Management Theorists Summaries

Chandler: The Enduring Logic of Industrial Success Main claim: Successful companies exploit economies of scale and scope in capital-intensive industries by investing in: • Production capacity: technology, research & development • Strong management hierarchies • National and international marketing and distribution networks Secondary claims: • The ? st companies to make these investments dominate their market and are First Movers; they have the upper hand on the Experience Curve and thus a competitive advantage, and they maintain their position through constant innovation and strategy. • Growth through unrelated diversi? cation is a poor business strategy; the right idea is moving into related product markets or to expand geographically • Companies in an oligopoly become stronger through intense competition. Companies grow horizontally by combining with competitors, and vertically by moving backward to control materials and forward to control outlets. Greiner: Evolution and Revolution as Organizations Grow Main claim: Organizational growth is characterized by ? ve successive developmental phases, each with a management focus and style, and each followed by a predictable crisis; management practices that work in one phase are unsuitable for the next and precipitate the crisis.

Secondary claims: • Organizations should not skip phases; some go quickly through them, some regress • Top managers whose style is no longer appropriate should remove themselves • Growth is avoidable • The future of an organization is determined predominantly by its history (behavior is determined more by past events/experiences than by what lies ahead) Phases of evolution (CDDCC): • Creativity: informal, long hours, market feedback • Direction: hierarchy, specialization, formal communication, managers, supervisors • Delegation: decentralized organizational structure, empowering of lower-level managers • Coordination: formal planning, top executives initiate and administrate new systems • Collaboration: teamwork, problem-solving, open-door matrix structure Phases of revolution (LACRPs): • Leadership: necessary skills to introduce new techniques • Autonomy: ? eld managers’ experience knowledge is restricted by the hierarchy • Control: top managers seek to regain control of the company • Red tape: excess restrictions and regulations, bureaucracy, ineffectiveness in problem-solving • Psychological saturation Barney Main claim: Internal and External Analysis provides a balanced view of a ? rm’s competitive advantage, which is a moving target. External environment analysis (opportunities and threats) cannot explain a ? rm’s success by itself; strategists must analyze its internal strengths and weaknesses. VRIO Framework: • Value: does a ? m’s resources and capabilities enable it to exploit an opportunity or neutralize threats? (high status and quality, low cost and practical) • Rarity: is a resource or capability controlled by a small number of ? rms? • Imitability: is there dif? culty and cost disadvantage in imitating what a ? rm is doing? (history, numerous small decisions, socially complex resources, embedded cultures) • Organization: are a ? rm’s policies and procedures organized to exploit its valuable, rare and costly-to-imitate resources? (reporting structure, management system, compensation policies) SWOT Framework: Composed by Internal and External Environment analysis; aims to identify the key issues facing a company. Strengths: internal resources and capabilities • Opportunities: external trends, industry conditions and competitive environment • Weaknesses and Threats: issues that must be addressed to improve a company’s situation Tangible Resources: • Financial: cash or cash equivalents, borrowing capacity • Physical: plants, facilities, manufacturing locations, machinery and equipment • Technological: trade secrets, patents, copyrights, trademarks, innovative production processes • Organizational: strategic planning, evaluation and control systems Intangible Resources: • Human: experience, capability, trust, managerial skills, speci? c practices and procedures • Innovation/Creativity: technical and scienti? c skills, innovation capacity • Reputation: brand name, quality, reliability, fairness Organizational Capabilities: • Competencies or skills ? ms use to turn inputs into outputs • Capacity to combine tangible and intangible resources to achieve a desired goal Collins & Porras Main Claim: Successful companies have a clear vision made up from a core ideology and an envisioned future that motivate employees and guide decision-making. Core Ideology: guides, inspires and makes work meaningful for employees. • Purpose: soul of and reason why an organization exists; idealistic motivations • Values: strong beliefs about what is most important Envisioned Future: • BHAGs: clear, compelling goals to engage and energize; they should contain a measurable objective, be dif? cult but not impossible, and achievable in a long-term period (10-30 years) • Vivid description: paints an exciting picture of the future (what’s it going to be like? BHAG types: • Qualitative and quantitative for attainable targets • David vs Goliath for a common enemy goal • Emulation of role models for up-and-coming organizations • Internal transformations for large, established organizations Other Stuff Underlying Assumptions: they form the basis of our beliefs and reasoning; they are the link between the claim and the evidence (they explain the relevancy of evidence to the claim). • Reality: beliefs about how things and events work • Value: ideals, standards of right and wrong and how things ought to be PACCEs: always put an article through these ? ve concepts. • Persuasive language • Assumptions and values (beliefs that affect how the author sees the world) • Claim (the broader issue, the thesis the author wants you to accept) • Causal logic (claims regarding cause and effect) • Evidence (SCRAAP: is it suf? cient, clear, authoritative, accurate, precise, representative? )