radical management — Beacons

Outsourcing and Offshoring in the Asian Century

The framework to take the decision to outsource elements of your organisation's operations has changed in the 21st century. The long-term consequences of outsourcing without considering the very foundations of organisations are becoming more apparent. The real problem with outsourcing is “fracturing”, the splitting of what should be integrated parts of the organisation.

The theory of organisations, management and leadership

Drucker made it clear that leaders, managers, academics and researchers in the fields of organisations, management, communication and change need to challenge the very foundations and assumptions of their work. Roddick said "we went looking for employees, but people turned up instead." The starting points for all organisations are people and values.

Challenging the Unkind Cuts

Budget cuts, especially when they relate to labour cuts, have dramatically unkind impacts on the people in your organisation, their morale, the ability to get the work done. They result in long-term hardship to your people (or former people in the case of labour cuts) and their families, as well as having a broader impact on customers and communities. History tells us that budget cuts are often the beginning of the end for companies, leading to eventual closure, takeover or liquidation.

Measure to succeed, not to do

Organisations should be measuring achievement. Are we reaching our goals, are we moving forward, are we still innovating and delighting our clients. We don’t have the resources and the time to spend on measuring everything we do.

When "Money Talks" = The Failure Spiral

Various Australian governments, by allowing money to talk so loudly, have put themselves into a spiral where this same pattern is repeated over and over. And each time the pattern is repeated, the cost of fixing it becomes higher and higher. Also each time, it is our values, our lives and the futures we are trying to create that are diminished.

Who makes a good senior management team

There are options for the structure and make-up of senior management teams, which include: * Alignment to the strategic plan * Multiple teams to cover varying leadership areas, with some consistent members on each * Selection based on leadership skills and alignment to corporate values, not just departmental management * Including external people on your management team