The Flexible Firm

Author : Jakob Krause-Jensen
Publisher : Berghahn Books
ISBN 13 : 9781845456689
Total Pages : 324 pages
Book Rating : 4.88/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Flexible Firm written by Jakob Krause-Jensen and published by Berghahn Books. This book was released on 2010 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bang & Olufsen, the famous Danish producer of high-end home electronics, is well known as an early exponent of value-based management: the idea that there should be consistency in what the organisation does, a certain continuity between what the company develops and sells, and the beliefs and practices of the employees. This study investigates how company values are communicated and the collective identity is articulated through the use of such concepts as 'culture', 'fundamental values', and 'corporate religion', as well as how employees negotiate these ideas in their daily working lives. As this book reveals, the identification of values, meant to create cohesion and solidarity among employees, came to symbolise and engender a split between the staff and the other parts of the company. By examining the rise and fall of the value-based management approach, this volume offers the indispensible insight of anthropological enquiry to expose how social realities challenge conventional management strategies and therefore must be considered in the development of new management techniques.

Author : Henk Wijtze Volberda
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780198295952
Total Pages : 388 pages
Book Rating : 4.52/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Building the Flexible Firm written by Henk Wijtze Volberda and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How do firms cope with changing environments? Is flexibility really the solution? Based on an Igor Ansoff Award winning study, Building the Flexible Firm shows how flexibility has become the new strategic challenge for contemporary firms. Offering a wealth of insights and based on extensive interviews with practitioners, Henk Volberda provides a strategic framework which explains what types of flexibility are effective under different organizational conditions and environmental characteristics. He also demonstrates an integrated method for diagnosing a firm's flexibility and for guiding the transition to greater flexibility and responsiveness.

Author : Henk W. Volberda
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0191645044
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.44/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Building the Flexible Firm written by Henk W. Volberda and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 1999-01-14 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How do firms cope with changing environments? Is flexibility really the solution? How can we measure a firm's flexibility? Can a more flexible firm be created? Based on an Igor Ansoff Award-winning study and now available for the first time in paperback, Henk Volberda's Building the Flexible Firm shows how flexibility has become the new strategic challenge for contemporary firms. Although traditional organizational forms have worked well in the relatively stable environments of the past, the globalization of markets, rapid technological change, shortening product life cycles, and increasing aggressiveness of competitors have radically altered the ground rules for competing in the 1990s and beyond. Increased competition forces firms to move more quickly and boldly than before, and to experiment in ways that do not conform to traditional administrative theory. This book offers a wealth of insights into the way firms can increase their flexibility. It is based on extensive interviews with practitioners and supported by many longitudinal case studies on flexibility improvement within large corporations. The author provides a strategic framework which explains what types of flexibility are effective under different organizational conditions and environmental characteristics. He also demonstrates an integrated method for diagnosing a firm's flexibility and for guiding the transition to greater flexibility and responsiveness.

Author : Alex J. Wood
Publisher : Cornell University Press
ISBN 13 : 1501748904
Total Pages : 191 pages
Book Rating : 4.05/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Despotism on Demand written by Alex J. Wood and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2020-05-15 with total page 191 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despotism on Demand draws attention to the impact of flexible scheduling on managerial power and workplace control. When we understand paid work as a power relationship, argues Alex J. Wood, we see how the spread of precarious scheduling constitutes flexible despotism; a novel regime of control within the workplace. Wood believes that flexible despotism represents a new domain of inequality, in which the postindustrial working class increasingly suffers a scheduling nightmare. By investigating two of the largest retailers in the world he uncovers how control in the contemporary "flexible firm" is achieved through the insidious combination of "flexible discipline" and "schedule gifts." Flexible discipline provides managers with an arbitrary means by which to punish workers, but flexible scheduling also requires workers to actively win favor with managers in order to receive "schedule gifts": more or better hours. Wood concludes that the centrality of precarious scheduling to control means that for those at the bottom of the postindustrial labor market the future of work will increasingly be one of flexible despotism.

Author : Mario Franco
Publisher : BoD – Books on Demand
ISBN 13 : 9535139339
Total Pages : 134 pages
Book Rating : 4.31/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Positive and Negative Aspects of Outsourcing written by Mario Franco and published by BoD – Books on Demand. This book was released on 2018-03-21 with total page 134 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Outsourcing has been seen as a phenomenon allowing competitive advantages for organizations, but some studies do not include the causes and consequences of this particular strategy. Consequently, the objective of this book is to fill this gap by combining several studies from different perspectives. The various chapters presented here follow several approaches, which researchers explore in different contexts. This book intends, therefore, to add to the body of knowledge about outsourcing. Furthermore, it shows how the outsourcing strategy can stimulate organizations' development in various countries and regions worldwide.

Author : Julian Birkinshaw
Publisher : OUP Oxford
ISBN 13 : 0191584061
Total Pages : 250 pages
Book Rating : 4.60/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Flexible Firm written by Julian Birkinshaw and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2000-03-16 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The pace of change in the business world is becoming faster. This book provides a detailed account of the network-like organization forms that some firms are adopting to make themselves more flexible and responsive to changing technologies and customer demands. As these organizations become more pervasive, the winners will be those firms that develop the specific capabilities that are needed to thrive in a networked world. Paradoxically, such capabilities are developed not only at the firm level, but also in the relationships the firm has with its external network and in the operating units within the firm. This perspective has implications for the 'resource-based view of the firm' in the field of strategic management, suggesting that the development of capabilities is a more complex and multi-level process than was traditionally thought. This book brings together eleven chapters, each focusing on a particular aspect of capability development in the networked firm. It is based on research in five big Swedish firms (Ericsson, Volvo, Skandia, Pharmacia & Upjohn, SE Banken) as well as a number of other well-known firms such as HP and ABB. The book will be essential reading for advanced students in strategy and international business wanting to keep abreast of current thinking and company practices.

