books
by Theodore B. Kinni
Discipline Without Punishment
by Dick Grote
Disciplining employees has always been a task that most managers find onerous.
Too often, discipline is simply a no-win proposition-the company and the
employee both lose. Dick Grote's Discipline Without Punishment system is
a long-overdue alternative to traditional punitive discipline programs.
Traditional disciplinary systems, explains Grote, are less concerned with
changing behavior than establishing legal grounds for termination. In response,
he has modified the verbal warning-written warning-suspension-termination
systems into a system more in tune with today's business imperatives-trust,
involvement and empowerment.
Perhaps the most interesting result of the Discipline Without Punishment
system, which, based on the book's examples, has been adopted with impressive
success, is that termination is no longer the logical and final step in
the disciplinary process. Rather, it is considered separately and represents
"the discipline system's failure."
Grote's system depends heavily on managerial coaching. In this plan, the
employee's response drives consequences, and managers simply explain the
alternatives and decisions employees must address. The most surprising proposal
is the final step in the system-a company-paid day off. If unacceptable
behavior persists, the employee receives a mandatory day off-with pay. Following
this day, the employee must make a decision: either conform to expected
behavior or find another job.
Discipline Without Punishment (Amacom, $24.95) represents exactly the kind
of alignment that should develop between corporate policy and values. If
your disciplinary policy hasn't been examined recently, this is the place
to start an evaluation.
Circle No. 116
The New Competitor Intelligence
by Leonard M. Fuld
It's virtually impossible to read a book on benchmarking without finding
references to Leonard Fuld and his work on competitor intelligence. This
is a revised and updated edition of his classic sourcebook.
Beginning from Fuld's cardinal rule ("wherever money is exchanged,
so is information") and ranging all the way to analysis case studies,
the book fully covers its topic. The four-part structure defines the basics
of the field, comprehensively lists information sources, teaches information
analysis with accompanying case studies and offers a process for building
your own corporate intelligence function.
Fuld does a fine job of identifying information sources, which he divides
into two categories: basic and creative. Basic sources comprise governmental
records, private publications, electronic data bases of all sorts, international
data sources, patent searches, management bios, even business school case
studies. Creative sources utilize the unique aspects of a particular industry-for
example, the number of links sunk down a well shaft tells how deep the well.
Happily, Fuld also discusses the ethical considerations of intelligence
gathering. In addition to printing the guidelines recommended by the Society
of Competitive Intelligence Professionals, his own company's "Ten Commandments"
offer a useful example for budding analysts.
The New Competitor Intelligence (John Wiley & Sons, $24.95) is the reference
of choice on the subject. It's hard to imagine a businessperson who won't
benefit from it, but benchmarkers, sales pros and information researchers
of all types will find it particularly valuable.
Circle No. 117
Accountability: It All Depends on What You Mean
by Theo Brooks
Accountability is one of the most misused, misunderstood and just plain
missed words in the corporate lexicon. Yet, as Theo Brooks emphatically
states in this practical examination of the concept, "accountability
is to organizations what breathing is to bodies."
In this completely successful effort at examining the concept of accountability,
Brooks begins by assigning six criteria to the concept. These criteria,
each of which is signified with a single word, provide a working basis for
managers who need to ensure that the flow of organizational accountability
remains strong and unimpeded. They ask: Who? To? For? How? When? and What
if?
For the accountability process to be complete, each criterion must be fully
defined. When they are all present, a "unit of accountability"
is formed, explains Brooks. These units can be traced using a simple, effective
method he calls Triangular Mapping. Managers can easily use Triangular Mapping
to examine and analyze organizational accountability. Brooks demonstrates
how to do this with chilling efficiency in Chapter 8, where he analyzes
the 1986 space shuttle Challenger disaster.
The second half of this book explains the underpinnings of accountability.
Issues include legitimacy as power behind accountability, how trust must
balance accountability and how contracts, sanctions and motives can be used
to support accountability. He concludes with a series of one-page lists
that condense the chapters into simple worksheets.
