Source: The Journal of Product Innovation Management 19(2002) 424-438
Managing radical innovation: an overview of emergent strategy issues
By: Christopher M. Mcdermott*, Gina Colarelli O'Connor
I like this article. this is very interseting article about management of redical innovation. In this article authors describe radical innovation in much effective way. in this article they discuss in detail about redical innovation and it management.
Innovations are of two types incremental and radical. Incremental innovation relates to Refining existing products or processes .e.g. Next version of MS Word, Sony Ericsson or Nokia mobile while introducing totally new concepts .e.g. Transistors, instant photography, digital photography, I Phone shares to Radical innovations. Most breakthrough innovations requires long-term ( typically ten years or longer development time and millions of investment dollars). Management of these innovations is very critical to the long-term success of the firm. Unfortunately, research has shown that it is often difficult to get support for the radical projects in large firms. More than ten years ago, Tushman and Nader (1986) has also predicted that managing innovation would become the most important organizational task of the future.
There are three overarching themes for the management of radical innovations
1) The choice market scope.
2) Competency management.
3) The people side of radical innovation
The choice market scope.
There are two type of radical innovations . The first serves to strengthen the firm’s position with familiar markets by bringing breakthrough technologies to them and advancing the state of the art with big leaps.There are three sets of challenges with the familiar market all of which revolve around countering resistance and breaking down barriers, both within and outside the organization. These includes 1) ensuring delivery of a perceptible benefit, 2) managing the threat of cannibalization, and 3) overcoming market resistance to the technology.
The second type of innovations are those for which market has not been clearly identified or developed. The challenges of unfamiliar markets lie in the requirements to proactively invest in building and creating new domain both within and outside the cooperation. This type of innovation require investment not only in developing the new technology, but also another investment to develop the market as well.
Competency management.
Competency is the collective learning in the organization, especially how to coordinate diverse production skills and integrate multiple streams of technologies ( Prahalad and Hamel,1990 ). Three defining attributes of competencies are that they are not easily imitated and that they provide firms access to new markets. Competencies can either be enhancing, where they further a firm’s leadership position through extension of strengths, or destroying , where they replace existing strengths and incumbent firms ( Tushman and Anderson). Furthermore competency stretching make the firm moving to a new direction and It requires the creation of truly new abilities and knowledge within the firm. It is more than just enhancing and destroying the competencies.
There are three approaches to reduce the risk associated with radicals innovation process. These include 1) leveraging from known capabilities. Unique manufacturing knowledge and history in working with a material, for example ,acted to make developing the product less uncertain for the innovating firms than it would be for a competitor.,2) outsourcing, out sourcing is a second approach to manage risk. Alliances of some form or another are created to fill the competency gap. and 3) choosing not to face the issues of the uncertainty. This mechanism used to manage the risk is simply to ignore it.
The people side of radical innovation.
The role of individuals in managing radical innovation is of primary importance .This includes the leadership role, the composition of the team, and informal networks. Leadership role is very significant in terms of financing the radical innovation process and encouragement for the team members.
The members of the team are also very important. it depends what kind of experiences they have and how they share their experience with other team members while managing radical innovations.
Deep formal networks that could help access information at any time, and experimental knowledge of the most of their firms, business is also invaluable in developing and managing the radical innovations.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Importance of innovation
Innovation is a necessary proportion in strategic marketing management, which could create the new markets and induce substantial shifts in existing ones. Innovation seems a two-waged weapon for the companies. On the one hand, there are some risks and complexities in the innovation and some large companies prefer to barriers it rather than encourage it. On the other hand, without innovation, it is difficulty for the organisations to earn competitive advantage and have a good performance in the market.
Technically novel is not indispensable to the marketing innovation. The most important thing for the companies is let their customers perceive the novel. That means innovation could be regarded as a new product & service, process or system to the marketing, in the other word, Innovation is create the new markets and new advantages.
Marketing innovation relies on a process which brings on the change of customers’ attitudes and values gradually. This is radically a social phenomenon which is including some basic propositions as followed: the propensity to attempt innovative things, the speed of adoption, innovations are learned from kinds of sources.
