Business Horizons articles from July 1994

Business Horizons archives from July 1994

The disconnect between scientists and corporations. (the need for improved communication to enable scientists and 'non-technical' managers to work cooperatively)
July 1, 1994... A new coating formula has been introduced into a paint and finishing plant, but it is not producing the level of quality expected. The plant manager goes to the R&D chemist for help. Convinced that the formula works well, the scientist begins...

Strategic alliances and joint ventures: making them work. (corporate collaborations)
July 1, 1994... Companies are continually striving to gain access to new markets and new supply sources, capitalize on technology, use assets better, and become more profitable. They commonly use three methods to achieve these objectives: internally...

Lessons learned from self-managed work teams.
July 1, 1994... American'corporations have been under sustained international pressure to provide more for less. And these pressures have forced managers to look for new ways of doing things. One such innovation has been reorganizing the work force into...

Reforming the traditional organization: the mandate for developing networks.
July 1, 1994... Evolutionary changes are occurring in the traditional hierarchical forms of organizations. "The network is the paradigm, not the Catholic Church or the military," says John Sculley (1992). Large, bureaucratic organizations have real problems...

The myth of full disclosure: a look at organizational communications during crises.
July 1, 1994... When the unexpected happens, be sure to apply the cardinal rule of crisis communications: "Tell it all and tell it fast." (Dilenschneider and Hyde 1985) Communicating with the public is perhaps one of the most difficult tasks of...

Overcoming the BOHICA effect. (cynical employees)
July 1, 1994... Alas, a permanent cure for shoddy products and services has not yet been found. But the imperative need to "do something about quality in our organizations" is clear to almost everyone. Some key organizational players have been desperately...

The power of flexibility. (employees)
July 1, 1994... It seems that almost everyone today is talking about the need to be flexible and adaptable to survive in the global marketplace. Tom Peters (1990), just one of those who have expressed such feelings, says that only those who are ready to...

Focus: value. (value-added work)
July 1, 1994... Corporate America is waking up and cleaning house. Survival is the motivator; value and value-added, the cause; downsizing, rightsizing, re-engineering, and breaking paradigms, the effect. Positions are being indiscriminately slashed at an...

Whose empire is this, anyway? Reflections on the empire state of multinational corporations.
July 1, 1994... Multinational corporations, or MNCs, are finding today's global marketplace turbulent and trying. Unlike a onecountry company, where the rules and tools of competition and conflict can be predicted among those with a common upbringing and...

MBA programs and business needs: is there a mismatch? (includes related articles)
July 1, 1994... The MBA degree, perennially a certain credential for advancement, is losing some of its luster. The reduced prospects for MBAs result partly from the proliferation of MBA programs, currently estimated at more than 600 in the United States,...

Business faculty perspectives on ethics: a national survey.
July 1, 1994... It is almost impossible to read the front page of any major American newspaper and avoid seeing an article dealing with the unethical and possibly even illegal conduct of those who run our businesses. Whether it is insider stock manipulation,...

A marketer's guide to Clausewitz: lessons for winning market share. (includes biography of military strategist Karl von Clausewitz)
July 1, 1994... Late eighteenthcentury Europe experienced a dramatic change in the rules of war. Previously, most European troops were mercenaries whose allegiance was to compensation rather than commander or country. Outfitted in brightly colored uniforms...

Quality lessons from America's Baldrige winners. (Malcolm Balrige Quality Award)
July 1, 1994... Over the last decade American business has lost worldwide market share in a number of major industries, including automobiles, computers, electronics, and textiles. In an effort to improve the overall competitiveness of U.S. industries,...

"Slash and burn" doesn't kill weeds: other ways to downsize the manufacturing organization.
July 1, 1994... The story is familiar, not only in the United States but increasingly elsewhere in the world. Sales suffer, costs grow, profits are squeezed. Blue-collar workers have been laid off. Senior management, feeling itself backed up against a...