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Organizational studies of time tend to be done by academic researchers rather than practitioners. This chapter builds on academic research to provide a practitioner perspective by…
Abstract
Organizational studies of time tend to be done by academic researchers rather than practitioners. This chapter builds on academic research to provide a practitioner perspective by reviewing time situated in theory and constructing two phenotypes: timescapes of business and social time. These timescapes are defined by six dimensions, each with a social and business time parameter. Organizational business and social timescapes have different functions and applications. Timescapes, with their concomitant dimensions and sets of parameters, are used differently by senior managers, middle managers, and entry-level managers. Three multi-level approaches (self, dyadic, and social relationships), composition theory, and compilation theory confirm these three managerial timescape usages. After a review of the theoretical bases of the timescape constructs and a brief discussion of the grounded, anthropological, research methodology used in the study, this chapter applies timescape theory and models to an extended time case study of the Procter & Gamble Company that frames the company's timescape understanding and use from a practitioner's view.
This masterclass offers a guide to the disciplined approach to getting strategy fundamentals right and the strategy review process that A.G. Lafley and Roger Martin developed at P&…
Abstract
Purpose
This masterclass offers a guide to the disciplined approach to getting strategy fundamentals right and the strategy review process that A.G. Lafley and Roger Martin developed at P&G.
Design/methodology/approach
The article demonstrates how P&G practiced a process that revolves around five major interrelated questions and the choices that flow from them.
Findings
The article shows how a key determinant in searching for the right match between potential where-to-play and how-to-win alternatives is whether and how the combination will draw on a company's unique strengths in a way that competitors will find difficult to replicate or neutralize.
Practical implications
The article describes how P&G developed an innovative dialogue-driven approach to creating, reviewing and communicating strategy, in which the process of assertive inquiry, as opposed to more conventional advocacy, came to play a key role.
Originality/value
Executives are offered a step-by-step guide through the five questions and two key tools which structure P&G's generation and analysis of where-to- play and how-to-win alternatives and the companies “strategy logic flow” and “possibilities-based strategy” methodologies.
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David P. Stowell and Christopher D. Grogan
January 27, 2005, was an extraordinary day for Gillette's James Kilts, the show-stopping turnaround expert known as the “Razor Boss of Boston.” Kilts, along with Proctor & Gamble…
Abstract
January 27, 2005, was an extraordinary day for Gillette's James Kilts, the show-stopping turnaround expert known as the “Razor Boss of Boston.” Kilts, along with Proctor & Gamble chairman Alan Lafley, had just orchestrated a $57 billion acquisition of Gillette by P&G. The creation of the world's largest consumer products company would end Kilts's four-year tenure as CEO of Gillette and bring to a close Gillette's 104-year history as an independent corporate titan in the Boston area. The deal also capped a series of courtships between Gillette and other companies that had waxed and waned at various points throughout Kilts's stewardship of Gillette. But almost immediately after the transaction was announced, P&G and Gillette drew criticism from the media and the state of Massachusetts concerning the terms of the sale. Would this merger actually benefit shareholders, or was it principally a wealth creation vehicle for Kilts?
To understand the factors that persuaded shareholders of both P&G and Gillette to merge their companies, the valuation metrics involved in determining the merger consideration, compensation packages for key managers, and the politics (internal, local government, and regulatory) that impact major mergers.
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Lee G. Bolman and Terrence E. Deal
In many companies, executives function as either the analyst or the caregiver. The authors believe there are two more appropriate leadership roles – wizard and warrior.
Abstract
Purpose
In many companies, executives function as either the analyst or the caregiver. The authors believe there are two more appropriate leadership roles – wizard and warrior.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conclude that the responsibilities of the analyst and the caregiver could often successfully be delegated to managers below C‐level.
Findings
Too many managers are repelled or intimidated by either the warrior or wizard role. Managers who are comfortable in the roles of caregivers and or analysts tend to shy away from the possibilities and powers embodied in the wizard and warrior role.
Practical implications
In fact, great leaders need to be able to assume both mantels – wizard and warrior – and switch between roles as situations demand. It is a skill that managers can learn through persistence and practice.
Originality/value
By understanding these archetypal roles, leaders can embrace their own potential for both courage and imagination, and develop their capacity to face competitors and to find competitive advantage in possibilities that others have not yet seen.
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Management means “getting things done effectively through people”. This implies the importance of leadership and people skills in management practice to achieve optimal results…
Abstract
Purpose
Management means “getting things done effectively through people”. This implies the importance of leadership and people skills in management practice to achieve optimal results. Great managers usually succeed for a number of reasons. They usually possess nine common management practices. This paper aims to identify these common denominators in their character and management practice that define them.