The development of the marketing follows the “S” curves which begins bit by bit, then grows steadily until moving into quick growth, which maintains until saturation, when increases approximately and plateaus in the end. What has mentioned above imply that, if the organisations pursue to become the leaders or at least survived in the market, they have to develop. Technological innovation plays an important role in the development of the companies which is searching a market application. And the performance improvement of the technology approaches also follows the “S” curve. In the emerging technology, it is high cost of time and money. And in the developing technology, the best R&D returns are acquired.
Innovation is an excellent method of gain a sustainable competitive advantage in growing and mature markets. In the early, entry is rather significant to being powerful at the shakeout which could create a defensible position in the cut-throat competition. Early entrants must confront with the high risk, however, they could create the entry barrier and own a potential market. Nevertheless, innovation is very useful in the mature market as well as the new and growing markets. Consequently, innovation is more significant than technological breakthroughs in the market.
Innovation Is not merely a market research techniques, or just a concept testing. It is a long-term strategic view and a high risk take. So some managers believe there are more barriers to innovation in their cooperation, which includes the pressure for quick volume sales, decreasing the risk by market research, ignoring the limits of technology, systems of rewards rather than high danger entrepreneurial approach and the limitation of the organization structures and financial systems.
Technically novel is not indispensable to the marketing innovation. The most important thing for the companies is let their customers perceive the novel. That means innovation could be regarded as a new product & service, process or system to the marketing, in the other word, Innovation is create the new markets and new advantages.
Marketing innovation relies on a process which brings on the change of customers’ attitudes and values gradually. This is radically a social phenomenon which is including some basic propositions as followed: the propensity to attempt innovative things, the speed of adoption, innovations are learned from kinds of sources.
The development of the marketing follows the “S” curves which begins bit by bit, then grows steadily until moving into quick growth, which maintains until saturation, when increases approximately and plateaus in the end. What has mentioned above imply that, if the organisations pursue to become the leaders or at least survived in the market, they have to develop. Technological innovation plays an important role in the development of the companies which is searching a market application. And the performance improvement of the technology approaches also follows the “S” curve. In the emerging technology, it is high cost of time and money. And in the developing technology, the best R&D returns are acquired.
Innovation is an excellent method of gain a sustainable competitive advantage in growing and mature markets. In the early, entry is rather significant to being powerful at the shakeout which could create a defensible position in the cut-throat competition. Early entrants must confront with the high risk, however, they could create the entry barrier and own a potential market. Nevertheless, innovation is very useful in the mature market as well as the new and growing markets. Consequently, innovation is more significant than technological breakthroughs in the market.
Innovation Is not merely a market research techniques, or just a concept testing. It is a long-term strategic view and a high risk take. So some managers believe there are more barriers to innovation in their cooperation, which includes the pressure for quick volume sales, decreasing the risk by market research, ignoring the limits of technology, systems of rewards rather than high danger entrepreneurial approach and the limitation of the organization structures and financial systems.
Friday, December 5, 2008
The Fashion of Management Fashion
By: Timothy Clark
Durham Business School, UK
I like this article because this is new topic and hot issue of this era. Every organization is working on new ideas. Thay are trying to impliment new ideas in thier for getting competitive advantage. Management fashion is basically the fashion of ideas. Now a days everyone is trying to get new ideas which are beneficial for their businesses.
In this article author says that in recent years there has been growing interest in the notion that management ideas and techniques are subject to swings in fashion in the same way as in the aesthetic life such clothing styles, hair length, music tastes, furniture design, paint colours become much popular and then declines. In this study author describe that this era is the era ideas. New and new ideas are coming and more and more innovations are created. We can say that this is the time of management fashion. This fashion is fashion of ideas.
Gill and Whittle says that management fashions are seen to progress through a series of discrete stages:
1. Invention, when the idea is initially created
2. Dissemination, when the idea is initially brought to the attention of its intended audience.
3. Acceptance, when the idea becomes implemented
4. Disenchantment, when negative evaluations and frustrations with the idea emerge
5. Decline, or the abandonment of the ideas
In this study three issues are discussed:
1. The (over) use of citation analysis
2. The focus on the dissemination/broadcasting phase of the fashion cycle
3. The incorporation of ideas into different domains within the management fashion-setting community.
They use the citation analysis to identify the life cycle of fashionable management. They mainly focus on diffusion process and the degree to which ideas become institutionalized within organizations and profess that one outcome of their research is the development of the criteria to assist managers in detecting those ideas/techniques which are potentially transient and toxic, they rarely provide direct empirical evidence of organizational implementation. Abrahamson (1996: 264-7) identifies a four-fold fashion-setting process:
1. Creation
2. Selection
3. Processing
4. Dissemination
This is the study of ideas that ideas collected from different ways and then interpret the ideas according to organization point of views. All the management fashions are not equally implement for all the organizations. It depends upon the organization. The key feature of popular management ideas is their malleability and plasticity.
