A C T A U N I V E R S I T A T I S L О O ľ I t « 5 ! S FOLIA OECONOMICA 99, 1989 ____________
I. OGÓLNE PROBLEMY ORGANIZACJI
I ZARZĄDZANIA
P h i l i p p e Hermel
EVOLUTION OF THE APPROACHES TO MANAGEMENT IN FREUCH COMPANIES AND CORPORATIONS
A I n t r o d u c t i o n
The is su e s o i the y e a r l y r e s e a rc h i n t o the c o m p e titiv e n e s s of twenty-two i n d u s t r i a l w e d c o u n t r i e s c a r r i e d out by the World Economic Forum in Geneva in 1986 show t h a t the r a c e f o r c om p eti t i o n Fra n ce i s alm ost l a s t , j u s t ahead of I r e l a n d , i . e . in sixte enth pi a c e * .
T h e re fo re , fre n c h companies and c o r p o r a t i o n s today f in d them s e l v e s in a t i g h t s p o t. The f a s t , complex e v o l u t i o n of t h e i r l o c a l , n a t i o n a l ana i n t e r n a t io n a le n v ir o n m e n ts makes up a s e r i e s of h i r d c h a lle n g e s in view of t h e i r methods of management, a l l the я эге so s in c e France i s not one of the s tro n g n a t io n s in terms of development.
Consequently what development s t r a t e g i e s can French companies and c o r p o r a t io n s adept?
H e n c e fo rth , i t would seem q u it e p o i n t l e s s t r y i n g to make use of the t r i c k s of the tra d e by s e t t i n g about one s i n g l e g iv e n v a
r i a b l e . The company and c o r p o r a t i o n managers a re o f t e n f u l l y awa re of t h i s , which g e n e ra te s q u i t e u n d e rs tan d a b le c o n fu s io n among the m anagerial s t a f f .
* Or, I n s t y t u t E n t r e p r i s e e t P e r s o n e l , k ie r o w n ik C en tre de R e c h e r c h e - I n t e r v e n t i o n en Management, Lyon, F r a n c j a .
* European Management Forum: Rapport sur l a c o n p é ti t iv i t é in dustrielle internationale, Econonica, P a r i s 1986.
Hence, new approaches to management are implemented, sought a f t e r or tailor-m ad e in order to deal w ith new e n viron m en tal de mands. B e s i d e s , a l l c o r p o r a t i o n s з ее т to be im p l i c a t e d in t h i s
im perious quest f o r new t a c t i c s , whether they are i n d u s t r i a l or commercial co n c e rn s , non-commercial o r g a n i z a t i o n s , c i v i l a d m in i s t r a t i o n s , and so f o r t h . . . They a l l f e e l the need to modernize
t h e i r i n t e r n a l s t r u c t u r e s or e x t e r n a l p o l i c i e s , even though i t may make i t s e l f f e l t in d i f f e r e n t ways, in view nf t h e i r d i f f e r e n t v o c a t i o n s . That i s the reason why fundamental tre n d s emerge in the methods of company and c o r p o r a t i o n management, w it h how e v e r o c c a s io n a l e r r a t i c stammering or d e s u l t o r y speech.
B. Hew f e a t u r e s of management c o n c e p tio n s and a p p l i c a t i o n s
Although i t i s commonplace to a s s e r t t h a t the w orld i s s h i f t i n g and e v e r y t h i n g i s g e t t i n g d i f f e r e n t , One must admit that companies gnd c o r p o r a t i o n s are a t g r i p s w ith the c o n s ta n t e v o l u t i o n in trends which f o r c c s them to adapt.
1. E n v iro n m e n ta l e v o l u t i o n
E n v iro n m e n ta l tre n d s in c o r p o r a t i o n s are o b v i o u s l y i n t e r l i n ked, To be c l e a r , we have put* them f i v e mam h ea d in g s:
- the s o - c a l l e d p s y c h o l o g y c a l t r e n d s , p e r t a i n i n g to can a hopes ( e . g . the q u a l i t y of l i f e ) o r i g i n a t i n g more p a r t i c u l a r l y from the in c r e a s e in e f f i c i e n c y , in l e v e l s of e d u c a t io n and stan dard of l i v i n g , and o f t e n g i v i n g п з е to i n d i v i d u a l i s t i c i d e o l o g i e s 2 ;
- c u i t u r a l t re n d s l in k e d to the development of knowledge, ex changes and meuia, and r e s u l t i n g in an a l t e r n a t i o n of t r a d i t i o n a l s t a n t iir d s and m e n t a l i t i e s ( d e c l i n e in the n o t io n of "duty* or the
2 H. M e n d r a a , M. F o r s e , Le changement s o c i a l , Armand C o l i n C o l l e c t i o n , 1983.
m o t i v a t i o n of economic s a f e t y , as oposed to a r i s e in the s ea rch f o r p l e a s u r e and m o t i v a t i o n of i n d i v i d u a l e x p r e s s i o n 5 ;
- s o c i o l o g i c a l t r e n d s , r e s u l t i n g in an e v o l u t i o n of the norms and ways of l i f e , a s p l i t t i n g - u p of t r a d i t i o n a l f i e l d s of a c t i v i t y ( t h e m u l t i n a t i o n a l phenomenon, exchanges between i n d i v i d u a l s , s o c i a l groups and s t a t e s which a re more and more developed and t a n g l e d ) ;
- t e c h n o l o g i c a l t re n d s w it h the advent of computing, the t e c h n iq u e s of r o b o t i z a t i o n , o f f i c e work and t e l e t r a n s m i s s i o n , as w e l l as C om puter-A ssisted Oesign and M a n u fa c tu re * : tho p r e s e n t tim es a r e , t h e r e f o r e , r e f e r r e d tu by some as "tim e s of g r e a t t e c h n o l o g i c a l t u r b u l e n c e “5 i n q u a n t i t y as w e l l аз in q u a l i t y , to euch an e x te n t t h a t a number of companies a l r e a d y refle ct upon what the " f a c t o r y of the f u t u r e " w i l l beb -,
- economic tre n d s born of t a k e o v e r s and amalgamations and the d ra m a tic In c r e a s e in i n t e r n a t i o n a l im b a la n c e 7 w hich, moreo v e r c o n s t i t u t e 3lgns of a g e n e r a l c r i o i s , because they c a s t rtoubt upon the v e ry fo u n d a tio n s of post-war world growth and r e s u l t in barxous d i s t u r b a n c e s in the companies' e nviron m en t.
