In May of 2008, the leaders sat together and discussed what the “drivers were for our business”
These leaders used a tool provided by the Global Supply Chain Forum at Ohio State University, yes The Ohio State.
The drivers are:
• Growth, Profitability and Stability
• Customer Service Enhancements
• Asset and Cost Efficiencies
• Market Advantages
Studies indicate this is a pretty solid list.
A culture is based, centered on a set of beliefs and assumptions. At the core of Culture are a few theories Hawthorne and McGregor.
The Hawthorne theory was developed in the 1930’s. At it’s simplest, Hawthorne says ‘things improve if you pay attention/measure them. This is why we measure, why key operating indicators (KOI) are important.
McGregor published his seminal work, “The Human Side of Enterprise” in 1960. In this book McGregor proposed two theories of behavior. Theory X and Y.
X, says the average person dislikes an avoids work, they avoid responsibility and the firm must use threats and punishment to motivate and manage
Y, says people are good, work is a natural state that permits interaction, reward and personal objections. People normally accept and often seek responsibility.
Are we a theory Y company?
How can we practice and use Hawthorne and McGregor to improve our growth, stability and profitability? What role do they play in Customer Service Enhancements; in asset management, cost efficiencies? These tools can help improve the performance of the organization by improving our culture and leadership.
We know that all the contestants in a race compete, yet only one wins. As we tackle 2011, let’s focus on wins.
Two weeks down and we are busy. Historically this time of the year was slow, we where often looking for orders or worse sending folks home early. We are not sluggish today, the released are not dawdling;many projects all are challenging our planning, scheduling and execution skills. Some of these projects seem protracted to secure. Some appear too simple to require we follow our processes; attention to detail is the highest mark of a professional team or individual.
Organizations with great cultures practice Hawthorne and believe in their teammates are” Ys”. Great cultures have a performance management system. It clearly communicates reasonable goals, seeks agreement, understanding; insure they are measurable and time bound.
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