Findings:
After reading and discussing about this article I came to know that management fashion means the new ideas which are very important for all the organizations to get in the market. This is new name of management. It is not possible for all the organizations to adopt this fashion because they have much barriers for adaptation. We can say the innovative ideas about management are the fashion of management now a days. This topic need more research and study. This is the hot issue now a days. This also give us little information about the new ideas and ways to implement those ideas and what is the impact of those ideas on the managers of the organization.
Durham Business School, UK
I like this article because this is new topic and hot issue of this era. Every organization is working on new ideas. Thay are trying to impliment new ideas in thier for getting competitive advantage. Management fashion is basically the fashion of ideas. Now a days everyone is trying to get new ideas which are beneficial for their businesses.
In this article author says that in recent years there has been growing interest in the notion that management ideas and techniques are subject to swings in fashion in the same way as in the aesthetic life such clothing styles, hair length, music tastes, furniture design, paint colours become much popular and then declines. In this study author describe that this era is the era ideas. New and new ideas are coming and more and more innovations are created. We can say that this is the time of management fashion. This fashion is fashion of ideas.
Gill and Whittle says that management fashions are seen to progress through a series of discrete stages:
1. Invention, when the idea is initially created
2. Dissemination, when the idea is initially brought to the attention of its intended audience.
3. Acceptance, when the idea becomes implemented
4. Disenchantment, when negative evaluations and frustrations with the idea emerge
5. Decline, or the abandonment of the ideas
In this study three issues are discussed:
1. The (over) use of citation analysis
2. The focus on the dissemination/broadcasting phase of the fashion cycle
3. The incorporation of ideas into different domains within the management fashion-setting community.
They use the citation analysis to identify the life cycle of fashionable management. They mainly focus on diffusion process and the degree to which ideas become institutionalized within organizations and profess that one outcome of their research is the development of the criteria to assist managers in detecting those ideas/techniques which are potentially transient and toxic, they rarely provide direct empirical evidence of organizational implementation. Abrahamson (1996: 264-7) identifies a four-fold fashion-setting process:
1. Creation
2. Selection
3. Processing
4. Dissemination
This is the study of ideas that ideas collected from different ways and then interpret the ideas according to organization point of views. All the management fashions are not equally implement for all the organizations. It depends upon the organization. The key feature of popular management ideas is their malleability and plasticity.
Findings:
After reading and discussing about this article I came to know that management fashion means the new ideas which are very important for all the organizations to get in the market. This is new name of management. It is not possible for all the organizations to adopt this fashion because they have much barriers for adaptation. We can say the innovative ideas about management are the fashion of management now a days. This topic need more research and study. This is the hot issue now a days. This also give us little information about the new ideas and ways to implement those ideas and what is the impact of those ideas on the managers of the organization.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
reflections About middle managers Lecture
In the lecture Mica Wulff Kamm tell us about the roles of middle managers in an organization, dilemmas, tools and her personal approach about the middle managers. She gave us too much information about the middle managers in organization. She discuss middle managers in different prospective and provide us effective information.
“…middle managers as we have known them are cooked geese.”
Tom Peters, Liberation Management (1992)
“…in knowledge intensive industries middle managers are definitely needed”
- My theory (Mica Wulff Kamm)
I agree with the statement that middle managers are definitely needed for an organization. Middle managers play a key role in the organizational development.
Almost every company has them. They may number six or 6,000 and they all share the same job category -- middle managers. They are often referred to as the "glue" that holds companies together, bridging the gap between the top management team and lower level workers. They implement strategy and organizational changes, keeping workers engaged during both good and bad economic cycles.
Most of the organizations didn’t give importance to the middle management they mainly focus on the top management or lower management. They ignore the middle managers to many extent. Due to which middle managers become disappointed from the job and they start thinking to switch from the job.
According to a 2007 Accenture survey of middle managers around the world, 20% reported dissatisfaction with their current organization and that same percentage reported that they were looking for another job. One of the top reasons cited was lack of prospects for advancement.