The companies' environm ent ( o r r a t h e r the environm ents both i n t e r n a l and e x t e r n a l ) a r e , t h e r e f o r e , undergoing a number of a l t e r a t i o n s . Moroover, as the cor.iptny i s acknowledged as an "open sys tem ", change from the o u t s i d e can but spread to the i n s i d e .
5 A. d e V u J p i a n, Changement s o c i o - c u l t u r e l e t d é m o c r a t i e , " F u t u r i b l e s " , novembre 1984,
4 G. C a i r e, F i l i é r e s é l e c t r i q u e s e t re c h e rc h e s o c i a l e - probléme de méthode, “ Recherche Economique e t S o c i a l e . La Documentation F r a n ę a i s e " 1983.
J J . M o r i n , L e x c e l l e n c e t e c h n o l o g i q u e , éd. 3. P i- c o 1 1 e c , P u b l i - U n i o n , P a r i s 1985.
Ŕ J . Le 0 u e m e n t , L u s in e du f u t u r p ro c h e; s t r a t e g i e s i n t e r n a t i o n a l e s d a u t o m a t i s a t i o n , Hermes/ADI, 1983.
7 t e Huméro S p é c i a l de l a Revue d Economie I n d u s t r i e l l e “ (1980, no 14) e t notamment 1 a r t i c l e de J . M i s t r a 1, D i v i s i o n I n t e r n a t i o n a l e du t r a v a i l : Q u e ll e c r i s e ?
The company з development р г о с е з з , being dynam ical by nature, has, t h e r e f o r e , I n e v i t a b l y e v o lv e d over the y e a rs and i s today going through profound m u ta tio n s . These a l t e r n a t i o n s ere f*»lt w it h i n the management i t s e l f due to the new c h a l le n g e s w ith which the companies and c o r p o r a t io n s are f a c e d , and to the in c r e a s in g c o m p le xity of the phenomena su rro u n d in g or a f f e c * i n Q them.
2. The new c h a l le n g e s
The Fren ch'com p anies and c o r p o r a t i o n s are o b v io u s ly not the on ly ones to be faced w ith those c h a l l e n g e s ; however, the l a t t e r seem to have been taken in t o c o n s i d e r a t i o n sooner in some coun t r i e s such as the U n ite d S t a t e s or Ja p a n , who nowadays ore taken by French o b s e rve rs 05 e i t h o r models, or counter-mono].1.
B e s id e s , we a-e sometimes s h a r p ly and d i r c c t l y c h a l le n g e d by f o r e ig n le a d e r s such ar. in P r e s i d « n t Konoeu'te M a t s u s h i t a ' s " c o n f i d e n t i a l " statem ent issu e d in many French media for c v pt two y e ars : We s h a l l win and the West s h a l l I'js e £ . . . ] your c o r p o r a t i o n s are T a y lo r ie n but w o r s e s t U l , your heads are toe What I s Im p lie d by these s tro n g messages? £)oubtless, the « * i- s te n c e of s e v e r a l s t r u c t u r a l , s t r a t e g i e and s o c i a l challonties for c o r p o r a t i o n s .
Today, French companies j u s t l i 4 e the American ones have to take up these new c h a l l e n g e s which may be g a th e re d under t h r e e headings^:
- a s t r u c t u r a l c h a l le n g e in o r d « r to escape f r o * t e c h n o c r a t i c b u re a u c ra c y ;
- a, c h a l le n g e to improve the powers of d e c i s i o n , to be a b le to a n t i c i p a t e and a d a p t;
- a s t r a t e g i c a l ch allen g e by improving in te g ra tio n of staff, ma
nagement. ■ 8 1 Л ' Ü 0 s n a y ' T a y l o r , c * e s t í l n i . . . " , “ Ľ E x p a n s i o n ” , 7-20 decembre 1984, p. 271. 9 л г - ‘ н e г e 1, R. A. T h i e t a r t , E v o l u t i o n s e t d e n s du management s t r a t é g l q u e , document de 1 ' I n s t i t u t E n t r e p r i s e e t P e r s o n n e l, decembre 19B6.
Thus, the p o in t i s to:
- know how to take in t o c o n s id e r a t io n the e x i s t i n g or f u t u re s t r u c t u r e s in ord er to determine the s t r a t e g y ;
- be ab le to develop and v a l o r i z e i n t e r n a l r e s o u r c e s , e s p e c i a l l y by m o b iliz in g i n d i v i d u a l s to o b ta in improved con trib u tion to the c o l l e c t i v e performance;
- I d e n t i f y and implement the s p e c i f i c r o le p la y e d in t h i s f i e l d by the m anagerial s t a f f .
These new c h a lle n g e s then lead the companies and corporations to q u e s tio n a number of t r a d i t i o n a l id eas and p r a c t i c e s in mana gement and s t r a t e g y .
Q u es tio n in g p r a c t i c e s and id e a s in management: f a s h io n or n e c e s s i t y -*
f a s h io n has an i n f l u e n c e upon management: faced w ith the va r io u s problems they hayc to t a c k l e , some companies or c o r p o r a t io n s or e v e n some c o n s u lt a n t s sometimes have a tendency - c a l ic o Jhe pendulum r e a c t i o n - to r e j e c t a l l p r e v io u s p r a c tic e s and go to the e th e r extreme.
