The Myth of the Generic Manager

Christopher A. Barlett
Sumantra Ghoshal

Group 4:
Swarit Yadav
Swati Khobragade
Arghya Das
Kirti Rai Chanchal

Introduction
Boston Celtics
National basket-ball
Association championship
General manager, Coach,
Player
Success in one role is not a
good predictor of performance
in another

the manager(Bookish)
Add value to company
Generic tasks
General capabilities

Exception(Bookish)
Each organisation level
manager play similar roles
and responsibilities
Different size and scope of
activities

Introduction
Practical world
Top level managers
Formulating strategy
Controlling resources

Middle-level managers
Mediate vertical information
processing
Mediate resource allocation
Administrative controller
Direction and control from
above

Front line
Operational implementation

The theory has made the

hierarchy legimate while the
practice has made it operational

Limitation of classical hierarchy

Loss of efficiency
Speed
Flexibility

What they have done?

Delayered
Destaffed
Reengineered their operations
Invested money
Invested time
Empowerment

Behaviour and relationships of

people has not changed

Introduction
Avoid
Russian Doll theory
At each level of the hierarchy,
the manager is similar but
bigger than the manager a level
below

Pecking order practice of

management

If activities and expectations are

not clearly defined, managers
will act as grand strategist,
administrative controllers,
operational implementers

Research

20 large companies
Europe
America
Asia

New Organisation Model: New Management Roles

Old thinking(Top Down)
Dividing top down
Groups, sectors, divisions

New thinking(Bottom up)

Foundation on small front-line operating
unit

Portfolio of cross-unit integrative

processes
Strong commitment to genuine
empowerment
Electro-technical giant(ABB)

$35 billion
1300 local operating companies
Separate legal entity
Own balance sheet and P&L
Proliferation of business boards
Functional councils
Twin principle
Radically decentralized responsibility
Tightly held individual accountability

3M

$15 billion sales

60,000 products
3900 profit centres
R&D setup a forum to link the
marketing and production team
Commitment to entrepreneurship
Belief in individual

ISS(Denmark based cleaning service

organisation)
$2 billion
17 countries
Each country has 4 or 5 small
autonomous businesses
Cross unit meetings and committees
Training and development
Rapid transfer of knowledge and
expertise
Genuine respect for worker

New Organisation Model: New Management

Roles
Operating level managers
Past- front line implementers
New- innovative
entrepreneur

Senior level manager

Past- administrative
controller
New- developmental coaches

Top level executives

Past- strategic architects
New- organisational leaders

The operating- Level Entrepreneurial Role

Relays business unit(ABB)
Troubled power transmission
and distribution business
Regarded as mature business
Slowly declining
Modestly profitable operation

ABBs decentralized
entrepreneurial environment
Turned into a performance
company
Export sales skyrocketed
New products were
introduced
Operating profits doubled
Long term expansion

The operating- Level Entrepreneurial Role

Example of 3M
Front line entrepreneurship
Andy Wong took over a
struggling project team
Optical technologies that had
never found market
During these 4 years
Redeployed the resources
Refocused its energy and
attention
Protected the operations from
shut down
Remotivate the discouraged team
After 4 years
Introduced two new products
Highly successful

ISS(Dutch commercial
cleaning business)
High margin slaughter house
cleaning
Became centre of expertise

3rd basic responsibility

To ensure continuous
performance improvement in
their operating units

Senior Level Development Role

Between front line units & corporate level management roles
Redefine role from authority based control to support-based management & organizational
development
Creation of small independent front line unit, radical decentralization of assets & resources

Traditional Role

New Role

Organizations Division, regions, key

functions

Coordinating activities by coaching

operating level Entrepreneurs

Intermediary role, disaggregating corporate

objectives into business targets

Source of support and guidance for front

line entrepreneurs

Aggregating business unit plan for corporate

view

Competency development

Resource allocation, Internal

Communication, Interpreting and broad
casting management priorities

Resolutions to numerous tensions &

conflicts

Senior Level Development Role (contd..)