"Many companies are seeing significant turnover in middle management ranks, and with significant turnover, they don't have the ability to execute strategy," says vice dean of Wharton Executive Education Thomas Colligan. "Top management can spend all their time creating strategy, but without someone there to implement it, where are you at the end of the day?"
Colligan noted that one large partnership facing a 20% turnover rate did a calculation in which it concluded that for each 1% it could reduce turnover, it would increase partner earnings by $80,000. "Middle managers are very important to attract, develop and retain, and some companies are becoming painfully aware of that."
David Sirota, co-author of The Enthusiastic Employee: How Companies Profit by Giving Workers What They Want, predicts that middle managers will "again bear a significant part of the pain that the current economic conditions will bring."
Joe Ryan, who teaches in Wharton Executive Education, agrees. As companies go through economic cycles like the current one, middle managers get hit with the elimination of rewards and incentives and, in some cases, layoffs. This is particularly true now in the financial services industry, he says. "In cost-cutting times, knee-jerk reactions happen. There is a paradox where
middle managers are essential, but end up sacked when restructuring occurs. It's a rough situation because the people needed to run the most important projects are in the middle."
If companies don't manage change well, they will confront a "frozen" middle management and "vicious cycles of low morale and low engagement," Ryan says. "Regardless of the economic climate, companies need to build a resilient workforce and engage the middle to go forward, because this is where change occurs."
Middle managers are essential for an organization because they make a link between the top management and rest of the organization. Sirota describes them as "the glue across upper and lower levels as well
as horizontally with other departments."
According to Jane Farran, a senior fellow in Wharton Executive Education and managing partner of the consulting firm C4, with the economy under siege these days, "a lot of belt tightening is occurring. Many companies are nipping and tucking to make their numbers." That's not a good strategy, she suggests. Indeed, when companies have tried flattening their hierarchies in the past
-- thinking that middle managers are extraneous and a few layers of them could be eliminated -- the result was not what they expected.
"These intermediaries have a very important role," she says. "The middle managers translate strategy and the big picture so that it makes sense and is applicable for the day-to-day workers."
“…the death of the middle manager is an overstated rumor…they are big contributors to strategy development and execution”
(ABC för mellanchefer, Härje Fransén 2004)
The question is If middle managers are so valuable, why would they report dissatisfaction and leave their companies? A primary reason is lack of advancement opportunity, says Sirota. "When companies downsize, they will often cut middle management ranks. But even if companies just stagnate,
advancement opportunities are limited. This hits people very hard, particularly people in their late 30s and 40s."
It is analyzes the plight of middle managers--they have a boss's responsibility without a boss's authority; they function as specialists and generalists at the same time; and they must meet the conflicting demands of superiors, subordinates, and peers. Although middle management positions are increasingly common in divisionalized corporations, they are often misunderstood.( Hugo E.R. Uyterhoeven, Harvard Business, General Managers in the Middle)
Middle managers as innovators:
Entrepreneurial middle managers are the key to innovative growth in organizations and are a source of hope for a slowed economy. In fact, strategic directives from senior executives mean nothing without efficient middle managers just below officer level who are able to design the systems and carry out the plans. Rosabeth Moss Kanter's article, first published in 1982, reports on a study of effective middle managers working in large corporations. It distinguishes between managers who fostered basic accomplishments (those that occurred within existing frameworks) and managers who achieved innovative accomplishments (those that increased long-term capacity). Basic accomplishments differ from innovative ones not only in scope and long-run impact but also in what it takes to achieve them. Innovative accomplishments tend to involve highly problematic situations that require creative solutions, power, and influence. Innovative middle managers are not necessarily extraordinary individuals. They do, however, share several characteristics, including comfort with change, clarity of direction, thoroughness, and a participative management style. Such managers also understand that achieving their goals takes time--and tact. Achieving goals also takes the support of a collaborative organization. Entrepreneurial managers require access to abundant information, support, and resources, and they need the power to go beyond the limits of their formal positions.
The important roles middle managers play in organizations, including balancing continuity and change, enhancing organizational resilience, and identifying potential innovations
Stereotypes about middle managers abound--including "they're boring, bureaucratic, rigid." But middle managers play critical roles in your company. Unlike ambitious, volatile stars, these "best supporting actors" care more about their company's well-being than their own. Prizing stability, they often step off the fast track to balance career with family.