Author : Ken Blanchard
Publisher : Harper Collins
ISBN 13 : 068815428X
Total Pages : 216 pages
Book Rating : 4.88/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Gung Ho! written by Ken Blanchard and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 1997-10-08 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles, co-authors of the New York Times business bestseller Raving Fans, are back with Gung Ho! Here is an invaluable management tool that outlines foolproof ways to increase productivity by fostering excellent morale in the workplace. It is a must-read for everyone who wants to stay on top in today's ultra-competitive business world. Raving Fans taught managers how to turn customers into full-fledged fans. Now, Gung Ho! brings the same magic to employees. Through the inspirational story of business leaders Peggy Sinclair and Andy Longclaw, Blanchard and Bowles reveal the secret of Gung Ho--a revolutionary technique to boost enthusiasm and performance and usher in astonishing results for any organization. The three principles of Gung Ho are: The Spirit of the Squirrel The Way of the Beaver The Gift of the Goose These three cornerstones of Gung Ho are surprisingly simple and yet amazingly powerful. Whether your organization consists of one or is listed in the Fortune 500, this book ensures Gung Ho employees committed to success. Gung Ho! also includes a clear game plan with a step-by-step outline for instituting these groundbreaking ideas. Destined to become a classic, Gung Ho! is a rare and wonderful business book that is packed with invaluable information as well as a compelling, page-turning story. Management legend Ken Blanchard and master entrepreneur Sheldon Bowles are back with Gung Ho!, revealing a surefire way to boost employee enthusiasm, productivity, and performance and usher in astonishing results for any organization. Raving Fans brilliantly schooled managers on how to turn customers into raving fans. Gung Ho! now brings the same magic to employees. Here is the story of how two managers saved a failing company and turned in record profits with record productivity. The three core ideas of Gung Ho! are surprisingly simple: worthwhile work guided by goals and values; putting workers in control of their production; and cheering one another on. Their principles are so powerful that business leaders, reviewing the manuscript for Ken and Sheldon, have written to say, "Sorry. Ignored instructions. Have photocopied for everyone. I promise to buy books, but can't wait. We need now!" Like Raving Fans, Gung Ho! delivers.

Author : Julian Birkinshaw
Publisher : Oxford University Press on Demand
ISBN 13 : 9780199248551
Total Pages : 230 pages
Book Rating : 4.59/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Flexible Firm written by Julian Birkinshaw and published by Oxford University Press on Demand. This book was released on 2000 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The pace of change in the business world is becoming faster. This book provides a detailed account of the network-like organizational forms that some firms are adopting to make themselves more flexible and responsive to changing technologies and customer demands. As these organizations become more pervasive, the winners will be those firms that develop the specific capabilities that are needed to thrive in a networked world. Paradoxically, such capabilities are developed not only at the firm level, but also in the relationships the firm has with its external network and in the operating units within the firm. This perspective has implications for the 'resource-based view of the firm' in the field of strategic management, suggesting that the development of capabilities is a more complex and multi-level process than was traditionally thought. This book brings together eleven chapters, each focusing on a particular aspect of capability development in the networked firm. It isbased on research in five big Swedish firms (Ericsson, Volvo, Skandia, Pharmacia and Upjohn, SE Banken) as well as a number of other well-known firms such as HP and ABB. The book will be essential reading for advanced students in strategy and international business wanting to keep abreast of current thinking and company practices.

Author : Andy Lake
Publisher : CRC Press
ISBN 13 : 1317054210
Total Pages : 407 pages
Book Rating : 4.14/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Smart Flexibility written by Andy Lake and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2016-04-01 with total page 407 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Smart Flexibility: Moving Smart and Flexible Working from Theory to Practice is an engaging and practical management book to help organisations implement Smart Working, and take a business-focused approach to ’Flexible Working’. Written for managers at the leading edge of change, Andy Lake takes a strategic, comprehensive and integrated approach to Smart and Flexible Working. Taking an evidence-based approach, he sets out how to achieve measurable benefits across the Triple Bottom Line. Starting from the underlying principles and the compelling context for change, he takes a pragmatic approach to delivering change in each of the key areas of People (HR), Property and Technology. The book is designed to help professionals understand the vital connecting points across disciplines as well as innovations in their own fields. And there are separate chapters that look at the real impacts for sustainability, the impacts for ’Smart Government’, how to manage the ’Anywhere Anytime Team’ and how to take people on the journey towards a Smart Flexibility organisational culture. The book includes many insights based on the author’s experience and the latest research, many practical techniques for implementing change plus ten new case studies. Smart Flexibility is essential reading for anyone involved in workplace change and increasing the efficiency of organisations. It is aimed at managers who need to deliver change, and will be of great interest to consultants in the fields of workplace design, new technologies and HR/OD/Training.

Author : John Atkinson
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 44 pages
Book Rating : 4.68/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Flexibility, Uncertainty and Manpower Management written by John Atkinson and published by . This book was released on 1985 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Based on research conducted in 1983.