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This paper seeks to provide a review and analysis of the contributions and influence of Alfred P. Sloan, Jr, to contemporary business practices and management thought.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to provide a review and analysis of the contributions and influence of Alfred P. Sloan, Jr, to contemporary business practices and management thought.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper begins with an introduction and brief biographical sketch followed by an overview of Sloan's administrative principles as applied at GM. The paper continues with a review of empirical evidence supporting the efficacy of Sloan's principles along with some theoretical explanations for their success. The paper then examines some criticisms surrounding Sloan's contributions before concluding with a discussion of the impact that Sloan's ideas have had on organizational and managerial thought in the context of today's rapidly evolving organizational realities.
Findings
Although he was not a management scholar, Sloan's applied work at General Motors resulted in significant and enduring contributions to business practices and management theory. Yet Sloan's contributions are somewhat overlooked today and have not been extensively or critically examined in the current business and managerial contexts.
Originality/value
This paper makes an important contribution to the management history literature by being among the first to offer a comprehensive critical review of the ways in which Sloan has influenced contemporary management thought, theory, and practice.
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Gives an in depth view of the strategies pursued by the world’s leading chief executive officers in an attempt to provide guidance to new chief executives of today. Considers the…
Abstract
Gives an in depth view of the strategies pursued by the world’s leading chief executive officers in an attempt to provide guidance to new chief executives of today. Considers the marketing strategies employed, together with the organizational structures used and looks at the universal concepts that can be applied to any product. Uses anecdotal evidence to formulate a number of theories which can be used to compare your company with the best in the world. Presents initial survival strategies and then looks at ways companies can broaden their boundaries through manipulation and choice. Covers a huge variety of case studies and examples together with a substantial question and answer section.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine the link between Joseph Schumpeter’s economics and the rise of General Motors (GM).
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the link between Joseph Schumpeter’s economics and the rise of General Motors (GM).
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses regression analysis and time series analysis of market synchronization.
Findings
There is a strong link between GM rise to dominance of the domestic automobile industry and nuanced features of Schumpeterian economics.
Research limitations/implications
The paper furthers the examination of the role of information economics on marketing channel performance.
Practical implications
Information helps in production decisions by synchronizing production with consumer demand.
Social implications
Economic efficiency enhances the human welfare for better forecasting, lower inventories and greater profits.
Originality/value
This topic has been explored before but methodology used in this paper is innovative. The paper uses Granger causality.
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Karen E. Linkletter and Joseph A. Maciariello
Most people typically view Peter Drucker as the founder of management theory, or the originator of concepts such as management by objectives. Few are aware of his larger vision of…
Abstract
Purpose
Most people typically view Peter Drucker as the founder of management theory, or the originator of concepts such as management by objectives. Few are aware of his larger vision of a free society of functioning organizations, much less the intellectual influences that drove that vision. This paper seeks to discuss four individuals whose ideas informed Drucker's concept of a moral society of modern institutions: Soren Kierkegaard, Friedrich Julius Stahl, Alfred Sloan, and Joseph Schumpeter.
Design/methodology/approach
Drucker's own writings, as well as correspondence, interviews, and other archival sources, are analyzed to illustrate the influence of each of the four people. Specific examples of each influence are shown, as well as a case study of one organization that exemplifies Drucker's entire vision in action.
Findings
Drucker's life and work represent a struggle to achieve his vision of a moral society of functioning organizations. His larger vision is imprinted on his ideas of the self‐governing plant community, management by objectives, leadership integrity, and the morality of profit. However, Drucker's overall vision remains elusive in practice in large part because of its complex intellectual origins.
Research limitations/implications
Future research into additional intellectual influences on Drucker's work is suggested.
Originality/value
The paper offers an in‐depth analysis of Drucker's work with respect to the influences of Kierkegaard, Stahl, Sloan, and Schumpeter, illustrating Drucker's intellectual lineage and history. It provides an important connection between the discipline of management and the liberal arts.
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Marjorie H. McEntire and Joseph C. Bentley
Mergers, frequent and disruptive business practices, are increasing in the U.S. and abroad. A qualitative inquiry of a newly‐merged travel agency revealed six acculturation…
Abstract
Mergers, frequent and disruptive business practices, are increasing in the U.S. and abroad. A qualitative inquiry of a newly‐merged travel agency revealed six acculturation themes: identity, reputation, leadership, membership, information, and appearance. These themes suggest an acculturation agenda for the long period of turmoil that follows a merger.