"T o m o rro w s t r u t h i s not n e c e s s a r i l y the o p p o s ite o f y e s t e r d a y ' s . . ] One should be ab le not to throw the baby away w i l l the bath w a t e r " 10. As a m atter of f a c t the p r i n c i p l e s of manage ment p r o f i t by e n r ic h i n g the m srlve s r a t h e r than e x c lu d in g p r e v io u s b e n e f i t s . As i t fa c e s new u n c e r t a i n t i e s 3nd demands a r i s in g from the f u t u r e , m arket, custom ers, g e n e ra l environment, o r g a n i z a t i o n and i n t e r n a l c u l t u r e , the management can, t h u s , bene f i t from, and improve the t r a d i t i o n a l te c h n iq u e s to fa c e tomo rrow s w orld .
These t r a d i t i o n a l approaches somewhat r i g i d o r too mechanis t i c need, t h e r e f o r e , both some bending and c o n s i d e r a t i o n of soft v a r i a b l e s such as the s o c i e l o r g a n i z a t i o n of the company of pub l i c s e r v i c e s .
10 H. S e r i e y x, Management: i n , management o u t, " L E x p a n s i o n ", 16 j u i l l e t 1 9 B 6 .
N e v e r t h e l e s s , denying a s t r i c t эг'С) form al manarjcnent would le ad to b l u r r e d , hazardous p r a c t i c e s . T h e re fo re , from now on, form alism and h e u r i s t i c s 11 must be r e c o n c il e d to s t e e r company s t r a t e g y . For that reason t h is s t e e r i n g is c o n s t a n t ly performed by see king the dosage the best adapted to ths c ir c u m s ta n c e s . I t a ls o needs a new approach to the d i r e c t o r s h i p of human resources.
4. The r o l e of human res o u rc e s
In the t r a d i t i o n a l d e f i n i t i o n o f g e n e ra l company p o l i c y , so c i a l p o l i c y g e n e r a l l y p la y s a v e ry l i m i t e d r o l e , to such an e x t e n t , th a t i t sometimes im p lie s the r i s k of p l a i n irvcompa t i bi 1 i - ty between the economic and s o c i a l go a ls of the c o r p o r a t io n .
Today on the other hand, human p o t e n t i a l i s c o n s id e re d wore and raore u ft e n as a source of c o m p e t it iv e advantages of the u t most importance for the c o r p o r a t i o n . Thus, the t a r g e t of the new s o c i a l s t r a t e g i e s no lo ng er l i e s in " c i t h e r s o c i a l peace, or ovftn people s s a t i s f a c t i o n , but in man’ s r o l e in the company as w e ll
12 as in i t s e f f i c i e n c y "
Consequently company management can no lo gger be ta c k le d w ith o u t t a k in g hunan reso u rce s i n t o c o n s id e r a t io n . This is one □í the геазопь why new approaches have appeared in c o r p o r a t i o n s w ith the aim of e x p l a i n i n g the meaning of in d iv id u a lc o m m u n ity convergence and i t s modes of a p p l i c a t i o n , e . g . the "Company P r o j e c t " , " T o t a l Q u a l i t y " , or s ea rch f o r e x c e l l e n c y .
5. The p r i n c i p l e s of e x c e l l e n c y
The e v o l u t i o n of the approaches to managemant i s n o t a b l y f e a tu re d by a r e t u r n to sim ple p r i n c i p l e s - even s i m p i i s t i p a c c o r
11 M. j . A v e n i e r , t e p i l o t a g e s t r a t é g i q u e de l ' e n - t r e p r i s e . T i r e r p a r t i de 1 im prévu, éd. C . N . R . S . , C en tre Ré- g i o n a l de P u b l i c a t i o n s de M a r s e i l l e , 1?Й5, p. 246.
'* R. B o s q u e t , F l a c e des hommes dąns l e f í i c a c i t é de 1 e n t r e p r i s e - document de s yn th é sc э 1 i n t e n t i o n des Q irig e a nts,
ding to some - th a t become the bnoic v a lu e s of the c o r p o r a t io n . I t r e s u l t s i n , s a y, the hunt f o r the "ghost company", l i v i n g p a r a l l e l to the " o f f i c i a l " company in ord e r to r e g u la t e a l l i t s d y s f u n c t i o n s . This b a t t l e a g a in s t waste ( o f tim e , p ro d u c ts , ene rg y, m a t e r i a l , money and so on' is s v n t h n tiz e d i n t o f i v e targets, c a l l e d the " f i v e noes" (no breakdowns, no d e la y s , no f a u lt 's , no s t o c k , no р зр ег) s o n s t ig e s co">p]et»>d by a s i x t h one: “ no u n d e r e s t i m a t i o n " .
O b vio u sly everybody knows th st a lthough ttves« noes a r c out of reach f o r our c o r p o r a t i o n s at least, in tho s h o rt or middl»; run, tney are the t a r g e t to be reached through a c o n s ta n t d yna mism in tho s ea rc h f o r e x c e l l e n c y .
The n o tio n of e x c e lle n c y has been w id e ly put forw ard by Ame r i c a n c o n s u l t a n t s 1* and r e s u l t s in a few k e y - n o tio n s such as " c h c r i s h the c u sto m e r", " m o b i l i z e human r e s o u r c e s " , "kepp on i n n o v a t i n g ” , and r,n on. There was an o u t b u r s t of v e ry c r i t i c a l r e p l i e s to those s i m p l i s t i c id e a s which bear a c l o s e resemblance to "Yaka F ł u c o n " 1^. However, beyond t h i s obviousn ess and to avoid thr pendulum r e a c t i o n n en tio n e d hereabowe, these p r in c ip l e s should d o u b t le s s bo regarded as f l a s h rem in ders used to g a th e r t o g e th e r s c a t t e r e d elements of management.
