impact to the authors’ideas. —TES

Stan Davis and Christopher MeyerFuture WealthBoston: Harvard Business School Press,2000200 pages; $27.50

In 1998 Davis and Meyer hit thescene with Blur, explaining the speedand impact of change today. Now theyoffer Future Wealth, a discussion thatmay help many readers grasp the im-pact of the new economy, which they

label the connected economy.Peter Drucker told us years ago

that we were entering the knowledgeage, a time when intellectual resourcesand capital would become more im-portant than either real or financial as-sets. Future Wealth announces that thetime has arrived and offers guidelinesfor adapting to it.

This readable book is about valu-ing and monetizing human capital andmanaging risk opportunity, on the partof individuals, companies, and soci-ety at large. Visions of oncoming re-alities include financial markets fortrading human capital and a not-too-distant future when over half of theworkforce is self-employed. Resumeswill become portfolios with charts in-dicating the trading range of the costsof the professional services offeredand certification of the health of theindividual. Today, financial institu-tions are groping toward new tools forpackaging, valuing, securitizing, andmarketing human capital. The authorspoint to various successful steps in theprocess, such as David Bowie’s saleof future royalties and earningsthrough a successful offering ofBowie Bonds. The value of tangibleassets is predicted to decline withthe shift in favor toward intangibleassets.

All of this changes the rules.People should focus more on net worth(money that works) rather than income(money one works for). Risk is oppor-tunity to be pursued rather than threatsto be avoided. And new social policies(such as taxing consumption ratherthan income or wealth) and safety nets(such as bankruptcy laws to encour-age risk taking) will be required aswell. —JWM

Gregory G. Dess and Joseph C.PickenBeyond Productivity: How Leading Com-panies Achieve Superior Performance byLeveraging Their Human CapitalNew York: AMACOM, 1999256 pages: $27.95

How do companies keep the bestemployees and maintain high stan-dards in the world of competitive busi-ness today? Beyond Productivity offersthe reader guidelines, drawn from ex-tensive research, on how to “developand retain the best and brightest people(human resources) to create an orga-nization where these people can ex-cel.”

The ability to make optimum useof human resources, technology, ini-tiative, and risk-taking are the key el-ements that have made companies likeMicrosoft, Chase, and GE leap aheadof the competition in their respectivearenas. The authors take a serious lookat several prominent and successfulcompanies and examine, in depth, thetechniques they employ to deal withcompetitors.

The book begins with the humanelement and works it way up to theorganization’s layout, recruitment, re-tention, and incentive policies and con-trols. The authors imply with concreteexamples such as Dell Computer Cor-poration, Reebok, and other corpora-tions, that by putting the “person” first,productivity in any business will in-crease. —LRL

Nancy M. DixonCommon Knowledge: How CompaniesThrive by Sharing What They KnowBoston: Harvard Business School Press,2000240 pages; $29.95

This is a book about knowledgemanagement or, more specifically,knowledge transfer. Although it isgrounded in investigations into suc-cessful knowledge transfer practices insuch organizations as Bechtel, Ford,and the U.S. Army, its overall contri-bution is theoretical.

Dixon, a professor at GeorgeWashington University, characterizesfive types of knowledge transfer: se-rial, near, far, strategic, and expert.When a team develops a skill at a taskand performs the task well on the next

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occasion, that is serial transfer, themost routine type. If the team trans-fers information about their expertisein the task to another team, probablyelectronically, and the other team ben-efits from the shared knowledge, thatis what Dixon calls “near” transfer. Ifthe learning acquired by a team in ac-complishing a nonroutine task isshared and utilized by another team inanother situation, that makes it a “far”transfer. To this point the knowledgeshared is focused at a lower, small-group level of activity. The processmight be considered tactical in nature.

When the knowledge held by theentire organization is tapped to solvea problem of critical importance for theentire organization, then a strategictransfer of knowledge has occurred.Senior management, typically, will beinvolved, as well as whatever “knowl-edge expertise” the organization canmuster. Both tacit and explicit knowl-edge will be involved as well.