Findings:
A middle manager is good leader if he have following:
Loyal: He must be loyal to employees and customers. He must be loyal to organization. All are loyal with themselves.
Centralization: A middle manager can become good leader if he have power. He must be in a agree to delegate power to lower management. Some middle managers are not willing to delegate power to lower management.
Operations vs Leadership: An effective manager must have operational and leadership abilities. Managers having both abilities can handle all situations in an effective way.
Information: They should have all the information about the organization in much detail. He should be in a position to accept and give information to others.
Long term vs short term goals: They should have some goals which may short term or long term goals. But the effective short term goals are those which leads to long term goals. Which are very helpful in achieving organizational goals.
Downsizing: in downsizing process most of the companies influence much on the middle management. They tries to eliminate the size of middle managers in the organization which is not good for middle managers.
There are three main things which a middle manager should have:
· Be there, when the ground shakes
· I’m good when my co-workers are visible
· If I do a good job I’m not needed in the end.
Conclusion:
From all the above discussion we came to know that middle managers are much needed for an organization. Organizations should give much importance to the middle managers. They should give them some power to make decisions. Because they are bond to top management for decisions and implementation of changes in the organization. They only work as a gate keeper who only see the things coming in and out of the organization but don’t have power stop any activity which is mot good for organization.
References:
Lecture by Mica Wulff Kamm
Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Quy Nguyen Huy, Thomas J. Delong, Don't Underrate Your Middle Managers, Harvard Business articles.
.( Hugo E.R. Uyterhoeven, Harvard Business, General Managers in the Middle, Harvard Business articles
Karen Golden-Biddle, Trish Reay and Denise Thomson, Implementing Change: The Crucial Role of Middle Managers
Caught in the Middle: Why Developing and Retaining Middle Managers Can Be So Challenging
Published : May 28, 2008
“…middle managers as we have known them are cooked geese.”
Tom Peters, Liberation Management (1992)
“…in knowledge intensive industries middle managers are definitely needed”
- My theory (Mica Wulff Kamm)
I agree with the statement that middle managers are definitely needed for an organization. Middle managers play a key role in the organizational development.
Almost every company has them. They may number six or 6,000 and they all share the same job category -- middle managers. They are often referred to as the "glue" that holds companies together, bridging the gap between the top management team and lower level workers. They implement strategy and organizational changes, keeping workers engaged during both good and bad economic cycles.
Most of the organizations didn’t give importance to the middle management they mainly focus on the top management or lower management. They ignore the middle managers to many extent. Due to which middle managers become disappointed from the job and they start thinking to switch from the job.
According to a 2007 Accenture survey of middle managers around the world, 20% reported dissatisfaction with their current organization and that same percentage reported that they were looking for another job. One of the top reasons cited was lack of prospects for advancement.
"Many companies are seeing significant turnover in middle management ranks, and with significant turnover, they don't have the ability to execute strategy," says vice dean of Wharton Executive Education Thomas Colligan. "Top management can spend all their time creating strategy, but without someone there to implement it, where are you at the end of the day?"
Colligan noted that one large partnership facing a 20% turnover rate did a calculation in which it concluded that for each 1% it could reduce turnover, it would increase partner earnings by $80,000. "Middle managers are very important to attract, develop and retain, and some companies are becoming painfully aware of that."
David Sirota, co-author of The Enthusiastic Employee: How Companies Profit by Giving Workers What They Want, predicts that middle managers will "again bear a significant part of the pain that the current economic conditions will bring."
Joe Ryan, who teaches in Wharton Executive Education, agrees. As companies go through economic cycles like the current one, middle managers get hit with the elimination of rewards and incentives and, in some cases, layoffs. This is particularly true now in the financial services industry, he says. "In cost-cutting times, knee-jerk reactions happen. There is a paradox where
middle managers are essential, but end up sacked when restructuring occurs. It's a rough situation because the people needed to run the most important projects are in the middle."
If companies don't manage change well, they will confront a "frozen" middle management and "vicious cycles of low morale and low engagement," Ryan says. "Regardless of the economic climate, companies need to build a resilient workforce and engage the middle to go forward, because this is where change occurs."
Middle managers are essential for an organization because they make a link between the top management and rest of the organization. Sirota describes them as "the glue across upper and lower levels as well
as horizontally with other departments."