Then, i t Oecoires n e c e s sa ry to lo c a t e those " m ir a c u l o u s r e c i p e s" w i t h i n the s t r i c t framework of the e v o l u t i o n of management p r a c t i c e s , such as a s t r a t e g i c management.
6. S t r a t e g i c management
l h i r t r a i n of thought c o n s id e r s f i r s t l y th a t no one "manager" ( t a k e n in the sense of a person occupying a post of " r e s p o n s i b i l i t y " in the o r g a n i z a t i o n c h a r t ) i s f u l l y r e s p o n s i b l e f o r mana gement, and c o n v e r s e l y t h a t none i s e n t i r e l y w ith o u t r e s p o n s i b i l i t y in the rtanagement p r o c e s s . Moreover, altho ug h the " i n t e n
-I . P e t e r s , R. W a t e r m a n , l e p r i x de 1 ex c e l l e n c e . Les s e c r e t s des m e i l l e u r e s e n t r e p r i s e s , I n t e r é d i t i o n s , P a r i s 1*83.
C. V. t .e rv e rn , L e v a n g i l e s e lo n 5 a in t- M a c , "Annales des M in a s . G á re r et co n p re n d re “ I96i>, no 2.
t i n n a l p l a n ” prnves n e c e s s a r y , i t i s c e r t a i n l y not s u f f i c i e n t and mu3t be complemented by an a c t u a l im p le m e n ta tio n .
The s t r a t e g i c management process aims at f a c i l i t a t i n g the management of u c o r p o r a t io n and u t i l i z e s s t r a t e g y ta guide i t s a c t i o n s . The process i s an a c t u a l o p e r a tin g system which goes f u r t h e r than the s t r a t e g i c p la n n in g procedure by adding the ne c e s s a r y development of i n t e r n a l a p t it u d e s and c a p a b i l i t i e s which w i l l g iv e the company both the f l e x i b i l i t y and " in v u ln e - r a b i l i l i t y " r e q u i r e d 15. Thus s t r a t e g i c management endeavours to avoid the u n fo rtu n a te consequences of the d is c r e p a n c i e s between the so c a l l e d s t r a t e g i c d e c i s io n s ( i . e . in the t r a d i t i o n a l sense of the word; intended fo r the o u t s id e ) and o r g a n i z a t i o n a l d e c i s io n s (in t e n d e d fo r the i n s i d e ) .
T h e re fo re , the s t r a t e g i c management aims at being i n c l u s i v e and t r i e s to take in to c o n s id e r a t io n the com p lexity of manage ment problems. In f a c t , “ s t r a t e g i c management g u arantees cohe rence between a l l these s t r a t e g i e s a c t u a l l y in c lu d in g a l l " h a r d " and " s o f t " v a r i a b l e s , both i n t e r n a l and e x t e r n a l " 16.
I t may, th u s, be noted t h a t the c o r p o r a t io n s new approaches s t r i v e to meet s e v e r a l req u ire m e n ts;
- the needs of c o - o r d in a t io n between the company’ s main f u n c t i o n s ;
- the im portance of Implementing the s t r a t e g y adopted, the same as f o r a n a l y s i s and f o rm u la tio n ;
- the in d is p e n s a b le c o n s id e r a t i o n of b e h a v io u r a l v a r i a b l e s ; - the n ec e s sa ry c o n n ec tio n between i n t e r n a l and e x t e r n a l e- le m e n ts ;
- the c o n s i d e r a t i o n of the dangers i n v o lv e d in a s i m p l i s t i c management;
- f i n a l l y , the need to s t e e r change r a t h e r than submit to i t .
15 A. C. M a r t i n e t , t e management s t r a t é g i q u e : or g a n i s a t i o n e t p o l i t i q u e , Mac Graw H i l l , New York 1984.
lL M. A. S a i a 3 , Vera une t h é o r ie du management s t r a té g iq u e , "Working paper. I n s t i t u t d ’ A d m in is t r e t io n des Entrepri- ses d A ix - e « - P r o v e n c e " , no 213.
7. S t r a t e g i c s t e e r in g of change in companies and corporations.
The new approach by c o r p o r a t io n s management, c h a r a c t e r iz e d as was seen by attem pts to reach a more comprehensive development,
n
imply c l e v e r l y - s t e e r e d p r a c t i c e s of change Indeed, considering the v a rio u s dimensions of management implies g e n e r a l, i n t e r a c t i v e p rocedures as regards the stages p e r t e i n i n g to a n a l y s i s , p rep a
r a t i o n , im plem entation, v e r i f i c a t i o n , a c t i v a t i o n , a c t u a l i z a t i o n and so on.
Consequently fo r a given c o r p o r a t io n , change may be compared to a d e l i b e r a t e moinmont a chieve d by:
- the c h o ic e of ro u te , - the path a c t u a l l y ta k e n ,-- ch ecking the cou rse .
Ihf* c h o ic e of route r e f e r s to the p r e l i m i n a r y s t r a t e g i c ana l y s i s and more p a r t i c u l a r l y r e s u l t s in a s t r a t e g i c p la n , v i z . : ch o ic e of t a r g e t s , d e f i n i t i o n of in te r m e d ia t e s tag es and ch oice of mean«. W ith in the framework of Jn approach to s t r a t e g i c ma nagement, t h is stag e emphasizes as much tho c h o ic e of a c t i v i t i e s , market im p la n t a t io n s , types of products and te c h n o lo g ie s d e v e l o ped, as tho i d e n t i t y and v o c a t io n of the company, the m o b il i z a t io n of i t s i n t e r n a l r e s o u rc e s , i t s o p e r a t io n a l methods and so f o r t h .