Change in dominant management model driven by authority to
empowerment, control to development and support
Linking the knowledge and expertise developed in front line units and
embedding the same to be leveraged world wide
Manage portfolio of supplemental communications & decision forums
such as the world wide business boards and functional councils
Give & take management style

Importance of Senior level Managers

Inverting the pyramid operational

Absorbing demands from

geographic integration needs

Preventing ambiguity, conflicts, complexity in horizontal

domains

Focus on vital entrepreneur skills

cross

business,

functional,

Top Management Leadership role

Role Inherited from their corporate forbears
Formulators of strategy, builders of structure and controller of systems

Traditional Role

New Role

Drive purposefully to clearly defined goals

Focused on purpose, process, people

Free from idiosyncrasies of individual

employees and Eccentricities, pathologies of
their behaviour

Shaped broader corporate purpose with

which employees feel personal commitment

Managed individual employees as inputs in

the predictable but depersonalized systems

Control of firms financial resources, building

process which added value
Create challenging organizational context
which focused on people rather than just
monitoring collective inputs

Top Management Leadership role (Contd..)

Importance of Top Management
Providing the organization with a stabilizing and motivating
sense of purpose
Articulation of mission in terms which could contribute
sustainable economic growth and world development
Principal architects of social institution which are able to capture
energy, commitment and creativity
Developed corporate purpose and shape integrating
organizational process
Focused attention on people whose motivations and actions
would drive the company's performance

New Management Roles, New Personal

Competencies
Company s investment of time and
efforts to defining the Ideal profile
for future leaders
Examples:
Siemens: 22 management
Characteristics 5 competencies
The World Bank: 20 attributes
7 different
categories
PepsiCo: 18 key dimensions

Individual trying to adjusting to the

transformed organizational
environment and performing the
redefined management tasks

Promoting the expertise in

identifying, measuring, and
developing the capabilities
Profile generation:

Inventory of the personality traits

Individual beliefs
Acquired Skills
And other personal attributes and
Behaviour
(Unclear selection criteria with little
logical linkage)
Development Surveys of current
managers or most successful
individual performers

 Limitations:
Management competency
exercise defined as Single ideal
profile
Not been entirely irrational in
typical traditional authority
based hierarchy
Research on Post-transformation
organizations:
Adaptation of managers to
their redefined responsibilities

Differentiate the profile of the

managers, who succeeded in adding
value in very different ways at each
level of the organization
Developing the profile based on
performance rather than opinion
Notion seems to be
Concept should be
vague and unfocused more sharply defined
and clearly applicable

Instead of describing the personal

characteristics
Demonstrate their effectiveness in performing
the key tasks of the redefined management
roles

Simple Classification Model:

Defining the categories into 3 categories:

Deeply embedded personal characteristics

e.g. attitude, traits and values

Attributes

e.g. Knowledge, experience

and understanding

Training and career

path development

Specialized skills and abilities

jobs specific task
requirements

Intrinsic capabilities and

acquired knowledge

Selecting for the Embedded traits:

High rate of the failure in
attempting to adapt the newly
defined task
For example: ABB company(1988)
300 top senior management
positions
40%- Not with the company after 6
years
Problem was to identify the
candidates who already develop the
personal traits (succeed in radically
different organization and
management context)

 Selection I: Individuals
accumulated knowledge and job
experience
Most visible and stable
qualification

Selection II: Decision basis(by

default)
Requiring the existing managers
for redefined job responsibilities

Problem:
Acquired
organizational
Expertise

Old management
models and
behavioural norms

Personal Characteristics who had

succeeded in the old organizational
environment

Difficult to convince an
authoritarian industry expert to
adopt a more people-sensitive style
than develop industry expertise in
strong people managers
Innate personal characteristics
dominate acquired expertise as key
selection criteria
Management role and tasks differs
widely at each level of the
organization
With attitudes, traits and values