According to Jane Farran, a senior fellow in Wharton Executive Education and managing partner of the consulting firm C4, with the economy under siege these days, "a lot of belt tightening is occurring. Many companies are nipping and tucking to make their numbers." That's not a good strategy, she suggests. Indeed, when companies have tried flattening their hierarchies in the past
-- thinking that middle managers are extraneous and a few layers of them could be eliminated -- the result was not what they expected.
"These intermediaries have a very important role," she says. "The middle managers translate strategy and the big picture so that it makes sense and is applicable for the day-to-day workers."
“…the death of the middle manager is an overstated rumor…they are big contributors to strategy development and execution”
(ABC för mellanchefer, Härje Fransén 2004)
The question is If middle managers are so valuable, why would they report dissatisfaction and leave their companies? A primary reason is lack of advancement opportunity, says Sirota. "When companies downsize, they will often cut middle management ranks. But even if companies just stagnate,
advancement opportunities are limited. This hits people very hard, particularly people in their late 30s and 40s."
It is analyzes the plight of middle managers--they have a boss's responsibility without a boss's authority; they function as specialists and generalists at the same time; and they must meet the conflicting demands of superiors, subordinates, and peers. Although middle management positions are increasingly common in divisionalized corporations, they are often misunderstood.( Hugo E.R. Uyterhoeven, Harvard Business, General Managers in the Middle)
Middle managers as innovators:
Entrepreneurial middle managers are the key to innovative growth in organizations and are a source of hope for a slowed economy. In fact, strategic directives from senior executives mean nothing without efficient middle managers just below officer level who are able to design the systems and carry out the plans. Rosabeth Moss Kanter's article, first published in 1982, reports on a study of effective middle managers working in large corporations. It distinguishes between managers who fostered basic accomplishments (those that occurred within existing frameworks) and managers who achieved innovative accomplishments (those that increased long-term capacity). Basic accomplishments differ from innovative ones not only in scope and long-run impact but also in what it takes to achieve them. Innovative accomplishments tend to involve highly problematic situations that require creative solutions, power, and influence. Innovative middle managers are not necessarily extraordinary individuals. They do, however, share several characteristics, including comfort with change, clarity of direction, thoroughness, and a participative management style. Such managers also understand that achieving their goals takes time--and tact. Achieving goals also takes the support of a collaborative organization. Entrepreneurial managers require access to abundant information, support, and resources, and they need the power to go beyond the limits of their formal positions.
The important roles middle managers play in organizations, including balancing continuity and change, enhancing organizational resilience, and identifying potential innovations
Stereotypes about middle managers abound--including "they're boring, bureaucratic, rigid." But middle managers play critical roles in your company. Unlike ambitious, volatile stars, these "best supporting actors" care more about their company's well-being than their own. Prizing stability, they often step off the fast track to balance career with family.
Findings:
A middle manager is good leader if he have following:
Loyal: He must be loyal to employees and customers. He must be loyal to organization. All are loyal with themselves.
Centralization: A middle manager can become good leader if he have power. He must be in a agree to delegate power to lower management. Some middle managers are not willing to delegate power to lower management.
Operations vs Leadership: An effective manager must have operational and leadership abilities. Managers having both abilities can handle all situations in an effective way.
Information: They should have all the information about the organization in much detail. He should be in a position to accept and give information to others.
Long term vs short term goals: They should have some goals which may short term or long term goals. But the effective short term goals are those which leads to long term goals. Which are very helpful in achieving organizational goals.
Downsizing: in downsizing process most of the companies influence much on the middle management. They tries to eliminate the size of middle managers in the organization which is not good for middle managers.
There are three main things which a middle manager should have:
· Be there, when the ground shakes
· I’m good when my co-workers are visible
· If I do a good job I’m not needed in the end.
Conclusion:
From all the above discussion we came to know that middle managers are much needed for an organization. Organizations should give much importance to the middle managers. They should give them some power to make decisions. Because they are bond to top management for decisions and implementation of changes in the organization. They only work as a gate keeper who only see the things coming in and out of the organization but don’t have power stop any activity which is mot good for organization.
References:
Lecture by Mica Wulff Kamm
Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Quy Nguyen Huy, Thomas J. Delong, Don't Underrate Your Middle Managers, Harvard Business articles.