The path a c t u a l l y taken then r e f e r s to the s t r a t e g i c s t e e r in g of these, c h o ic e s , to the f e a t u r e s of the change p r o c e s s , to the f i e l d s of d a i l y a n a l y s i s and a c t i o n , e t c . . . The T o ta l Qua l i t y arid Company P r o j e c t procedures in tro d u c ed h e r e a f t e r are the p o s s i b l e v e c to rs of t h i s p ro g re s s .
F i n a l l y the dynamic, "ex pa3 t " v e r i f i c a t i o n makes i t p o s s i b le to a n a ly s e the course f o l lo w e d , to understand and measure the d e v i a t i o n from the i n i t i a l route and, thu s, to assess the r e l e vance and d e f i c i e n c i e s of the s t e e r i n g . In such and approach, the management of human res o u rc e s has - as was seen - an a s s e n t í a l
1 A. 8 a r t o 1 i , Ph. H e r m e 1, P i l o t e r 1 entre- p r i s e en m uta tio n , line approache s t r a t e g iq u e du changement, ed. c f U r b a n i s a t i o n , P a r i s 1986, p. 259.
p a rt to p la y a s , though the s t r a t e g i c s t e e r i n g of change i s i n d is p e n s a b le in view of en v i rönnent о 1 d i s t u r b a n c e s , i t nonetheless s t r o n g l y depends upon i n t e r n a l s t r u c t u r e s and b e h a v i o u r .
i t i s , t h e r e f o r e , of paramount importance to s t e e r the evo l u t i o n p rocess by means of the a n a l y s i s and a c t i o n m u l t i p l e i n t e r r e l a t e d v a r i a b l e s , whether they be i n t e r n a l or e x t e r n a l . This needs tha compliance w ith two fundament a 1 p r i n c i p l e s of the stra
t e g i c s t e e r i n g of change: c o n tin g e n c y and dosage.
The con ting enc y p r i n c i p l e r e f e r s to the c o n s i d e r a t i o n of pad' c o r p o r a t i o n s s p e c i f i c c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s as w e ll as to the r e f u s a l of ready-made tra d e dodges t h a t c o u ld be adapted to e v e ry c i r cumstance. On the oth er hand, one has to adapt the c o n t e n t s of the a c t i o n s to be implemented to c o n te x tu a l needs and f e a t u r e a , even though the g e n e ra l i t s e l f may remain c o m p a r a tiv e ly s t e a d y .
As f o r the p r i n c i p l e oi do:*age, i t t r i e s to meet the need to manage c e r t a i n obvious c o n t r a d i c t i o n s in a complex, u n s ta b le e n
vironment .
Uosege c o n s i s t s ii»:
- e i t h e r a r b i t r a t i n g (by s t r i k i n g a happy medium): i n d i v i d u a l / c o l l e c t i v i t y , f o r m a l / i n f o r m a l , e t c . ;
- or ( f l e x i b l y ) a l t e r n a t i n g , p a r i c i p a t i o n / d i r e c t i v i t y , ana- l y s i s / a c t i u n , e t c . ;
- or s im u lt a n e o u s l y le a d in g complementary elem ents: proco- d u r e / c c n t e n t s , t a c t i c s / s t r a t e r . y , e t c .
Moreover these s t e e r i n g f a c t o r s prove e s s e n t i a l f o r the Com pany P r o j e c t and To tal Q u a l i t y p ro ce d u re s.
C. T o ta l Q u a l i ty and Company P r o j e c t ! two new Company a_nd_Corpor a t i o n P roced u re s
The companies and c o r p o r a t i o n s seem to be more and more awa re of a l l these s ta k e s and more c r 1езэ begin to e v o lv e towards such managersent p r a c t i c e s . Moreover p u b l i c s e r v i c e s a r e , none t h e l e s s , in v o lv e d i n , nor concerned by, these rew c h a l l e n g e s .
This is p r e c i s e l y the reason why s e v e r a l government departments and o f f i c e s have a l s o , f o r the l a s t few month or y e a r s , boon pon d e rin g upon, and f in d i n g p r a c t i c a l s o lu t i o n s t o , a renewal of t h e i r o p e r a t io n a l methods and p o s i t i o n i n g .
These renewals in v o lv e both t h e i r r e l a t i o n to the e x t e r n a l en vironment - where one can p e r c e iv e new t h r e a t s and o p p o r t u n i t ie s (development of c e r t a i n forms of c o m p e t itio n , p o l i t i c a l and So- c i e t y - r e l a t c d o b l i g a t i o n s and i n c e n t i v e s , e t c . ) - and t h e i r i n
t e r n a l management, which up u n t i l now has o fte n been l i t t l e ex p l o i t e r in the search fo r performance fo r f e a r of l o s in g a p a rt of th»’ i r v o c a t io n as э " P u b l i c S e r v j c e " . Today, n o n e t h e l e s s , cun- p l e m e n t a r i t v between the concepts of "socio-econom ic e f f i c i e n c y " anu " p u b l i c s e r v i c e " i s becoming too obvious not to be taken i n to a c c o u n t. Ih u s , in s p i t e of an apparent sem antic paradox, one can w it n e s s the s p r in g in g up of Company P r o j e c t s in numerous pub l i c o f f i c e s .
C e r t a i n new approaches to performance can a l s o be noted through the c r e a t i o n of " Q u a l i t y C i r c l e s " and o th er even more eonpreher.aive q u a l i t y p r o c e s s e s . I h e r e f o r e , i t would seem i n t e r e s t i n g я» an example to p r e s e n t h e r e a f t e r two types o f p r o cedure that stum to concern a l l forms of c o r p o r a t io n s .
1. Total Q u a l it y procedures
In the e a r l y 8 0 s , Western companies and c o r p o r a t io n s ado pted procedures to improve c o m p e t i t i v i t y by means of a search fo r Q u a l i t y . The n a tio n of To tal Q u a l it y has, th u s, g r a d u a ll y appesred in French management, on American and Japanes l i n e s 10, w ith n o tio n s of To tal Q u a l i t y C o n tro l (TQC) or of Company Wide Q u a l i t y C o n tro l (CtlQC).
