... metamorphosis. That’s what transfor-
mation means; a metamorphosis, a change of form or of character; an
alteration of function or of nature.
Something of the kind may occur eventually at companies ... that challenges the idea that you
cannot run large companies unless you standardize behavior and treat
human beings as replaceable parts. It is not applicable in all contexts – it
is...
... company, as we know it, made its first appearance.
Business is natural
Business, trade and industry are manifestations of what Adam Smith
and the French physiocrats saw as “natural economic laws” ... intentionally left blank
20
BUSINESS AT A CROSSROADS
In other words, we are attracted to situations where our fates are not
set in stone and, thus, to relatively “liberal” organizatio...
... self-confident and creative than wage slaves. The second
is the individual who, as a voter, wants a society that is fair as well as free
and, as a worker, yearns for a career that is fulfilling and rewarding ... human avarice, but of the
way hierarchical corporate organizations concentrate power in the hands
of individuals and create a “CEO class” isolated from market disciplines,...
... requirement that the candidates are superstars.
Khurana argues that Alfred Chandler’s “managerial capitalism” (see
Chapter 3) was replaced by what he calls “investor capitalism” in the
late 1 970 s, after ... asset as much as they can. In Searching for a Corpo-
rate Savior (see Chapter 5), Khurana cites an article in a closed circula-
tion journal about attracting favorable comment from...
... decade the dreams of the ancient librarians of Alexandria and
Pergamon have been casually surpassed, and a digital Aleph has snapped
into existence.
What are we to make of this breathtaking achievement?
Make ... signs of abating. New
peaks erupt constantly. What were heights yesterday are depths today,
and may be heights again tomorrow. The landscape is in a state of
constant chaotic...
... argued that corporations had
subjugated people, to maintain consistency and control. Bartlett and
Ghoshal argued that a new corporate form was emerging in which the
organization is subjugated ... neck and transform it into a stellar market
performer. They are much more than change agents. They are, or at any
rate they are billed as, agents of metamorphosis. That’s what transfor-
ma...
... Sumantra Ghoshal,
in assigning a key role to leaders in corporate reformations. She says
that in the democratic enterprise “it is in the creation of a shared purpose
that the role of the leadership ... Restatement, Belknap Press, 2001.
Semco’s steps to democracy
Ricardo Semler’s guru and principal ally in the democratization of Semco was Clóvis
da
S
ilva Bojikian, a radical educ...
... of a small number of proprietors
with a moderate capital approaches very nearly to the nature of a
private co-partnery, and may be capable of nearly the same degree of
vigilance and attention.
He ... organizational innovation in the U.S. railroads, from which
the “divisional line-and-staff” organization emerged as the standard.
The line-and-staff organization adds to the simple line...
...
describe an MuBE. Administrative coordination is less costly than
market coordination, but to capture such savings, an organization needs
a management hierarchy, and if it has a management hierarchy ... “U.”
978 0230_230941_06_cha04.indd 73 09/09/2009 10:01
62 BUSINESS AT A CROSSROADS
this system “financial capitalism,” and saw it as a transitional stage
between “family” and...
... dramatic at the time, was the arrival of a new (to most CEOs
at the time, at any rate) and, it transpired, influential idea about how
companies should be managed. It came to be known as “shareholder ... there is a change of control.
The EESA specifically states that the amounts treated as EESA golden
parachute payments cannot be reduced by amounts deemed reasonable
compensation in...