.( Hugo E.R. Uyterhoeven, Harvard Business, General Managers in the Middle, Harvard Business articles
Karen Golden-Biddle, Trish Reay and Denise Thomson, Implementing Change: The Crucial Role of Middle Managers
Caught in the Middle: Why Developing and Retaining Middle Managers Can Be So Challenging
Published : May 28, 2008
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
The role of middle managers
The role of middle managers in the transmission and integration of organizational culture.
Publication: Journal of Healthcare Management
Publication Date: 01-NOV-04
Author: Valentino, Caterina Lucia
In this article the authors discuss the role of middle managers in terms of transition and integration of organizational culture. When organizations merge, the role of the middle manager as an agent of change is to make sense of, unite, and transmit the organization's culture. This process is complicated because the managers must have deep knowledge about the needs of the employees and organizational culture. They have short period of time to weld all the employees together into a smoothly functioning entity. Schein (1999) proposes eight essential steps that the manager must accomplish if cultural change is to occur. Bennis's (1989) four competencies of leadership is a framework to categorize and record actions that create a milieu of clear-cut goals, values, and basic assumptions for the organization's employees. Combining these two theoretical models illustrates how middle managers are able to create a "pull" style of influence (Kotler 2000) to attract and energize people to enroll in the new organization's vision of the future.
The data for this research came from interviews with the middle managers, the chief executive officer, and other staff members of a recently merged healthcare organization.
Here are the Bennis’s competencies and scheinäs steps which are much affective for change to make the organization culturally fit.
Integrated Framework for the Transmission and Integration of an
Organization's Culture
Bennis's Competencies Schein's Steps
1. Management of Attention
Create a compelling vision that moves the employees beyond their
present vision to a new vision.
2. Management of Meaning
Communicate the meaning of the vision to the employees.
3. Management of Trust
The ability of managers to
demonstrate reliability or
constancy, keep their word, and always let the staff know where
they stand.
4. Management of Self liaisons.
The ability of managers to make
not just decisions but also
collective decisions.
Schein's Steps
1. Create a compelling positive vision.
2. Coach and provide feedback.
3. Be a positive role model
4. Provide opportunities for
formal training.
5. Create in employees a sense that the organization's leaders will allow them to manage and
be in control of their own personal learning process
6. Create interdepartmental groups and cross-departmental liaisons.
7. Provide support groups
8. Align the organization's reward and discipline systems with the new way of thinking and
working.
They also suggest that Chief executive officers should take the following steps to facilitate culture integration:
1. Acknowledge and reward the work of middle managers by involving them in the planning and implementation of organizational changes.
2. Undertake early and focused activities that identify the merging organizations' basic underlying cultural assumptions.
3. Be cognizant of the change anxiety associated with mergers, and seek methods of increasing the employees' psychological safety.
Middle managers should initiate the following efforts when dealing with culture issues for merged entities:
1. Identify and bring to the surface any differences between the CEO's and middle managers' basic underlying assumptions.
2. Create support groups, composed of members from other departments, to talk about frustrations and difficulties associated with the merger process.
3. Explore the implications of applying business tools, such as the balanced scorecard, to assess the ability to achieve the desired results.
As long as mergers continue to take place, the findings presented here will be useful to inform decision makers as they attempt to make progress in newly formed organizations.
Findings:
Although the concepts of culture are abstract, they turn out to be highly related to creating effective organizational change.
As long as the organization's internal environment remains stable and the organization continues to experience success, its culture will remain strong. However, when the organization's internal environment changes, "some of those shared basic assumptions can become liabilities, precisely because of their strength" (Schein 1999, 165).
Middle managers are important. They help develop and translate the organization's vision and ideas into action and change (Bennis 1989; Schein 1999).
Middle managers know well to the employees of the organization. They are much important for making the change process effective. They are much familiar with the employees their needs. They understand them well as compared to the top management because they are close to the employees. They have much relations to the employees.
Leaders and managers who understand the construct of organizational culture and its potential affect the employees' willingness to identify with and become emotionally attached to the organization's basic underlying assumptions and, through the transmission and integration of an organization's culture, potentially affect and contribute to the development of the employees' affective commitment (Meyer and Allen 1997).
As organizational entities continue to merge, both to survive and to achieve economies of scale, research is needed to discover how an organization's culture evolves and who plays the key roles in the transmission and integration of its culture (Yin 1994).
