管理者的五种警示

管理者往往将失败归于战略错误、不充分的营销、竞争的威胁和技术失误等.然而,这些仅仅是问题的表象.所有的管理者都犯过同样的根本性错误:屈服于某种诱惑.如果管理者们不愿面对和战胜诱惑,他们的所作所为将置企业于危险之中.     

AN EXAMINATION OF THE INFLUENCE OF MIDDLE-LEVEL MANAGERS IN FORMULATING AND IMPLEMENTING STRATEGIC DECISIONS

The upward influence of middle-level managers (MLMs) on strategic planning and decision-making is examined. It was found that: (1) upward influence activity was more prevalent in low risk/return types of strategic decisions than in high risk/return decisions; (2) upward influence activity was more prevalent during the implementation of strategic decisions than during the formulation of such decisions; (3) managers most often used rational arguments in their influence attempts; (4) managers were more likely to be successful than unsuccessful in influencing their superiors in strategic decisions; (5) managers most often attributed their success in influencing their superiors to internal causes and their failures to external causes; (6) managers from private sector organizations exerted influence in both high risk and low risk strategic decisions more frequently than did managers from public sector organizations; and (7) the number of years working with the superior was the best predictor of successful interactions and of risky decisions. Some insight into the development of widespread strategic thinking in an organization is provided.     

STRATEGIC DECISIONS MADE BY TOP EXECUTIVES AND MIDDLE MANAGERS WITH DATA AND PROCESS DOMINANT STYLES

The influence of a manager's decision style in strategic decision-making is explored using simulations. The Jungian style classification is extended to identify ‘data and process dominant’ styles of decision-making. Managers with process dominant styles can use several types of data and managers with data dominant styles can apply various modes of data processing. Both the expanded and the traditional definitions of style are used as factors to explain how 79 top executives and 89 middle managers rated project simulations. Decision style is found to be a key factor in explaining the likelihood of taking strategic action and the risk seen in this action. Decisions made by top executives are more style dependent than those of middle managers. The extended definition of style reveals more about the preferences of top executives than traditional style categories.     

高层经理激励有没有模式？

现代企业的竞争力,很大程度上取决于企业人力资源的开发和管理。人力资源管理中,激励处于核心地位,对于高层经理的激励则属核心中的核心,可以说对于高层经理的激励效果直接影响企业的整体营运业绩。 激励,从理论上有很多种定义,通俗一点说就是采取措施让别人按照你的期望去做。作为老板、总经理、董事长等企业的当家人,你可能期望高层     

PROCEDURES FOR MANAGERS IN IDEA-DEFICIENT SITUATIONS: AN EXAMINATION OF BRAINSTORMING APPROACHES

The literature of brainstroming procedures has been examined in order to obtain guidlines for managers in idea-deficient situations. Various techniques and procedures have developed and are often incorporated into larger systems of managerial problem-solving. There seem two main reasons for utilizing the processes. The first is as an aid to creativity. The second is as an effective means of amassing ideas. These underlying principles have not been satisfactorily validated in the literature, but use of the technique for the latter, variety generating purpose, may be easier to justify than use as a creativity spurring device. It is suggested that further research is needed into expectations of practitioners and clients of brainstorming sessions.     

STRATEGIC FLEXIBILITY FOR HIGH TECHNOLOGY MANOEUVRES: A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Strategic flexibility is proposed as an expedient capability for managing capricious settings, such as those confronted in technology-intensive arenas. This article examines the historical evolution of the concept of flexibility and analyses its different senses by relating it to other concepts with a ‘family resemblance’. A conceptual framework is subsequently developed, which integrates the temporal and intentional dimensions of flexibility. Four archetypal manoeuvres, derived from the framework, are proposed as a means of attaining strategic flexibility. The deployment of these manoeuvres is exemplified by means of selected strategic engagements of firms in the computer peripherals arena. The article concludes with a discussion of the theoretical and practical implications of the research.     

A RESEARCH AGENDA FOR STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT IN THE 1990s

The importance of thinking strategically is often glossed over when academics try to apply this concept to themselves. This frequently results in research or articles that are not very insightful or useful either to other academics or to practising managers. To overcome this problem and to explore the future needs of the field of strategic management, this article proposes topics for a research agenda for strategic management in the 1990s that is based on the forecast of ‘experts’ in the field.     

