Bardwick, Judith M. Danger in the comfort zone. New York:
American Management Association, 1991. 194 pp. (Shelved at HF5548.8.B243 1991).
1/98 version: According to the author, many organizations and their employees are mired in the
mentality of entitlement. As a result, there is low performance, lack of commitment and
accountability, little risk-taking, and scant enthusiasm. The opposite of entitlement is fear, but the
author explains how to overcome both the lethargy of entitlement and the paralysis of fear and to
move into the energy of earning in order to create a work environment of high confidence and
high performance.
Bellardo, Lewis J. Changing organizations: NARA as a case study in changing
organizations: two archives transformation case studies. Washington: National
Archives and Records Administration, 1997. 5 pp. (Presentation, NAGARA, Sacramento,
California, July 17, 1997; BPR214; also accessible at
http://www.archives.gov/about_us/archivists_speeches/speech_7-17-97.html).
Deputy Archivist Bellardo's presentation on NARA's process of organizational change emphasizes
the role of strong leadership and the importance of communication, including
immediately-inclusive communication of the agency's vision, mission, and values statements
through the use of videotapes played simultaneously at all NARA facilities, as well as the
provision of feedback through an e-mail address. Implementation of any organizational changes
have made use of information gathering sessions, the Staff Bulletin newsletter, and an internal
web site to communicate throughout the agency. Bellardo closed his presentation with the
comment that at NARA, "We're not just changing to solve problems; we're changing to create
possibilities...".
Billington, James. The fundamentals of managing up.Harvard
Management Update 2, no.9 (September 1997): 10-11.
By building understanding with your boss, you can minimize disunity, and maximize the alignment
of goals. Understand your boss's mindset, communication style, tacit clues, what the boss expects,
and what you expect of the boss.
Davenport, Thomas H. Saving IT's soul: human-centered information
management.Harvard Business Review (March-April 1994):
119-131.
A new approach to information promises business benefits that few managers could conceive of
when focussing strictly on technology. By paying attention to how people share information,
management can use technology to its fullest potential. The author speaks of integrating human
behavior into information systems and, at the same time, changing employee behavior to meet
technology halfway.
Filipczak, Bob. It takes all kinds: creativity in the work force.Training 34, no.5 (May 1997): 32+.
Current management theory calls for creativity as an important working trait. In an effort to
identify creativity, employees are ranked on a continuum ranging from adaptive to innovative.
Adaptively creative managers tend to have better ideas whereas innovatively creative managers
tend to have different ideas. Management can place employees according to the organization's
creative needs and the need for organizational balance.
Guha, Subo, Varun Grover, William J. Kettinger and James T. C. Teng. Business
process change and organizational performance: exploring an antecedent model.Journal of Management Information Systems 14, no.1 (1997):
119-154.
This report discusses a model which proposes facilitating antecendents to successful business
process change. Case studies showed that the least successful projects were low in cultural
readiness and change management.
Kock, Nereu F. Jr and Robert J. McQueen. Using groupware in quality management
programs.Information Systems Management 14, no.2 (Spring
1997): 56+.
Groupware technology has great but untapped potential to streamline and improve the group and
documentation activities that are paramount in quality management efforts. Guidance is give in
this article on how to use groupware in support of quality management procedures.
Newton, Peggy. Communicating key measures throughout an organization.Journal of Strategic Performance Measurement 1, no.1
(February-March 1997): 34-38.
A division of Honeywell is noted for its ability to communicate key measures throughout the
organization. First, key business drivers are identified, then goals and measures are linked to them
at every level. Communication revolves around goals with each employee's actions linked to
company-wide goals. A continuous improvement control board is used to drive the strategic
priorities down through all levels of the organization.
Quinn, Brian. Understanding the differences between committees and teams.Library Administration & Management 9, no.2 (Spring 1995):
111-116. (BPR194).
There are basic differences between the team approach and the committee approach. Participation
on committees was a means of giving employees a voice and bringing people together to share
ideas on a particular project or for a special purpose. The committee approach has been
superseded by the concept of shared management and teams have been encouraged in order to
work collaboratively using team problem-solving techniques. Teams tend to have more
responsibility, more authority, and the team approach tends to be more proactive than the
committee approach.
Scott, Michael P. Being centered, setting limits, and having fun.Association Management 49, no.3 (March 1997): 55+.
It is possible for individuals to manage change and develop a greater sense of career focus in the
midst of this dynamic environment by examining three principles: 1) the principle of centeredness
which means that as a centered person you have a strong mission or purpose in life, values to help
you in your decisionmaking efforts, and a vision to steer your future; 2) the principle of limits
which means that you can't do everything, but must focus on what is important versus what is
urgent. Create a greater sense of balance to the physical, mental, social, and spiritual aspects of
your life; 3) the principle of fun, which means keeping life in its proper perspective by having
fun.
Stenzel, Catherine and Joe Stenzel. Re-visioning the organization: silence and song of
her majesty.Journal of Strategic Performance Measurement 1,
no.6 (December, 1997): 43-46.
1/98 version: This column, fourth in a series, explores the critical elements in establishing an
organizational framework of strategically aligned performance measurement. The first three
columns stressed 1)laying the foundation of strategic vision; 2)constructing a robust set of
measures, and 3)ensuring consistent leadership and management presence. This column spotlights
the importance of efficiency and effective information systems to facilitate communication,
understanding, and organizational intelligence, which create a sense of organizational
community.
Voyer, John J., Janet M. Gould and David N. Ford. Systematic creation of
organizational anxiety: an empirical study.Journal of Applied Behavioral
Science 33, no.4 (December 1997): 471+. (BPR233; also available online
from Proquest).
1/98 version: Inquiry into a product development organization revealed a high level of
organizational anxiety. A map of the organization's cognitive schema or collective mental model
was created using data obtained from informants in the organization. The map showed how the
organization's use of classic defense mechanisms to control organizational anxiety instead created
feedback loops that amplified it. Suggestions for controlling anxiety systematically are offered
(article abstract)
Walker, Robert G. Virtually interactive brainstorming.Industrial
Engineering 26, no.9 (September 1994): 20-21. (Article 63).
Virtually interactive brainstorming (VIBS) uses electronic mail capabilities to make team member
communication easier and faster
Zaleznik, Abraham. Real work: process and politics often get more executive
attention than products, markets, and customers.Harvard Business
Review 75, no.6 (November-December 1997): 53-63.
This HBR classic is reprinted eight years after its first publication with a commentary by the
author. Zaleznik notes that the article was written to bring to attention the differences and the
tensions between ritualistic and substantive behavior in the organization; that, uncontrolled, ritual
can come to displace or substitute for real work. The author notes a change in the last eight years,
senior executives seem to have achieved a balance between ritual and real work. He warns that
real work has a way of becoming ritualized and thus perpetuated long after its value is gone.
Zaleznick's comments end with the warning that the real work of leaders always involves the
thinking that must precede action.