The final level of knowledgetransfer is, again, organizationwide. Ateam requires knowledge that no one,or no team, has available. This is aproblem-solving process that “pulls”expertise from across the organization.The author concludes with a discus-sion on building an enterprisewideknowledge system. This is a usefulbook that breathes needed new life intothe knowledge management field.

—JWM

Peter F. DruckerManagement Challenges for the 21stCenturyNew York: HarperBusiness, 1999218 pages; $27.50

It is inevitable that an aging PeterDrucker will one day cease to producemind-opening essays on managing or-ganizations in the larger social, politi-cal, and economic context. Fortunately,that day has not arrived, as evidencedby this new book.

Drucker is the quintessential “bigpicture” guy. The larger forces draw-

ing his attention today include demo-graphic trends, global competition,performance costing, income distribu-tion, and the incongruity between cur-rent economic and political realities.One could say, justifiably, that theseissues are reworkings of earlierthemes. And yet he always managesto bring a fresh perspective and ex-panded possibilities to the reader.

Among the issues addressed atlength in this work are a review of thenature of manual work, and an appli-cation of those principles to the newrealities of knowledge work. Thatchapter, and another on the challengesof gaining and providing, needed in-formation for effective strategizing anddecision making are among the mostuseful discussions here. Many readerswill find that although the author re-visits old territories, the return visit istimely in terms of addressing issues ofconcern to managers, leaders, and pro-fessionals. —JWM

Jeffrey E. Garten, ed.World View: Global Strategies for the NewEconomyBoston: Harvard Business School Press,1999330 Pages; $29.95

This collection of Harvard Busi-ness Review articles is edited by thecurrent dean of the Yale Schoolof Management and former Under-secretary of Commerce for Interna-tional Trade in the first Clinton admin-istration. The collection of thirteenarticles and three interviews with chiefexecutives is loosely tied together un-der the “global strategies” rubric anddivided into four major sections:emerging markets, Europe and Asia,corporate strategies, and leadership.

The diversity of subject areas andthe use of Harvard Business Reviewarticles as the only source limits thedepth of treatment of any of these par-ticular subjects. Nevertheless, the col-lection contains several useful

articles. No one will dispute Garten’sclaim that “globalization hasbecome...the key [framework]...forevery aspect of corporate strategy.”He cites estimates from McKinseyand DRI that although 20 percent ofthe world’s output is produced andconsumed in [export] markets today,in 30 years this figure will be closerto 80 percent. Garten correctly saysthat the new challenges of globalismrequire rethinking “at a time whenthere are few guideposts.” He sum-marizes the conclusions of the col-lected authors in the article as follows:(1) CEOs must rethink everythingabout their strategies; (2) gatheringand processing information is re-quired for developing the best strate-gies; (3) firms must be constantinnovators—they must learn andimplement simultaneously and movequickly; (4) a corporate culture thatfosters internal and external collabo-ration is required; and (5) change isbringing unprecedented opportunityto capture markets and increase share-holder value.

Perhaps the most useful sectionof this collection relates to emerg-ing markets. An insightful article co-authored by C. K. Prahalad adviseslarge multinational corporations(MNCs) to rethink their approach todeveloping countries like China, In-dia, and Brazil. Especially useful isa pyramid of purchasing power interms of the far-lower incomes seenin these emerging markets. Ap-proaching emerging markets in newways requires “postimperial” corpo-rations and a rethinking of the ideathat focusing on core competenciesas useful in emerging markets.Khanna and Palepu argue for diver-sified firms in these emerging mar-kets, offering many products andservices rather than focusing on corecompetencies. Dawar and Frost showhow flexibility helped local firmscompete with large MNCs that hadinvaded their markets.