Nowadays ana cannot help n o t i c i n g (n ore p a r t i c u l a r l y in F rench companies) э d e f i n i t e c ra z e f o r these T o ta l Q u a l i t y Ap p roa che s, sometimes u n r e s t r a i n e d l y co n s id e re d as the u n i v e r s a l
18 • %
K. I s h i k a w a, Le TQC ou l a q u a l i t e á la japona-i s e , Afnor G e s t io n , 19Й1.
panacea to a l l problems. B u t, p r i o r to these comprehensive s t r a t e g ic p roced ures, a somewhat mofe r e s t r i c t e d O u a l i t y p r a c t i c e , v i z . the Q u a l i t y C i r c l e s , has o fte n been e v o lv e d .
This method of O u a l it y Management has o f t e n led to p o s i t i v e 19
r e s u l t s . More p a r t i c u l a r l y the Q u a l i t y C i r c l e s have been able to p ro vid e r e a l s o l u t i o n s to problem encountered during product m anufacture. For t h i s reason, they may w e ll bo e f f i c i e n t d e v ic e s fo r short-term economic performance, and are acknowledged as such by the companies th a t have ta s t e d them. Moreover, by p u t t in g forward the n otion of q u a l i t y as e v e r y o n e ’ s con cern , they a ls o c o n t r ib u t e to the improvement in r e l a t i o n e and communication within the company.
However, n o tw ith s ta n d in g these a s s e t s , a number nf bounda-20
r i e s and i l l - e f f e c t s may appear in some cqmpanies running qua l i t y c i r c l e s .
They a re , amongst o t h e r s :
- the d is c o n n e c tio n of q u a l i t y c i r c l e s w ith regard to the c o n ten ts of the o p e ra to rs d a i l y t a s k s , which have o th e rw is e un dergone no b a s ic a l t e r n a t i o n ;
- th<3 need fo r the s u p e r v i s o r y s t a f f to p la y я novel p a r t , sometimes h a r d ly com p a tib le w ith the t r a d i t i o n a l o p e r a t in g s y stem in f o r c e ;
- the i m p o s s i b i l i t y to d eal w i t h , or s o l v e , d e sig n problems beyond the Q u a l i t y C i r c l e s (b a d ly c o n c e iv e d t o o l s , p a r t s d i f f i c u l t to assemble, e t c . ) ; , • - d e f i c i e n t p r e v e n t i v e measures as a Q u a l i t y C i r c l e m ainly proves to be a c o n s u l t a t i v e body; - n o n - e x is te n t o v e r a l l a n a l y s i s p r i o r to the s e t t i n g up of g u a l i t y c i r c l e s , more p a r t i c u l a r l y in terras of a p p r o p r i a t e d n e s s , which may lead to s p e c i f i c e r r o r s of r e c o g n i t i o n ;
19
B. M o n t e l l , P. R y o m , C e r c l e s de q u a l i t é e t de p rog res pour une n o u v e lle c o m p e t i t i v i t é , ed. d O r g a n i s a t i o n , P a n s 19B3.
20
3-P. A r n o и х , Ph. H e r ra e 1, C e r c l e s de q y a l i t e e t fonctionnemunt de 1 e n t r e p r i s e . App o rts, l i m j t e s e t e f f e c t s p e r v e r s , " D i r e c t i o n e t G e s t i o n " , novembre/decembre 1985.
- а danger of p r p a ň i z a t i o n e l s c h iz o p h r e n ia when the rem a in der of the o p e r a tin g s y s t e r r e s t s upon t r a d i t i o n a l p r i n c i p l e s of s c i e n t i f i c o r g a n i z a t i o n of la b o u r;
- a d i s c r i m i n a t i o n phenomenon between o p e r a t o r s 3nd the ad vent of an e l i t i s t f e e l i n g t h a t i s l i U e l y to c r e a t e new t e n s io n s and d i f f i c u l t i e s .
T h e r e fo r e , a ltou g h tho d u a l i t y C i r c l e s may prove a f a u l t - r e du cing f a c t o r , they ca ni'ct re s u f f i c i e n t as such in the middle
run. To succeed, эr e s s e n t i a l c o n d it io n would tie 11> i n t e g r a t e them m a m • ť cr">prchr>nsive pr: edure of a c t u a l s t r a t e g i c
ope-'»л . - ■■■•
r a t i o n at a l l l e v e l s on a l l t i e company s main c o n s t i t u e n t s ( s t r u c t u r e s , b e h a v io u r . s t r i t e j i p s ) .
A -stcaicy) oi d u a l i t y in the iense of T o ta l Q u a l i t y (TO) can tfven c o n s t i t u t e t h i s o v e r a l l approach e n a b lin g one to o v e r r i d e » i s t ítf fv :ł o i c i e * found in tiic.se i o la t o d systems known as q u a l i ty c i i c l flu t h a t tho l a t i n r n v c o n tin u e c o n t r i b u t i n g e f f i c i e n t l y tc the search f^r e x c e l l e n c y .
l a orOer to be c v a D y f f e c t i v e , t h i s TQ s t r a t e g y must be ba ses! not or 1 y upon oj'or.-11 ч i req u irem ents o f t e n c a l l e d " p r i n c i p l e s ’*, f.ot a ls o upAO mano;iemer’ t systems which turn them in t o a c t i o n . then, it l i l t p i cannot be con ter.pl a ted as a « e re tra n s p o s i t i o n of Nipponese t r i c k r of the t.r3do, but as s p e c i f i c to our o r g a n iz a t io n s and c u l t u r e s througn c h a n g e - in c lu d in g p ro ce d u re . Tncse p r i n c i p l e s ran fie gath ered unoei four head in g s:
- e x te n d in g Ute n o tio n ->f Q u a l i t y to a l l f i e l d s ( l a r g e l y out s t r i p p i n g the r e s t r i c t i v e framework of a m anufactured prnduct);
- t' v •r a p o l j t i n g the r e l a t i o n “ customer to s u p p l i e r " to a l l f i i n c U e n a l or o p e r a t io n a l r e l a t i o n s h i p s w i t h i n the c o r p o r a t i o n ;
- i f y a rd in g the wage-earner as both s u p p l i e r s t o , and custo mers o f , the c o r p o r a t io n ;
- implement m g follo w -up and a n a l y s i s of the a c t i v i t i e s a t a l l l e v e l s .
