Download or read book Flexible Firm written by Jakob Krause-Jensen and published by Berghahn Books. This book was released on 2010 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bang & Olufsen, the famous Danish producer of high-end home electronics, is well known as an early exponent of value-based management: the idea that there should be consistency in what the organisation does, a certain continuity between what the company develops and sells, and the beliefs and practices of the employees. This study investigates how company values are communicated and the collective identity is articulated through the use of such concepts as 'culture', 'fundamental values', and 'corporate religion', as well as how employees negotiate these ideas in their daily working lives. As this book reveals, the identification of values, meant to create cohesion and solidarity among employees, came to symbolise and engender a split between the staff and the other parts of the company. By examining the rise and fall of the value-based management approach, this volume offers the indispensible insight of anthropological enquiry to expose how social realities challenge conventional management strategies and therefore must be considered in the development of new management techniques.
Download or read book Building the Flexible Firm written by Henk W. Volberda and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 1999-01-14 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How do firms cope with changing environments? Is flexibility really the solution? How can we measure a firm's flexibility? Can a more flexible firm be created? Based on an Igor Ansoff Award-winning study and now available for the first time in paperback, Henk Volberda's Building the Flexible Firm shows how flexibility has become the new strategic challenge for contemporary firms. Although traditional organizational forms have worked well in the relatively stable environments of the past, the globalization of markets, rapid technological change, shortening product life cycles, and increasing aggressiveness of competitors have radically altered the ground rules for competing in the 1990s and beyond. Increased competition forces firms to move more quickly and boldly than before, and to experiment in ways that do not conform to traditional administrative theory. This book offers a wealth of insights into the way firms can increase their flexibility. It is based on extensive interviews with practitioners and supported by many longitudinal case studies on flexibility improvement within large corporations. The author provides a strategic framework which explains what types of flexibility are effective under different organizational conditions and environmental characteristics. He also demonstrates an integrated method for diagnosing a firm's flexibility and for guiding the transition to greater flexibility and responsiveness.
Download or read book The Flexible Firm written by Julian Birkinshaw and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2000-03-16 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The pace of change in the business world is becoming faster. This book provides a detailed account of the network-like organization forms that some firms are adopting to make themselves more flexible and responsive to changing technologies and customer demands. As these organizations become more pervasive, the winners will be those firms that develop the specific capabilities that are needed to thrive in a networked world. Paradoxically, such capabilities are developed not only at the firm level, but also in the relationships the firm has with its external network and in the operating units within the firm. This perspective has implications for the 'resource-based view of the firm' in the field of strategic management, suggesting that the development of capabilities is a more complex and multi-level process than was traditionally thought. This book brings together eleven chapters, each focusing on a particular aspect of capability development in the networked firm. It is based on research in five big Swedish firms (Ericsson, Volvo, Skandia, Pharmacia & Upjohn, SE Banken) as well as a number of other well-known firms such as HP and ABB. The book will be essential reading for advanced students in strategy and international business wanting to keep abreast of current thinking and company practices.
Download or read book Building the Flexible Firm written by Henk Wijtze Volberda and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How do firms cope with changing environments? Is flexibility really the solution? Based on an Igor Ansoff Award winning study, Building the Flexible Firm shows how flexibility has become the new strategic challenge for contemporary firms. Offering a wealth of insights and based on extensive interviews with practitioners, Henk Volberda provides a strategic framework which explains what types of flexibility are effective under different organizational conditions and environmental characteristics. He also demonstrates an integrated method for diagnosing a firm's flexibility and for guiding the transition to greater flexibility and responsiveness.