Design/methodology/approach
Case examples are used to illustrate the application of those management practices. Successful managers from well‐known industry giants such as IBM, Nestle's, P&G, Apple, Loews', GE and PepsiCo are profiled to demonstrate how their success can be traced back to those practices.
Findings
The paper demonstrates that every manager can easily apply the nine management practices daily to achieve a successful outcome. While some of these traits appear to be personal habits, it is these simple management habits that influence subordinates to perform their best.
Originality/value
Most good managers are trained, not born. The nine personal practices identified in this paper can be easily adopted on a daily basis. With consistent practice, the nine personal traits help train managers to become more effective leaders in driving optimal performance and motivating subordinates to “get things done effectively”.
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As value innovation becomes a core top management concern, there is a growing recognition that “design thinking,” or the creative principles long associated with the design…
Abstract
Purpose
As value innovation becomes a core top management concern, there is a growing recognition that “design thinking,” or the creative principles long associated with the design function, may now have something very significant to offer when applied more broadly to business management and strategy development. This paper aims to investigate this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper analyzes the techniques of Roger Martin, one of design thinking's most widely recognized advocates. Martin introduces a set of concepts that are not familiar to most managers: the knowledge funnel, the distinction between reliability and validity, and abductive reasoning.
Findings
Using case examples of leading companies such as Proctor & Gamble, the paper shows how they have developed a capacity for design thinking.
Research limitations/implications
The paper presents case reports.
Practical implications
The paper provides a detailed description of how Proctor & Gamble and its CEO A.G.Lafley introduced and implemented design thinking.
Originality/value
This is a unique exploration of value innovation in general and how design thinking can be a key capability for company leaders.
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Reviews the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoints practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies.
Abstract
Purpose
Reviews the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoints practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies.
Design/methodology/approach
Scans the top 400 management publications in the world to identify the most topical issues and latest concepts. These are presented in an easy‐to‐digest briefing of no more than 1,500 words.
Findings
In 2004 consumer products giant Proctor and Gamble (P&G) reported a 17 percent increase in volume, a 19 percent increase in sales, a 25 percent raise in earnings and a total shareholder return of 24 percent. Pretty impressive by anyone's standards. For P&G's competition, the question, of course, is how did they do it? For Wall Street and the City on the other hand, the most pressing concern is whether or not this growth bubble will burst.
Practical implications
Provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.
Originality/value
The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy‐to‐digest format.
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Leading businesses are learning how to use the engagement experiences of individuals and communities as the new basis of their value creation for customers. This paper aims to…
Abstract
Purpose
Leading businesses are learning how to use the engagement experiences of individuals and communities as the new basis of their value creation for customers. This paper aims to look at this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
To initiate and implement this co‐creation model, especially in established organizations, the paper proposes adopting a new mindset.
Findings
The paper finds that once leaders recognize the “interactions among individuals everywhere in the system” as the new locus of value creation, it stands to reason that organizations must be designed to function around them.
Practical implications
In the co‐creation paradigm, value is a function of experiences other than the product itself, such as web platforms and environments for consumer interactions with the product and with a community of other users. Intuit's www.intuitlabs.com is another good illustration; there, Intuit's internal engineers get a fast, direct connection to customers, and the community of customers connects to the “makers” of Intuits offerings.
Originality/value
Becoming a co‐creative organization is impossible without the active involvement of managers at all levels and every employee who interacts with customers – from the call center operator to the service mechanic, from the sales representative to the logistics manager, from the software engineer to the product developer.
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The paper aims to explain how Procter & Gamble's new strategy review meeting structure and new inquiry culture established a new norm for communication between leaders and their…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to explain how Procter & Gamble's new strategy review meeting structure and new inquiry culture established a new norm for communication between leaders and their teams throughout the organization.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors, one a former P&G CEO and the other a long‐time consultant to the firm, describe how the firm instituted a robust process for creating, reviewing and communicating about strategy.
Findings
The P&G process was designed to open a dialog between top management and the leaders of each business to discuss five strategic choices. What is your winning aspiration? Where will you play? How will you win? What capabilities must be in place? What management systems are required?
Practical implications
At P&G the Objectives, Goals, Strategy, Measures (OGSM) statement for a brand, category, or company was the framework for articulating a clear and explicit expression of where to play and how to win, choices that connected with the aspirations of the business and the measures of success indicated.
Originality/value
The paper explains the learning and communication techniques P&G used to foster an authentic, effective company‐wide dialog about strategy.
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