Of the other sections, the most in-teresting is Michael Porter’s “Clusters



and the New Economics of Competi-tion.” Here he reinforces his diamondof national advantage theory, saying,“a cluster is the manifestation of thediamond at work.” Porter once againidentifies the role for government, say-ing, “industrial policy, meaning choos-ing one industry vs. another for futuresuccess, is not the correct approach.”Instead, he advises governments to re-inforce the development of clusterswhich he defines as “critical masses—in one place—of unusual competitivesuccess in particular fields.”

Also interesting although some-what dated are the perspectives of fiveEuropean executives as related to thebenefits and drawbacks of the euro.World View is not a unified theory ofglobal strategy but does offer a num-ber of interesting insights, especiallyin the emerging market area. —AZ

Dennis S. Reina and Michelle L.ReinaTrust & Betrayal in the Workplace: Build-ing Effective Relationships in Your Organi-zationSan Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publica-tions, 1999176 pages; $27.95

“If organizations are going to sur-vive in the new global economy, theiremployees must trust themselves andtheir leaders enough to be willing totake the risks necessary to adapt to therapidly changing conditions of themarketplace.” Thus starts the premiseof Trust & Betrayal, with coauthorsDennis and Michelle Reina.

How often have people, be it onany level within that company, expe-rienced betrayal, felt used, and thendiscarded? The problem, as theReinas see it, is that so many yearsof hostile takeovers, downsizing,growth, and decreased employeework performance have put manycompany executives on notice. If theydo not come up with a complete com-prehension of the complex dynamicsof building mutual trust, then at all

levels of the organization, morale,profits, and productivity will go by thewayside.

This manual offers a practicalguide for all executives, employees,and organizations with illustratedtools and techniques that can be putinto practice with results that willbenefit both the individual and thecompany. —LRL

Glenn Rifkin and DouglasMatthewsThe CEO Chronicles: Lessons from the Topabout Inspiration and LeadershipLos Angeles: Knowledge Exchange, 1999297 pages; $24.95

This book chronicles how CEOsstruggle with career and family issues.These stories are true and offer a worldof information and insight into theminds of CEOs today. Chief CEOs likeTed Henter of Henter-Joyce, CynthiaFricke Wollman of Sun PrintingHouse, and Judith A. Armstrong ofADA Technologies, Inc., are just a fewof the distinguished guests who offertheir many sobering challenges in anarrative format.

Imagine for a moment being onwelfare, then working your way upthe corporate ladder to become a vicepresident, then being tossed outagain because of a hostile takeover,then forming your own company, andmaking it the largest woman-ownedcompany in St. Louis. The year was1989, and the woman was PamReynolds.

The stories of these individuals,50 in all, are inspirational and defini-tive. The reader shares the successesand failures of these unique peoplewho offer real insight into the work-ing minds of CEOs today. Their rela-tionships with employees, fellowCEOs, and rival companies can offervaluable information on how to dealwith many of the ongoing issues thathave defined success for many CEOsin their public and private lives.

— LRL

Robert Rosen, with Patricia Digh,Marshall Singer, and Carl PhillipsGlobal Literacies: Lessons on BusinessLeadership and National CulturesNew York: Simon and Schuster, 2000411 pages; $27.50

By “global literacies” the authorsmean understanding oneself (personalliteracy), engaging others (social lit-eracy), leading your organization(business literacy), and valuing diver-sity (cultural literacy). Taken togetherthese skills presumably make one “glo-bally literate” and, therefore, fit to bea leader in today’s business climate.

This actually is a study of leader-ship, or rather a study of business lead-ers from across the globe. The productof a study of 75 leaders from 28 coun-ties, the book offers a good bit of in-formation, though it is somewhatscattered into snippets and snapshotsof national business cultures, compa-nies, and individuals.

The authors warn of Americanarrogance and self-absorption. Theyrely, however, on survey findings thattend to boil down to oversimplifica-tions, sometimes almost caricatures, ofnational business cultures.