Turning the company i n t o a l i v e l y c e n t r e meant to c r e a t e energy ard o p t im a liz e i t s u t i l i z a t i o n , th u s, appears to be ob
' * Ph. H e г m e 1, l ’ approche gocio-economique de lammise en oeuvre s t r a t i g i q u e de 1 e n t r e p r i s e , "Revue F r a n ę a is e de Ge-s t » o n “ , па з 2 .
ta in e d o n ly on c o n d it i o n t h a t one i n v e s t s in a genuine s t r a t e g i c 72
management o i human re s o u rce s , Moreover t h i s c o n c lu s io n seems a ls o to be a p p l i c a b l e to the Company p r o j e c t p roced ure.
2. Company P r o j e c t
The Company P r o j e c t theme has spread at a b r i s k pace throgh- out French c o r p o r a t i o n s and management c i r c l e s . In t^e updated v o c a b u la ry of company management, the Сопрзпу P r o j e c t may be d e f i n e d as en o v e r a l l purpose w i t h i n any one company ( o r c o r p o r a t i o n ) , which aims a t m o b i l i z i n g human re s o u rc e s in one common, g iv e n and unanimously a ccep ted d i r e c t i o n .
The Сотрзпу P r o j e c t endeavours to c r e a t e a common denomina to r between a l l members of 4 c o r p o r a t i o n ; t h i s denominator con s t i t u t e s as i t were the l e i t m o t i v which must be c l e a r l y d e fin e d so as to reach the company s s t r a t e g i c g o a ls more a c c u r a t e l y and w it h g r e a t e r speed.
Indeed the need to develop the companies* o v e r a l l e f f i c i e n c y i s more and more s t r o n g l y f e l t due to the new req u ire m e n ts r e s u l t i n g from c o m p e t i t i v l t y and a d a p t a t io n to environ m en t. This le a d s the companies to r e s o r t to t h e i r main i n t e r n a l m ob ilization f a c t o r , v i z . human r e s o u r c e s . Having re s o u rc e to the Company Pro j e c t may then meet the need to e i t h e r r e b a la n c e or c o u n t e r b a l a n ce the growing p r a c t i c e of d e l e g a t i o n / d e c e n t r a l i z a t i o n at u n i t or dep artm en tal l e v e l of any one company, which i s the g e n e ra l consequence of the need to both in c r e a s e i n t e r n a l f l e x i b i l i t y and come up to the e x p e c t a t i o n s o f t e n v e r y high of these e n t i t i e s аз f a r as autonomy and d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n are concerned. Thus, the Company P r o j e c t may c o n s t i t u t e the "com p en satio n ” , or f e d e r a t i v e element roaking i t p o s s i b l e to a v o id the r i s k of d is p e rs a l and ove r a l l in c o h e r e n c v .
22
,
Ph. H e r m e 1, S t r a t é g i e , changement e t r e s s o u r c e s humaineS: q u e l l e s r e l a t i o n s ? , "Working Paper I n s t i t u t d Admi n i s t r a t i o n des f n t r e p r i s e s d Á ix -e n - P ro v an c e " 1986, no 329.
However, t h i s P r o j e c t fa s h io n r a i s e s the problem oi the means of o t n a i n i g r o o b i l i z a t m n .
I n the fa c e of these problems, an immediate r e f l e x co u ld be to regard th a t f o r m u l a t i n g , s tr e n g t h e n in g and even c r e a t i n g ( i f i t i s p o s s i b l e ' ) 3 company c u l t u r e , would g iv e an o p p o rt u n it y to p l a y up i n d i v i d u a l v a lu e s and to make b e h a v io u rs c o n v e rg e . Ob v i o u s l y , t h i 3 approach would tie s i m p l i s t i c : alth o u g h d i s c u u r s m y on the companies' v a lu e s in the »’ r e j e c t proves n e c e s s a r y , i t la f a r from being s u f f i c i e n t . More p a r t i c u l a r l y , those companies that have n e r e l y attempted to e n l u V ’ tfn t h e i r v o c a t io n and g o a ls by »C 4HS of c l a r i f i c a t i o n of the i r le a d e rs v a lu e s issued in an i n
t e r n a l ’' c h a r t e r ” , seen to have -.-Upped up. In f a c t , though the i n i t i a t i v e ana b a s ic co n te n ts n( the P r o j e c t are to bu answer a b le to the General Management in ord er to be both c r e d i b l e and l e g i t i m a t e as a s t r . it e r j i c v e c t o r , th in P r o j e c t is by no means supposed to be o n e - s i ’!rd,
Thus, : t becomes n e c e s s a ry »o pnv a t t e n t i o n to the v a r i o u s p e r c e p t i o n s , e x p e c t a t i o n s and e x is tiO Q v a l u e s щ the company as э whole, so as то in c o r p o r a t e thrra at tne h i g h e s t l e v e l , and cf>eck t h e i r degree of c o m p a t i b i l i t y w ith the s t r a t e g i c g o a ls . O n l y p ro v id e d t h i s c o n d i t i o n i s f u l f i l l e d can the p r o j e c t he e f f i c i e n t . h a v in g head accepted b y the company in g e n e r a l . Of со ur*>e, the c o r c e p i uf p a r t i c i p a t i o n in drawing up tfié P r o j e c t r e q u i r e s s t r i k i n g a h;.ppy medium. More p a r t i c u l a r l y , a b a la c e has to be found between:
- the r a t i o n a l and e m o t i o n a l , - the c o l l e c t i v e and i n d i v i d u a l ,
- tMe p a r t i c i p a t i o n of each one and the d i r e c t i v i t y of the
helwstnen, .