DESIGNING ECONOMIC INSTRUMENTS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT IN A DECENTRALIZED FISCAL SYSTEM

Abstract When external effects are important, markets will be inefficient, and economists have considered several broad classes of economic instruments to correct these inefficiencies. However, the standard economic analysis has tended to take the region, and the government, as a given; that is, this work has neglected important distinctions and interactions between the geographic scope of different pollutants, the enforcement authority of various levels of government, and the fiscal responsibilities of the various levels of government. It typically ignores the possibility that the externality may be created and addressed by local governments, and it does not consider the implications of decentralization for the design of economic instruments targeted at environmental problems. This paper examines the implications of decentralization for the design of corrective policies; that is, how does one design economic instruments in a decentralized fiscal system in which externalities exist at the local level and in which subnational governments have the power to provide local public services and to choose tax instruments that can both finance these expenditures and correct the market failures of externalities?     

STRATEGIC NETWORKS AMONG SMALL FIRMS: IMPLICATIONS FOR STRATEGY RESEARCH METHODOLOGY*

This paper deals with the choice of methodological approach within strategic network research. Network-oriented research approaches indicate a broader set of organizational and environmental variables. the issue of trust in network relations implicates contextual aspects such as the socio-cultural foundation of people's interaction. the striving toward more complex, multi-level models of strategy is seen to put a heavy burden on the development of adequate strategy research methods. the paper reports and interprets experience from a case study of inter-organizational exchange governance in small firms. the discussion suggests a need for more in-depth knowledge of cultural contexts, and of socio-economic relations of actors within strategic networks. the paper recommends a search for new methodological inputs from other academic disciplines more experienced with human interaction research. In particular, methodological tools found within the field of social anthropology are recommended.     

MAPS FOR MANAGERS: WHERE ARE WE? WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

Research on managerial cognition in genetal, and on cognitive mapping in particular, is receving a great deal of attention in Europe and the US, but the work being done is currently disparate and loosely coupled. Furthermor, the development of maps as a decision aid has tended to focus on specific sub-areas of cognition. In this article we argue that the broad strategic concerns of managers require a portfolio of different kinds of cognitive maps. The interactions among these maps are as important as the functions of each one separately. We develop a framework for classifying cognitice maps and argue for the importance of managing multiple maps.     

STRATEGIC ORIENTATION, STRATEGIC PLANNING SYSTEM CHARACTERISTICS AND PERFORMANCE*

This article examines the differences in strategic planning system characteristics such as planning implementation, market research competence, key personnel involvement, degree of assistance provided by the planning staff and innovativeness of strategies between the Prospector and Defender strategic archetypes. the study also tests whether deviations from a defined ideal profile of strategic planning system characteristics has implications for performance within each strategic archetype. the findings reveal significant differences in strategic planning system characteristics between Prospectors and Defenders, as well as suggest negative performance implications for deviating from a defined ideal profile of strategic planning system characteristics among Prospector organizations.     

分步骤推进中小企业创业板市场建设的战略思考

推进创业板市场建设是《中共中央关于完善社会主义市场经济体制若干问题的决定》的一项重大决策。然而,“何时推出创业板”、“推出什么样的创业板”以及“如何开设创业板”等问题依然值得深入研究。借鉴国际经验,结合我国国情,本文提出:我国应当早日着手创业板市场建设的实质性工作,但在具体操作过程中又必须处理好五大关系,并按照“中小企业取向的两步走战略”分步骤地推进创业板市场建设。     

IMPLEMENTING STRATEGIC MISSIONS: EFFECTIVE STRATEGIC, STRUCTURAL AND TACTICAL CHOICES

This article describes a study of the impact of strategic mission on the relationships between firm performance and selected strategic, structural, and tactical variables. Moderated regression analysis and subgroup analysis were used to analyse data collected from 91 advanced technology manufacturing companies. Results indicate that firms with build-oriented strategic missions, relative to those with more hold- and harvest-oriented strategic missions, performed better when they: (1) adopted entrepreneurial strategic postures; (2) had organic organization structures; (3) offered relatively low product prices; (4) employed relatively large sales forces; (5) offered relatively generous customer credit; and (6) offered relatively broad product lines. On the other hand, firms with hold- and harvest-oriented strategic missions, relative to those with more build-oriented strategic missions, performed better when they emphasized R&D activity geared toward the development and refinement of existing products. Strategic mission did not moderate the effectiveness of the firms’advertising expenditures or their new product development activity.     

STRATEGIC ASSET ALLOCATION FOR LONG‐TERM INVESTORS: PARAMETER UNCERTAINTY AND PRIOR INFORMATION

We study the effect of parameter uncertainty on the long‐run risk for three asset classes: stocks, bills and bonds. Using a Bayesian vector autoregression with an uninformative prior we find that parameter uncertainty raises the annualized long‐run volatilities of all three asset classes proportionally with the same factor relative to volatilities that are conditional on maximum likelihood parameter estimates. As a result, the horizon effect in optimal asset allocations is much weaker compared to models in which only equity returns are subject to parameter uncertainty. Results are sensitive to alternative informative priors, but generally the term structure of risk for stocks and bonds is relatively flat for investment horizons up to 15 years. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.