The book is being hyped heavily,and it does offer some insights and in-formation (such as the interviews withglobal CEOs) that is not readily avail-able elsewhere. But the overall impactis disappointing. —JWM

David SiegelFuturize Your Enterprise: Business Strat-egy in the Age of the E-CustomerNew York: John Wiley and Sons, 1999331 pages; $29.95

This popular, best-selling book isthe latest offering of Siegel, thewidely respected author of CreatingKiller Web Sites, a successful design-focused guide to doing business onthe Internet. In this work he looksbeyond websites to the strategies andapproaches necessary to succeed inthe new world of e-commerce.

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ARTICLES

As many companies learned thehard way, you cannot hire a Web mas-ter and move into this new milieu. Thecompany must think and behave dif-ferently. To gain the required energySiegel proposes setting up an autono-mous Web department comprised ofpeople who “live” in the new cyberuniverse. Dwellers in the new mindsetare comfortable viewing markets asessentially conversations, are willingto let customers meet and interact onthe website, and thrive comfortably ina “truth economy” of openness andwidely shared (rather than hierarchi-cal) responsibility.

Each of the first three sections ofthe book proffers several concise chap-ters on principles, practice, or proto-types. The information is generallysound, grounded in actual businessexperience. A final section on predic-tions is stimulating, occasionally dra-matically so, but is also fuzzy in spotsand will soon be dated by onrushingrealities.

Many professionals, entrepre-neurs, and managers seeking guidanceand inspiration for coping with theexplosive new “dot economy” will findthis a valuable read. —JWM

John A. Shtogren, ed.Skyhooks for Leadership: A New Frame-work that Brings Together Five Decadesof Thought, From Maslow to SengeNew York: AMACOM, 1999416 pages; $29.95

Management and leadershipstudies were formalized in the teensand twenties of the last century. Sincethen, practicing leaders have been of-fered much pap repetition. As Koontzexpressed it some years ago, real man-agers face a “theory jungle.” But amidthe welter of ideas offered, some havestood the test of time. Those ideasform the “classics,” seminal contribu-tions like McGregor’s The HumanSide of Enterprise and Maslow onmotivation. Herein lies the merit ofSkyhooks for Leadership. This vol-

ume contains many of those key writ-ings. The “skyhooks,” or fundamen-tals touted, include vision, trust, opencommunication, meaningful work,empowerment and self-determina-tion, teamwork and involvement, andtransformational style.

Each topic is introduced and re-viewed with self-tests. These supple-ments move the book from insights toapplications. One can question omis-sions—such as Barnard and Drucker—but the selections included aregenerally excellent. Supplementedwith appendices and suggested addi-tional readings, this book can help in-terested readers hone their leadershipskills. —TES

William Atkinson“The Everyday Face of Workplace Vio-lence”Risk Management, 47:2(February 2000), 12-18

In a 1998 study, the AmericanManagement Association found that52 percent of respondents reported ex-periencing at least one incident orthreat of violence in the workplace inthe previous three years. According tothe Center for Aggression Manage-ment, there are 2 million assaults, 6million instances of verbal threats, and16 million instances of harassment inthe workplace annually. So while em-ployers must take what steps they canto reduce the potential for employeehomicides, they must also work againstan even more insidious and pervasiveproblem that can wreak havoc day inand day out: verbal threats, harassmentintimidation, and physical aggression.

The most important consequenceof workplace violence is the physicaland emotional harm suffered by thevictim. Even if they aren’t physicallyinjured, they can suffer from stress,anxiety, depression, sleeplessness, ex-haustion, insecurity, embarrassment,

and poor concentration. These prob-lems can lead to myriad others: in-creased workers’ compensation costs,the loss of good employees, lost pro-ductivity, negative public relations,negative investor relations, OSHAfines, and civil or criminal lawsuits.