The study give us much guide line to deal with change. How top management can make the transition process much effective. They face less barriers while implementing the change. Middle managers play a key role in communicating the change among the organizational employees. They listen both the parties (top management and employees). They also work as a communicator between the top management and employees.
Publication: Journal of Healthcare Management
Publication Date: 01-NOV-04
Author: Valentino, Caterina Lucia
In this article the authors discuss the role of middle managers in terms of transition and integration of organizational culture. When organizations merge, the role of the middle manager as an agent of change is to make sense of, unite, and transmit the organization's culture. This process is complicated because the managers must have deep knowledge about the needs of the employees and organizational culture. They have short period of time to weld all the employees together into a smoothly functioning entity. Schein (1999) proposes eight essential steps that the manager must accomplish if cultural change is to occur. Bennis's (1989) four competencies of leadership is a framework to categorize and record actions that create a milieu of clear-cut goals, values, and basic assumptions for the organization's employees. Combining these two theoretical models illustrates how middle managers are able to create a "pull" style of influence (Kotler 2000) to attract and energize people to enroll in the new organization's vision of the future.
The data for this research came from interviews with the middle managers, the chief executive officer, and other staff members of a recently merged healthcare organization.
Here are the Bennis’s competencies and scheinäs steps which are much affective for change to make the organization culturally fit.
Integrated Framework for the Transmission and Integration of an
Organization's Culture
Bennis's Competencies Schein's Steps
1. Management of Attention
Create a compelling vision that moves the employees beyond their
present vision to a new vision.
2. Management of Meaning
Communicate the meaning of the vision to the employees.
3. Management of Trust
The ability of managers to
demonstrate reliability or
constancy, keep their word, and always let the staff know where
they stand.
4. Management of Self liaisons.
The ability of managers to make
not just decisions but also
collective decisions.
Schein's Steps
1. Create a compelling positive vision.
2. Coach and provide feedback.
3. Be a positive role model
4. Provide opportunities for
formal training.
5. Create in employees a sense that the organization's leaders will allow them to manage and
be in control of their own personal learning process
6. Create interdepartmental groups and cross-departmental liaisons.
7. Provide support groups
8. Align the organization's reward and discipline systems with the new way of thinking and
working.
They also suggest that Chief executive officers should take the following steps to facilitate culture integration:
1. Acknowledge and reward the work of middle managers by involving them in the planning and implementation of organizational changes.
2. Undertake early and focused activities that identify the merging organizations' basic underlying cultural assumptions.
3. Be cognizant of the change anxiety associated with mergers, and seek methods of increasing the employees' psychological safety.
Middle managers should initiate the following efforts when dealing with culture issues for merged entities:
1. Identify and bring to the surface any differences between the CEO's and middle managers' basic underlying assumptions.
2. Create support groups, composed of members from other departments, to talk about frustrations and difficulties associated with the merger process.
3. Explore the implications of applying business tools, such as the balanced scorecard, to assess the ability to achieve the desired results.
As long as mergers continue to take place, the findings presented here will be useful to inform decision makers as they attempt to make progress in newly formed organizations.
Findings:
Although the concepts of culture are abstract, they turn out to be highly related to creating effective organizational change.
As long as the organization's internal environment remains stable and the organization continues to experience success, its culture will remain strong. However, when the organization's internal environment changes, "some of those shared basic assumptions can become liabilities, precisely because of their strength" (Schein 1999, 165).
Middle managers are important. They help develop and translate the organization's vision and ideas into action and change (Bennis 1989; Schein 1999).
Middle managers know well to the employees of the organization. They are much important for making the change process effective. They are much familiar with the employees their needs. They understand them well as compared to the top management because they are close to the employees. They have much relations to the employees.
Leaders and managers who understand the construct of organizational culture and its potential affect the employees' willingness to identify with and become emotionally attached to the organization's basic underlying assumptions and, through the transmission and integration of an organization's culture, potentially affect and contribute to the development of the employees' affective commitment (Meyer and Allen 1997).
As organizational entities continue to merge, both to survive and to achieve economies of scale, research is needed to discover how an organization's culture evolves and who plays the key roles in the transmission and integration of its culture (Yin 1994).
The study give us much guide line to deal with change. How top management can make the transition process much effective. They face less barriers while implementing the change. Middle managers play a key role in communicating the change among the organizational employees. They listen both the parties (top management and employees). They also work as a communicator between the top management and employees.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)