Accountability (Akkad Press, $19.50) is a unique find and well-worth its
cover price. Managers everywhere will find the tools it provides helpful
for constructing and maintaining on-the-job accountability.
Circle No. 118
Managing Globalization in the Age of Interdependence
by George Lodge
This recent volume in Warren Bennis' Executive Briefing Series promises
to explain "what every manager needs to know about globalization .
. . in just two hours." It doesn't live up to this overambitious billing,
but George Lodge, whose credentials are impressive, does accomplish a fast
and no-holds-barred introduction to the primary issues.
Lodge contends that socialism and communism are proven failures, and capitalism
not only does not exist in its pure form but also is not up to the demands
of a global economy. We need, he thinks, a new ideology, "communitarianism,"
where the needs of the community supersede the needs of the individual.
Unsurprisingly, Lodge designates the United States as the only world leader
capable of introducing this new paradigm. He also pinpoints several organizations,
including the World Bank and World Trade Organization, which, if properly
modified, could serve as the governing bodies.
Along the way, the author serves up a grab bag of material that should fascinate
readers with an interest in globalization issues. It is often frightening-technology
and international trade run virtually uncontrolled in the global arena,
and decision making is rarely concerned with the interests of the world
as a whole.
Unfortunately, this briefing in international economics says little about
the issues of managing a global business. Managing Globalization (Pfeiffer
& Co., $19.95) is mainly a political treatise-interesting as background
knowledge but rarely applicable in a practical sense.
Circle No. 119
other new books...
Learning Organizations, edited by Sarita Chawla and John Renesch
(Productivity Press, 547 pages, $35)
Thirty-nine advocates of the learning organization concept, including such
well-known names as Peter Senge, Rosabeth Moss-Kanter and Charles Handy,
have contributed to this wide-ranging collection. The essays cover four
broad areas: guiding ideas, theories/methods/processes, infrastructure and
arenas of practice.
Workplace Diversity, by Katharine Esty, Richard Griffin and Marcie Schorr
Hirsch
(Adams Publishing, 209 pages, $10.95)
This paperback is aimed directly at front-line managers. Practical, hands-on
advice is offered in several diversity categories, including gender, race,
age, religion, sexual orientation-even the endangered white male. Q&A,
action steps and resource lists round out each section.
Crisis and Renewal, by David K. Hurst
(Harvard Business School Press, 229 pages, $24.95)
Crisis is the most effective change agent, says Hurst, so managers should
learn to create and orchestrate crisis as a means to implement organizational
change. This radical and readable book also advocates "ethical anarchy,"
a state conducive to crisis creation.
Why Teams Can Fail and What to Do About It, by Darcy Hitchcock and Marsha
Willard
(Irwin/AQP, 196 pages, $30)
An implementation troubleshooting guide for self-directed work teams that
covers everything from the decision to create teams to the motivation of
mature teams. The authors explore the common causes of team failure and
offer solid advice for solving implementation barriers.
Customer Loyalty, by Jill Griffin
(Lexington Books, 242 pages, $23)
Customer satisfaction is only an entry fee in today's markets; customer
loyalty is the real payoff. Griffin presents a seven-stage process called
the Profit Generator System to develop loyal customers and explains how
to identify and court customers with the greatest potential.
Cost Reduction Systems, by Yasuhiro Monden
(Productivity Press, 373 pages, $55)
In this Japanese translation, Monden describes how target costing and kaizen
costing techniques combine to yield the lowest total cost over the entire
product life cycle. Target costing, which has evolved from value engineering,
is fully explained using a 14-step process.
Product Strategy for High-Technology Companies, by Michael E. McGrath
(Irwin, 284 pages, $40)
In this comprehensive look at high-tech product strategy, McGrath describes
and analyzes a full spectrum of tactics, including price, time, global,
cannibalization, expansion and innovation-based plans. Strategists, planners
and senior executives in all product industries should find this book useful.