There are several strategies thatcould reduce the potential for violenceand aggression in the workplace: Re-alize that your workplace is not com-pletely safe and start violenceprograms. Create a workplace violencepolicy with clear statements of whatis not tolerated. Screen and hire care-fully, ask questions that might identifyviolence prone applicants. Have train-ing sessions on problem solving, stressmanagement, and nonthreatening waysto vent anger. Train front-line super-visors on how to recognize potentialsigns of violence. Have a formalmechanism through which employeescan report violence (anonymous re-porting is an option.) And create a re-sponse team to investigate and actdecisively. —RG

Peter Cappelli“A Market-Driven Approach to Retain-ing Talent”Harvard Business Review, 78:1(January-February 2000), 103-111

Executives know that fast-movingmarkets require fast-moving organiza-tions that are continually refreshedwith new talent. They are comfortablebringing talent in, but remain decid-edly uncomfortable about seeing tal-ent leave. In trying to stop people fromjumping ship, many companies havefallen back on traditional retention pro-grams—compensation programs, ca-reer paths, training efforts, etc. Instead,there is an alternative—a market-driven retention strategy based on theassumption that long-term employeeloyalty is neither possible nor desir-able. Its focus shifts from broad reten-tion programs to highly targeted effortsaimed at particular employees orgroups of employees.



Once managers know which em-ployees they need to retain and for howlong, they can use a number of mecha-nisms to encourage them to stay: Mostcompanies still rely on compensationto build loyalty, however, pay pack-ages are easy for outsiders to match.Jobs can be redesigned to reduce turn-over. In addition to tailoring jobs toparticular categories of employees,companies can also tailor them to theneeds of individuals. Loyalty to com-panies may be disappearing, but loy-alty to colleagues is not. Byencouraging the development of socialties among key employees, companiescan often significantly reduce turnover.Large businesses have another goodmechanism for managing retention:location. By carefully choosing thesites for various groups of employees,they can influence turnover rates. Byshifting their sights to workers who cando the job but are not in high demand,hiring organizations may be able toshelter themselves from market forces.

As the new century begins, execu-tives will be challenged to abandontheir old ways of thinking and adoptcreative ways to manage and retain, aswell as unleash, their talent. —RG

Samuel Greengard“Technology Finally Advances HR”Workforce, 79:1(January 2000), 38-41

Technology has created remark-able new opportunities to eliminateadministrative overhead and transformthe HR department into a strategicpartner. It also has served up vexingchallenges, ranging from cost andmaintenance issues to how to use com-puters and software effectively. Thefirst wave of technology has automatedmany processes and eliminated unnec-essary work. Round two will bringmore sophisticated capabilities andknowledge made possible by the Weband e-business.

In fact, that’s already starting tohappen. Advanced workflow capabili-

ties are now routing electronic formsto the appropriate person or system.And when analytical capabilities areadded to the mix, it’s suddenly pos-sible for a human resources (HR) man-ager to understand overall patterns,ranging from demographic shifts to thepopularity of various programs. Whensuch capabilities become Web enabled,an HR department can put data directlyin the hands of the appropriate personwithout regard to geography or com-puting systems.

A growing number of solutions ishelping HR get smart: (1) Internet por-tals—by putting relevant informationon a Web page, it’s possible to custom-ize and personalize each person’sworkspace. (2) Shared service cen-ters—by consolidating various func-tions in a single location andprocessing all transactions en masse,it’s possible to reduce much of the re-dundancy that plagues the typical op-eration. (3) Application serviceproviders—this allows a company torent space on a remote system and letan outside company manage systemmaintenance, security, and upgrades.(4) Business intelligence—uses toolssuch as online analytical processing,decision support systems, executiveinformation systems, and data-mining.

New systems and technology willlead to greater collaboration, withoutregard to political boundaries and lan-guage. HR is likely to be at the centerof this revolution. —RG

Beth Ann Holden“Rating Performance”Incentive, 174:2(February 2000), 61-63

Performance reviews can be a toolfor sprucing up not only individualemployees, but entire departments,leading to a healthier bottom line. Thefirst thing managers should do to setboth themselves and employees at easeis to eliminate the negative connota-tion that is involved with annual re-views.

