Management Strategies A Critique of Theories and Practices
The wide range of possible performance criteria for business enterprises raises serious questions of definition and measurement. Indeed, measurement is at the heart of the analysis of success and failure of business operations, and much depends on the qua
- PDF / 30,761,802 Bytes
- 315 Pages / 439.364 x 666.137 pts Page_size
- 107 Downloads / 246 Views
MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES A CRITIQUE OF THEORIES AND PRACTICES
by
Samuel Eilon
" ~.
Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Eilon, Samuel. Management strategies : a eritique oftheories and praetices I by Samuel Eilon. p. em. Includes bibliographieal referenees and index. ISBN 978-1-4613-7071-0
ISBN 978-1-4615-4585-9 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4615-4585-9
1. Strategic planning. 2. Management. 3. Corporations. 4. Industrial management. 1. Title. HD30.28.E34 1999 658.4'012 -- dc21
99-44534 CIP
Copyright © 1999 by Springer Science+Business Media New York Originally published by Kluwer Academic Publishers in 1999 Softcover reprint ofthe hardcover lst edition 1999 AII rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, photo-copying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher, Springer Science + Business Media, LLC. Printed on acid-free paper.
To
Amir Ronit Carmel Daniel who have greatly enriched my life
Contents Preface
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 Index
Structuring the unstructured Mission incomplete Board size and corporate failure Determinants of corporate performance Prominent performance ratios A simple formula A misleading performance ratio Use and misuse of productivity ratios The bottom-liners In pursuit of market share Intrepid gurus On competitiveness OR at the top? Managing change Closing the gap Measuring quality of information systems Divide and rule Centralism versus federalism Hondaism - myth and reality A cake can be cut in many ways Time management Management performance appraisal What makes Sammy run? Don't spit in the soup, we all have to eat The role of business schools Business policy for beginners
page
1 9 25 35 45 61 79 91 97
107 119 133 141 149 163 169 179 187 209 217 231 243 249 263 283
293 305 315
PREFACE The wide range of possible performance criteria for business enterprises raises serious questions of definition and measurement. Indeed, measurement is at the heart of the analysis of success and failure of business operations, and much depends on the quality of the information that is available. The evaluation of business performance comes into sharp focus with the pUblication of companies' annual and semi-annual accounts, which are then followed by commentaries from stockbrokers and business analysts in reports to investors and in articles in the financial press. Captains of industry may not have to suffer the indignity of frequent public opinion polls that gauge the popularity of politicians. Nevertheless, they are plagued by a similar phenomenon, in that views expressed by analysts, customers, shareholders and investors, serve as powerful reminders to senior executives that the business world is subject to many upheavals and that even the most seemingly secure can suddenly fall from grace. This vulnerability is accentuated by the stick and carrot syndr