Recruitment and succession

planning- sophisticated for
Operating-level Entrepreneurs,
Senior-level Developers and Top
Management leaders

 For example: ISS company

Recruit- Results-Oriented
competitors to run their front-line
operating units
Low status position
ISS structure the role
Attract- energetic, independent
and creative individuals

Personal profile required to move

to next level of management was
quite different
E.g. Schmidt: people oriented
individual interest in developing
and supporting others
Poul Andreassen- President of ISS
primarily selected on basis of
personal traits rather than
experience

Key Result:
Identify the personal
Important characteristics
Individual to succeed in a
Challenges
new, different and
equally important role

Someone successful at one level

lacks the individual traits to succeed
at the next

Developing the
Next Key knowledge and expertise
support and leverage
Challenges
their embedded personal
traits

Developing for knowledge Acquisition

Exploring Natural abilities to
the fullest.
Applying these attributes for
broader management job
E.g. Naturally creative and
engaging person learns more
about customers
ISS- Five Star Development
program

3M Early career assessment

process.
Defining program for next big
role
It checks the Job fit
Internal programs + external
MDP.
E.g. Promising accounting
clerk
aspire
to
become
Certified public accountant

 On the Job training is still the primary focus

Natural
Competitive
traits

Knowledge
& Skills
Companies
resources

E.g. Andy wong recognised by Ron Mitsch and move from

technical team leader to great verticals through the
opportunities provided by 3M accompanied by results
Paul guehler transfer from New business venture Division to
Healthy & Safety product division.

 For top CXO position, ideal candidate must have breadth of

knowledge and years of experience across the verticals within
company
E.g. Selection of DeSimone as CEO.
Handling multiple roles,
handling & each of 3Ms
3 business sectors, different
profiles and providing
experience at HQ of 3M
He moved up through engineering to manufacturing to management
positions having multiple background knowledge, major success
factor
It ensures one has organizational understanding and hence best fit for
top CXO position

 Major Fails examples of

Outsider selection

John
Sculley

Hence there lies an

important Linkage
between traits,
knowledge and
development of skills

Coaching for
Skills Mastery
Skills for job success depends on
knowledge & Experience grow
with natural traits & accumulated
experience
Critical Skills are self developed
with On-The-Job-Experience
Management should coach &
Support
to
encourage
self
development process
ABBs
Lindahl
philosophy:
Engineers- Managers- Leaderstop CXO

 E.g. Appointing Don Jans

to head the relay
company ABB took over

persiste
nce

Different set of skills required

for Senior level business
responsibilities
E.g. Lindahl appointed
Gundemark as worldwide
relay manager.
Giver than receiver of
management resources

Competiti
veness
Generous
Flexible

Support from
Management is indeed
required redefine jans
company

Loyal

Gundemark follows Lindahl

footsteps.

 At Top Management level,

more subtle & sophisticated
skills.
Fundamental
SkillsCreating a demanding work
environment
E.g.
Lindahl
bi-monthly
meeting , forces the mangers
to think beyond projections
and respond to new trade and
business environments

Problems with this type of

structure Its not like typical Managing
Alignment & Ensuring Fit.
It comprises of bridging gap
between Embedded traits &
developing sense of purpose &
ambition
Hence Major problems lies in
Conflicts,
Dilemmas
&
Paradoxes
Management needs to identify
such people and ensure them
opportunities and support
from company

From Organization Man to Individual

Corporation
Earlier- Capital was scarce
resource, therefore Top
Management held control over
investments
Now- Knowledge is Scarce
Resource, but knowledge &
strategy lies at operating levels.
Hence companys should focus
on knowledge based
environment & employees
capabilities & Experience

Overall objective is to leverage

the knowledge & expertise.
Concept of The Individual
Corporation
Benefit for employees
- Career path moves them to
best fit rather than
conventional hierarchy
A good manager recognize &
capitalize diversity than
minimizing or suppressing it

THANK YOU