Performance reviews should notbe just about a raise or promotion, butthey should focus on how to help theemployee (and thus the company)grow. About 90 percent of corporationsuse reviews as a smoke screen to de-termine who gets a raise or promotion.A better use, however, should be howto make the employee more effective,not just about who is going to get apromotion.

When done well, performance re-views can actually build trust and loy-alty because the employee will feelhelped by their immediate supervisorand valued within the organization.

And in the case of reviews, thequantity is just as valuable as the qual-ity. Meeting frequently guarantees thatthere are no year-end surprises at re-view time.

An effective review can’t be doneoff the cuff, so preparation is the key.About two to three weeks prior to thereview, the manager should gather harddata, like performance and attendencerecords and dates. During the review,the manager should strive to get em-ployees involved with open-endedquestions, such as: How do you evalu-ate your performance? What areas doyou think you’re doing well in, and inwhat areas do you need to improve?

Managers should also come upwith clear definitions of how to evalu-ate programs and talk about expecta-tions so that during the year, bothmanager and employees are speakinga common language. Also, a follow-up session should be planned with eachemployee. During this meeting, man-agers should ask themselves if thegoals and plan of action still makesense. —RG

McGarvey, Robert“Lords of Discipline: Correcting Behav-ior of Difficult Employees”Entrepreneur, 28:1(January 2000), 127-128

One of the ugly secrets about man-aging is that most business owners hate

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to discipline employees who are fall-ing down on the job. For many employ-ers, disciplining employees is verydifficult; they tend to put it off, hopingthe problems will resolve themselves.However, things usually just get worse.Another ugly secret is that most em-ployers have limited experience gettinga positive response when and if they dodiscipline their employees. Tradition-ally, slumping workers were simplyfired, but a focus on actually changingemployee behavior was rare. Firing nolonger works, because it’s both costlyto lose a worker and the talent pool isshrinking. That means managers willhave to learn how to sit down with er-rant workers and set them on a moreproductive course.

The way to get started on the righttrack to discipline is to first identifymistakes employers may already bemaking: Getting emotional—most dis-cipline is delivered in an emotionaloutburst. Delaying discipline—aftercalming down, a manager must respondas soon as possible after an incident ofpoor performance. Using generalities—too much discipline is delivered in ablanket judgment. Doing it on the fly—time should be set aside to have a one-on-one discussion in private. Dumpingon employees—nobody can handle tenareas where they need to improve. Play-ing favorites—all employees should betreated alike. Discriminating—disci-pline should be delivered because ofwhat someone has or hasn’t done—notbecause of their race, gender, etc.

Simply sidestepping the abovemistakes is a major step toward deliv-ering discipline that gets results, buteven more can be learned when man-agers accentuate the positive. Turningnegative behaviors around reliesheavily on managers’ own attitudes.Experts insist discipline is a skill thatany smart manager can master, andtoday’s smart managers know theymust master it. —RG

Richard W. Oliver“A Thousand-Year Strategic Plan”

Journal of Business Strategy, 21:1(January-February 2000), 7-9

There are at least five key con-cerns about “time” in strategic plan-ning: plan frequency (how often to doa strategic plan); plan cycle (when dur-ing a year to do a plan); plan period(how long the planning activity willtake); plan retrospective (a review ofthe past strategic activities); and theplan horizon (how far out into the fu-ture to project).

The first three should be consid-ered together as they are highly inter-related. How frequently to plan andhow long the process should take was,in the past, largely a matter of corpo-rate tradition. Today those patterns aregiving way to “real-time” strategicplanning—a continuous planning ac-tivity that encompasses the entire or-ganization throughout the year. Theseactivities are not attempts to constantlyrewrite the plan, but efforts to consis-tently recheck assumptions, modify theplan with new evidence of change, anddebate the frequent discontinuities thatoccur in every market.