- s i m p l i c i t y and a m b itio n , - p r o x im it y and u n i v e r s a l i t y , - t a c t i c s and s t r a t e g i c s . . .
I n o th e r words, tne Company P r o j e c t w i l l induce m o b i l i z a t i o n o n ly i f i t is both m ea n ing ful f o r everyon e and s t r a t e g i c a l l y o- r i e n t a t e d fo r the company, lo do so, the p r o j e c t ’ s proposed g o a l s , means and c o u n t e r p a r t s must be c o h e re n t and p l a i n . T h e re f o r e , i t i s to be d e s i r e d t h a t the whole Company P r o j e c t be sub
d i v i d e d i n t o U n it P r o j e c t s . A c t u a l l y , the Company P r o j e c t i t s e l f - from i t s c o n c e p tio n to it r . permanent im plem entation - can hut be a r e a l o v e r a l l p rocess of change i f i t i s to he e f f i c i e n t . I t s v e ry drawing up giveti the o p p o r t u n it y of c r e a t i n g a dynamism, a movement th a t m o b ili z e s the whole company. Then, through the a c
t io n s and e v o l u t i o n s i t in d u ce s, trio Company P r o j e c t i a a t r u l y p r i v i l e g e d v e c t o r of the company s ргосезя and change,
T h e r e fo r e , the v a lu e s d e a l t w i t h , and d is c u s s e d i n , thi?, P r o j e c t a re not to be r e s t r i c t i v e Mlcments to whtch one should n e c e s s a r i l y s u b s c r i b e , and th a t would run the r i s k , in the long run, of " b r e a k in g m o b i li z a t i o n down“ , but have to be understood as "common p r i n c i p l e s of a c t i o n though to engender a b e t t e r
un-2 i d erg ta nd in g and c o - o p e ra t io n "
0
. Conr.lubioitThe Company P r o j e c t and T o ta l Q u a l i t y , thu s, appear to be a b le to c o n s t i t u t e genuine v e c t o r s fo r an o v e r a l l change in a l l forma of companies and c o r p o r a t io n s .
P r o v id e d that a number of p r e c a u tio n s are taken to g e th e r with the s t r i c t methodology a b s o l u t e l y in d is p e n s a b le to t h e i r p r e p a r a t i o n , iropleracntation and a c t i v a t i o n , the^e approaches can, i n deed, h elp s t e e r the n ec e s sa ry e v o l u t i o n of French c o r p o r a t io n s . B e s id e s they bear w itn e s s to a need to e n r ic h the approaches to management and s t r a t e g y in g e n e r a l , in ord er to meet both the p r e s e n t o p e r a tin g requirem ents arm our e n viron m en tal c om p lexi t i e s .
Some s t r a t e g i c m anag erial p r a c t i c e s to g e th e r w ith the current m eth o d o lo g ic a l developments woula appear in such a way to p r o v id e embryonic r e p l i e s t h a t enable companies and c o r p o r a t io n s to take up the c o u n t le s s c h a lle n g e s w ith which they are fac e d .
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M. G r o i i e r , Houveaux modes d o r g a n i s a t i o n . I n s t i tu t de 1 E n t r e p r i s e , 19CS.
P h i l i p p e Herme1
EWOLUCJA PODE .IŚCI A 00 ZARZĄDZANIA WE FRANCUSKICH РЯZEHSIEBIORSTWACH
P r z e d s i ę b i o r s t w a f r a n c u s k i e , bez względu na c h a r a k t e r ich d z i a ł a l n o ś c i , odczuwaj.} potrzebę m o d e rn iz a c ji zarówno wewnętrz nych s t r u k t u r , ja k i zew n ętrzne j s t r a t e g i i , spowodowaną wymaga n ia m i, j a k i e s t w a r z a j ą ew olu cyjn e zmiany w o to c z e n iu .
Nowymi cechan: z a rz ą d z a n ia , będącymi r e z u lta te m tych zmian, według a u t o r a , s j ! o d e j ś c i e od t e c h n o k r a ty c z n e j b i u r o k r a c j i ; sform ułow anie s t r a t e g u d z i a ł a n i a p r z e d s i ę b i o r s t w a ; roz wój i udo3k o n n le m o in d yw id u a ln yc h m ożliw ości d e c y z y jn y c h przy przewid ywaniu i a d a p t a c j i zmian; i n t e g r a c j a k i e r o w n i c z a , dokony wana przez i d e n t y f i k a c j ę i w y k o rz y s t a n ie r ó l odgrywanych przez poszczególnych członków k a d r y ; nowy stosunek do czyn nik a lu d z k ieg o ja k o podstawowego elementu u r z c d s i ę b i a r s t n a ; zarząd z ania s t r a t e g i c z n e przez rozw ój; k i e r o w a n ie zmianami i limo. Autor przed s t a w i * dwie drog i pt'Stopowjf ха unowoczeánia jąnoge . i a r z ij d z a n l e , o- k r e á l a t c ja k o : f e t a l Q u a l i t y P r o c e d u r e s , w którym rozsz erza i odnc.si p o j ę c i e j a k o ś c i na wszyot>,ie’ obszary d z i a ł a l n o ś c i p rz e d s i ę b i o r s t w a oroz Company P r o j e c t - mający na c e lu wewnętrzną m o b i l i z a c j ę zasobów l u d z k i m , w kierun ku r e a l i z a c j i w s p ó ln ie wy
