MANAGEMENT IN CHAOS
- Dr. Othmar Hill
Increasing chances of survival through optimised workflow
Everything was going fine. From time to time the computer, the fax or the phone malfunctioned, but there was an atmosphere of regularity. Business was transacted and money found its way to the cash register. But the quiet life is over. New information technology forces us into new rhythms, workflows and behaviour. Whoever can´t keep up falls by the wayside.
In »Modern Times« reports, we see groups of youths who effortlessly create »start up« companies and earn millions in no time. Directors in their early twenties ignore the concept of hierarchy: their employees can come and go when they wish. (Some prefer to work at 2 a.m. because they feel more creative then.) Here the growing time and performance pressures are simply bypassed. Stuctures are erased without replacement and informal communication is the norm.
This model can only be applied in smaller organizations and also disregards many important factors. The concept reminds one of »management by kindergarden«. The risk that such organizations fail to live up to the hopes of their investors is high.
What does managing in a changing work world actually involve? How do we stop the daily flood of emails from clogging the manager´s mailbox? How do we organize a 24 hour office, where a help-desk and hotline must run all night? Can we dissolve the office concept and solve the problem of the resulting distancing of the employees without video cameras, and where and how (often) should the individual teams meet? How many core competences can a business outsource without damaging itself? That the organigrams are becoming more level is clear, but who allocates the tasks? How does strategic organization function in firms whose employees communicate solely via WAP? How can the team spirit and employee loyalty be retained and enhanced under these circumstances? Question after question and we can only base answers on scarce experience.
One thing is however crystal clear: the operational structuring of almost all companies has to be adapted to new technologies in a very short space of time, has to be made very flexible yet still stringently organized. Desired are more, shorter, and strictly moderated meetings – in person or via internet video conferencing. Job descriptions are to be expanded to action charts. These matrices describe exactly who is responsible for what in which function. In this way the borders between individual competences are clearly defined. Intensive and more frequent employee appraisals with precisely formulated goals make competent distance management possible. Finally the performance rather than the hours worked will decide the salary.
To implement such major organization changes in an acceptable timeframe, there need to be a few essential prerequisites:
> The impulse to implement such changes must come from the management.
> Management itself must deliver guidelines for the whole firm.
> To put management in the position to do this, managers themselves must be capable of using the new technologies. It is simply not enough to be able to send emails and listen to your own mailbox.
> The necessary system analyses should be carried out with a team of supervisors consisting of management and telematics organizers.
> This team is also responsible for the successful implementation of the new logistics.
Harmonized and standardized work flow from the warehouse to the accounting department rapidly reduces costs. The secret of success lies having exactly as much control as required, but to exercise it as little as possible. Conscientious attention to these factors ensures competitiveness, also in this hightech era.