A plan retrospective, a careful re-view of past strategic issues which stra-tegic planners often overlook, canprovide important guidance and direc-tion for the plan. One useful tool foranalysis of the past is the simpletimeline. On that line, planners plotrevenues or earnings (or some othercritical dimension) and identify the“inflection points”—moments whenthe trends turn up or down signifi-cantly, potentially changing the struc-ture, size, or direction of the market orindustry.

By definition, strategic planningis long-range planning. Picking theproper time horizon is one ofplanning’s most perplexing problems,but it’s also a key determinant of plansuccess. While today there is no gen-eral rule to fit all industries, typically,companies should look out at leastthree to five years for long-term glo-bal or “macro” trends. Customers,rather than competitors or trends,

should be the final arbiters of the timehorizon decision. —RG

Toby Tetenbaum and HilaryTetenbaum“Office 2000: Tear Down the Walls”Training, 37:2(February 2000), 58-62

In the information age, knowledgeneeds to be shared and leveragedthrough communication and collabo-ration. Companies obviously need tomake organizational changes to helpthat sharing occur. Less obviously,they’re finding out that they have tomake structured accommodations aswell. They’re redesigning the physi-cal space in which office workers dotheir jobs.

Some businesses are starting totear down both the organizational andstructural barriers to communicationand to create open work arrangementsbetter suited to the demands of today’sknowledge workers. What they are try-ing to do is eliminate the physicalstructures that inhibit the free flow ofknowledge, creativity, innovation, andlearning. Research has shown thatlearning is largely a social process,which means it often happens in groupsettings. Communication in open-planoffices is instantaneous; people can bepulled together easily for a team dis-cussion. The environment encouragescross-pollination of ideas among co-workers, which leads, managementbelieves, to both enhanced creativityand productivity gains.

All of these ideas for changing thestructural design of an organization arerooted in the need to encourage learn-ing, creativity, collaboration, experi-mentation, and fun. But while aredesign may seen intuitively logical,it must still show a payoff to thecompany’s bottom line. Recent sur-veys found overwhelming agreementthat high-quality office environmentscan boost employee productivity by 10to 20 percent. Seventy-five percent ofsenior executives surveyed at Fortune



1000 companies stated they would bewilling to give up their offices if theyknew it would enhance theircompany’s productivity. Given thegrowing evidence that a more openenvironment contributes to productiv-ity, senior executives may have to dojust that. —RG

Bobby C. Vaught, Raymond E.Taylor, and Stephen F. Vaught“The Attitudes of Managers Regardingthe Electronic Monitoring of EmployeeBehavior : Procedural and Ethical Con-siderations”American Business Review, 18:1(January 2000), 107-114

Electronic monitoring of em-ployee performance is emerging as the

workplace issue of the1990s. It is esti-mated that from 6 to 20 million em-ployees are affected by some type ofelectronic monitoring.

Many organizations have adoptedone or more versions of electronicmonitoring (EM) for several reasons.First, telephone monitoring can be usedto enhance the quality of customer ser-vice. Second, computerized work mea-surement enables employers to moreeffectively monitor individual workerproductivity. And third, video surveil-lance provides a good safeguard againsttheft, fraudulent employment practices,and other violations of work rules.

Employee complaints centeraround invasion of privacy, work-related stress, low morale, and perceivedunfairness. And it appears the law pro-vides little protection for private-sector

employees. There is no guarantee of aright to privacy within the U.S. Consti-tution. Likewise, even the ElectronicCommunications Privacy Act of 1986,which prohibits the interception of tele-phone or other oral, wire, or electroniccommunications, has both “prior con-sent” and “business use” exceptions.

Management claims the legiti-mate right to improve employee pro-ductivity and customer service;meanwhile the question of fairnesscontinues to arise. However, a reviewof several empirical studies suggestthat EM can increase employee pro-ductivity without the negative side. Aproperly designed EM system shouldbe consistent, free from bias, relevant,job-related, and above all perceived asfair if both employee and employer areto reap any benefits. —RG

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