In October 2016, Timothy Sloan, the newly appointed CEO of American banking giant Wells Fargo, faced a massive public-relations crisis. A few weeks earlier, a United States…
Abstract
In October 2016, Timothy Sloan, the newly appointed CEO of American banking giant Wells Fargo, faced a massive public-relations crisis. A few weeks earlier, a United States government agency had announced the results of its regulatory review of the bank and exposed a shocking practice common in the retail division, in which aggressive community bankers had created more than a million fraudulent accounts and credit card applications on behalf of unaware customers for the past several years. Over the next few weeks, the bank—and Sloan's predecessor, John Stumpf, in particular—suffered from harsh criticism from politicians, journalists, and former employees alike, ultimately forcing Stumpf's resignation. As Sloan sought to minimize the public-image backlash and restore general trust in Wells Fargo, he struggled to construct the best communication strategy for the bank's next chapter.
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S.R.P. MEDEIROS, P.M. PIMENTA and P. GOLDENBERG
A new algorithm for reducing the profile and root‐mean‐square wavefront of sparse matrices with a symmetric structure is presented. Our numerical experiments show an overall…
Abstract
A new algorithm for reducing the profile and root‐mean‐square wavefront of sparse matrices with a symmetric structure is presented. Our numerical experiments show an overall better performance than the widely used reverse Cuthill‐McKee, Gibbs‐King and Sloan algorithms. The new algorithm is fast, simple and useful in engineering analysis where it can be employed to derive efficient orderings for both profile and frontal solution schemes.
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Joseph A. Maciariello and Karen E. Linkletter
The political philosophy of American federalism was a critical influence on the work of Peter Drucker. Drucker drew on federalist ideas to devise ways to distribute and check…
Abstract
Purpose
The political philosophy of American federalism was a critical influence on the work of Peter Drucker. Drucker drew on federalist ideas to devise ways to distribute and check power within organizations, curbing the darker side of human nature. In this article, the authors aim to discuss the history of federalism, and to demonstrate how Drucker used that philosophy to shape his own management theories. The article also seeks to provide suggestions for applying federalist principles to today's organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
Drucker's own writings, as well as historical primary sources, are analyzed to illustrate the influence of federalism. The authors use specific examples from Drucker's own work, including his study of General Motors and his concept of management by objectives, to illustrate how federalism informed Drucker's vision for a functioning society of institutions.
Findings
Although Drucker has been criticized as a utopian, he, like the federalists and their philosophical forefathers, grappled with the role and nature of virtue in society, the balance between individual liberty and the greater good, and the need for checks and balances on power. As evidenced by Drucker's work, federalism offers a potential solution to today's organizations for managing complex networks and alliances, as well as creating an effective top‐management team.
Research limitations/implications
Future research into the applicability of federalism to contemporary organizations is suggested.
Originality/value
This paper provides an in‐depth analysis of the impact of federalist principles on Drucker's work, and offers specific suggestions for applying federalism to managing organizations today. It provides an important connection between the discipline of management and the liberal arts.
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H.S. Yu, S.W. Sloan and P.W. Kleeman
This paper presents a new finite element formulation of the upper bound theorem. The formulation uses a six‐noded linear strain triangular element. Each node has two unknown…
Abstract
This paper presents a new finite element formulation of the upper bound theorem. The formulation uses a six‐noded linear strain triangular element. Each node has two unknown velocities and each corner of a triangle is associated with a specified number of unknown plastic multiplier rates. The major advantage of using a linear strain element, rather than a constant strain element, is that the velocity field can be modelled more accurately. In addition, the incompressibility condition can be easily satisfied without resorting to special arrangements of elements in the mesh. The formulation permits kinematically admissible velocity discontinuities at specified locations within the finite element mesh. To ensure that finite element formulation of the upper bound theorem leads to a linear programming problem, the yield criterion is expressed as a linear function of the stresses. The linearized yield surface is defined to circumscribe the parent yield surface so that the solution obtained is a rigorous upper bound. During the solution phase, an active set algorithm is used to solve the resulting linear programming problem. Several numerical examples are given to illustrate the capability of the new procedure for computing rigorous upper bounds. The efficiency and accuracy of the quadratic formulation is compared with that of the 3‐noded constant strain formulation in detail.
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