07 August 2008
The Americans and the Japanese decided to engage in a competitive boat race.Both teams practiced hard and long to reach their peak performance.On the big day they felt ready. The Japanese won by a mile. Afterward, theAmerican team was discouraged by the loss. Morale sagged. Corporate managementdecided that the reason for the crushing defeat had to be found, so a consultingfirm was hired to investigate the problem and recommended corrective action.The consultant's finding: The Japanese team had eight people rowing and oneperson steering; the American team had one person rowing and eight peoplesteering.After a year of study and millions spent analyzing the problem, theconsultant firm concluded that too many people were steering and not enough wererowing on the American team.So as race day neared again the following year, the American team'smanagement structure was completely reorganized. The new structure: foursteering managers, three area steering managers and a new performance reviewsystem for the person rowing the boat to provide work incentive.The next year, the Japanese won by two miles. Humiliated, the Americancorporation laid off the rower for poor performance and gave the managers abonus for discovering the problem."
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