Download or read book Despotism on Demand written by Alex J. Wood and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2020-05-15 with total page 191 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despotism on Demand draws attention to the impact of flexible scheduling on managerial power and workplace control. When we understand paid work as a power relationship, argues Alex J. Wood, we see how the spread of precarious scheduling constitutes flexible despotism; a novel regime of control within the workplace. Wood believes that flexible despotism represents a new domain of inequality, in which the postindustrial working class increasingly suffers a scheduling nightmare. By investigating two of the largest retailers in the world he uncovers how control in the contemporary "flexible firm" is achieved through the insidious combination of "flexible discipline" and "schedule gifts." Flexible discipline provides managers with an arbitrary means by which to punish workers, but flexible scheduling also requires workers to actively win favor with managers in order to receive "schedule gifts": more or better hours. Wood concludes that the centrality of precarious scheduling to control means that for those at the bottom of the postindustrial labor market the future of work will increasingly be one of flexible despotism.
Download or read book The flexible Firm written by Anna Pollert and published by . This book was released on 1988 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Gung Ho written by Ken Blanchard and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 1997-10-08 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles, co-authors of the New York Times business bestseller Raving Fans, are back with Gung Ho! Here is an invaluable management tool that outlines foolproof ways to increase productivity by fostering excellent morale in the workplace. It is a must-read for everyone who wants to stay on top in today's ultra-competitive business world. Raving Fans taught managers how to turn customers into full-fledged fans. Now, Gung Ho! brings the same magic to employees. Through the inspirational story of business leaders Peggy Sinclair and Andy Longclaw, Blanchard and Bowles reveal the secret of Gung Ho--a revolutionary technique to boost enthusiasm and performance and usher in astonishing results for any organization. The three principles of Gung Ho are: The Spirit of the Squirrel The Way of the Beaver The Gift of the Goose These three cornerstones of Gung Ho are surprisingly simple and yet amazingly powerful. Whether your organization consists of one or is listed in the Fortune 500, this book ensures Gung Ho employees committed to success. Gung Ho! also includes a clear game plan with a step-by-step outline for instituting these groundbreaking ideas. Destined to become a classic, Gung Ho! is a rare and wonderful business book that is packed with invaluable information as well as a compelling, page-turning story. Management legend Ken Blanchard and master entrepreneur Sheldon Bowles are back with Gung Ho!, revealing a surefire way to boost employee enthusiasm, productivity, and performance and usher in astonishing results for any organization. Raving Fans brilliantly schooled managers on how to turn customers into raving fans. Gung Ho! now brings the same magic to employees. Here is the story of how two managers saved a failing company and turned in record profits with record productivity. The three core ideas of Gung Ho! are surprisingly simple: worthwhile work guided by goals and values; putting workers in control of their production; and cheering one another on. Their principles are so powerful that business leaders, reviewing the manuscript for Ken and Sheldon, have written to say, "Sorry. Ignored instructions. Have photocopied for everyone. I promise to buy books, but can't wait. We need now!" Like Raving Fans, Gung Ho! delivers.
Download or read book Flexibility Uncertainty and Manpower Management written by John Atkinson and published by . This book was released on 1985 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Based on research conducted in 1983.
Download or read book Positive and Negative Aspects of Outsourcing written by Mario Franco and published by BoD – Books on Demand. This book was released on 2018-03-21 with total page 134 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Outsourcing has been seen as a phenomenon allowing competitive advantages for organizations, but some studies do not include the causes and consequences of this particular strategy. Consequently, the objective of this book is to fill this gap by combining several studies from different perspectives. The various chapters presented here follow several approaches, which researchers explore in different contexts. This book intends, therefore, to add to the body of knowledge about outsourcing. Furthermore, it shows how the outsourcing strategy can stimulate organizations' development in various countries and regions worldwide.
Download or read book The Flexible Firm and the Shape of Jobs to Come written by Ruskin College. Trade Union Research Unit and published by . This book was released on 1984 with total page 19 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Building the Flexible Firm written by Henk Wijtze Volberda and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 349 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The flexible Firm written by Laurence Colvin Hunter and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 25 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Flexible Firm Financial Performance and Employee Well being written by Zsolt Boros and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 118 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Workplace flexibility has captivated the attention of both Human Resources academics and practitioners. Over the years there have been multiple studies evaluating the benefits and drawbacks of workplace flexibility, focusing either on the employee or employer perspective. In spite of the ample body of research, there are few empirical studies that simultaneously assess the benefits and drawback for both employers and employees while considering flexible work practices in relation to each other. This study tested the idea that there are mutual benefits for both parties and examined in what format does flexibility present these mutual benefits. In undertaking this task the study utilized a national level survey (WERS 2004) and proposed a level of analysis across multiple organizations as opposed to individual workplaces. The results show that the proposed mutual benefits have not been identified, however it revealed that, contrary to authoritative standpoints flexibility seems to benefit the employees more than the employers. Limitations of the study, further directions and practical implications are discussed.
Download or read book Operations Rules written by David Simchi-Levi and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2010-09-24 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An expert offers a set of rules that will help managers achieve dramatic improvements in operations performance. In recent years, management gurus have urged businesses to adopt such strategies as just-in-time, lean manufacturing, offshoring, and frequent deliveries to retail outlets. But today, these much-touted strategies may be risky. Global financial turmoil, rising labor costs in developing countries, and huge volatility in the price of oil and other commodities can disrupt a company's entire supply chain and threaten its ability to compete. In Operations Rules, David Simchi-Levi identifies the crucial element in a company's success: the link between the value it provides its customers and its operations strategies. And he offers a set of scientifically and empirically based rules that management can follow to achieve a quantum leap in operations performance. Flexibility, says Simchi-Levi, is the single most important capability that allows firms to innovate in their operations and supply chain strategies. A small investment in flexibility can achieve almost all the benefits of full flexibility. And successful companies do not all pursue the same strategies. Amazon and Wal-Mart, for example, are direct competitors but each focuses on a different market channel and provides a unique customer value proposition—Amazon, large selection and reliable fulfillment; Wal-Mart, low prices—that directly aligns with its operations strategy. Simchi-Levi's rules—regarding such issues as channels, price, product characteristics, value-added service, procurement strategy, and information technolog—-transform operations and supply chain management from an undertaking based on gut feeling and anecdotes to a science.
Download or read book The Flexible Workplace written by Christine Avery and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2000-10-30 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Flextime, telecommuting, compressed work week, job sharing, downshifting, and hot desking—these terms are infiltrating our vocabulary at an increasing rate, keeping pace with change in the workplace. Although there is a large body of literature on the changing nature of work and workplace flexibility, there is no handbook that synthesizes the research on all aspects of this topic. Pulling together the vast literature on this subject, Avery and Zabel explain the concept of flexible work, trace the origin and growth of this workplace trend, and review the research on a range of flexible work arrangements. Workplace flexibility is international in scope. Companies, both in the United States and abroad, have become increasingly interested in implementing flexible work arrangements. The authors include a chapter on companies in North America, Western Europe, and the United Kingdom that have been leaders in implementing flexible work arrangements. They identify areas ripe for additional research, suggest a broad array of resources, and discuss strategies for locating additional information, including relevant databases, Internet resources, organizations, and search terms. This is a valuable handbook for managers, researchers, and students working or studying in the areas of human resource management, industrial/organizational psychology, and the sociology of work.
Download or read book Work Life written by Cali Williams Yost and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2004-12-28 with total page 364 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The empowering new 3-step guide to combining work and life strategically, creatively, and successfully. The message is simple: Work doesn't have to be all or nothing. There are countless combinations of balancing work and life between these extremes. People can establish boundaries and change the way work fits into their lives, in a way that's good for employees and employers. Work+Life provides the tools to adjust the "work" portion of life in order to have more time and/or energy for personal responsibilities and interests. Even a small change can make a big difference. Industry expert Cali Yost has been working with people on all sides of the issue: employees and managers at companies such as General Electric/NBC, Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceuticals, and Ernst & Young, and EAPs nationwide that help companies help their employees. They all say the same thing--Work+Life is the missing piece of the puzzle, providing readers with invaluable work life balance tips and putting them on the cutting edge of the workplace revolution.
Download or read book The flexible Firm written by and published by . This book was released on 1987 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
