MIDDLE MANAGEMENT

Middle managers have been seen over the past years as an extra cost and an opponent to change, which lead to their reduction by downsizing and reengineering; and even though they are considered to be restricted to just implementing strategy, this implementation task has greater strategic significance than it has been credited with (Balogun, J., 2003).

However, most of the companies still have middle management in their organization because, by the position it occupies in the company’s hierarchy and its functions, it represents the interface between leadership and execution, ensuring the accomplishment of the vision, mission, strategies and policies of the organization. The success of the change projects generated by the top management together with the financial flow of the company rests on the middle management qualification and abilities.

To give us a real insight on the middle manager matter a representative from the company “Telia Sonera”- Mica Wulff Kamm visited JIBS. This lecture proved to be very useful by providing a practical value added to the research articles on the issue.
One of the article states that if organizations want a middle management group to be responsive, it needs greater sensitivity to how meaning is made in organizations and how to include middle management in that process (Westley, F.T. 1990). The implications were further emphasized by Mica, she herself has been working for the company for eleven years and together with Telia Sonera she has experienced numerous changes, but she have never felt herself performing just the role of “change implementer”, the company has created an environment where she could fulfill her ambitions and self-esteem needs by being the engine of change. Middle managers play active role in the change process of the organization, their actions have also facilitated important organizational outcomes, such as development of new skills and operational continuity (Huy, N.Q 2002).

Based on the insights given by Mica together with the supporting articles, I have made my own assessment of the middle management, perceiving it as ‘the heart of change’, its driving force.

References:

1)Balogun, J., (2003) From Blaming the Middle to Harnessing its Potential: Creating Change Intermediaries, British Journal of Management, vol. 14, 69-83.

2)Huy, N. Q. (2002) Emotional Balancing of Organizational Continuity and Radical Change, Administrative Science Quarterly, 47 (1), 31-69.

3)Kamm W.M., (2008) Guest Lecture Middle Managers : Real Life

4)Westley, F.T. (1990) Middle Managers and Strategy: Micro-Dynamic of Inclusion, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 11 (5), 337-351.

“How to succeed”

“If you feel that you have a winning idea, don't let anyone tell you that you can't succeed. There are plenty of people out there who will put you down, but an entrepreneur has to know how to brush off the nay-sayers and not get discouraged.”

A lot of start-up founders began their businesses while they were still students. Students start businesses with a wide range of motives, generally combining personal ambition and a broader desire to create meaningful impact through a product or service. And here are some features that make them win:

First of all, a fair amount of optimism.

Let’s face it, starting a business is not an easy task to perform. After you have poured all of your money into product development, then running a business with virtually no budget is even tougher. To overcome this potentially troubling reality, entrepreneurs must exercise suspension of disbelief and demonstrate a degree of optimism to take that initial step. I think this is easier to do when you’re a student. You’re more equipped to be optimistic than if you were a corporate old and bored employee. Students are happier people and more capable of the optimism that is required to get started.

Another important trait is higher risk tolerance

When you’re sitting there in class and an idea comes to you, it doesn’t really cost all that much to give things a try. It is so simple at the first glance and this new isn’t competing with a regular paycheck. It’s competing with classes and academic work. Many academic programs don’t consume 100% of the available energy of an entrepreneurially minded student. There’s time left over for starting companies.

And also abstract thinking

Since students are exposed to a big amount of abstract thinking, it may come a little easier to them to think about strategy, competition and how their offering might change the world.

Another good point is applied learning

As a student, it’s often very, very tempting to try and apply some of the concepts learnt in school that are new and exciting, and do something with them. One of the easiest ways to do this is to build a startup that somehow implements or expands on the idea.

Moreover, being a student means having the opportunity to meet different people that can be your potential co-conspirators and collaborators. One of the single largest contributors to startup success is the ability for more than one person to come together and collaborate.

The ambition, creativity and restlessness associated with the insides of a university are now transforming aspiring students into young entrepreneurs - and the impact of these young entrepreneurs in the decades ahead is destined to reach far beyond the gates of the universities where they got their start.

“Doing Business: Male vs Female”

Man and women can change their roles, can compete, can develop skills characteristic for the opposite gender, but still they are too different.

Women want RESPECT while man want MONEY.

Both for men and women their job is the most important life’s objective, but when referring to the job, men and women expectations are divergent.
According to an overview of 7.000 managers and employees, men and women appreciate distinct things at the working place. Male entrepreneurs often place greater weight on economic objectives while female have a greater tendency to consider intrinsic factors such as: as personal enjoyment and the opportunity for self actualization.

What female managers want?
1. to be treated with respect
2. to supervise
3. revenue/benefits
4. an appealing job
5. self-accomplishment
What male managers want?
1. revenue/benefits
2. an appealing job
3. promotion possibility
4. decision-making authority
5. self-accomplishment

A number of studies have also shown that female business owners are likely to have training and experience in fields other than business (Belcourt, Burke and Lee-Gosselin 1991; Fischer, Reuber and Dyke 1993; McGraw and Robichaud 1998; Minniti 2004).
Others (Chaganti 1986; Hisrich and Brush 1984) have highlighted the fact that females have a propensity to perceive their financial skills as being inferior to those of male entrepreneurs, but at the same time, believed themselves to have superior interpersonal skills.

Moreover, when taking into consideration such indicators as sales, number of employees, and net earnings, businesses owned by women show more modest levels of performance than those owned by men. It has been found that female-owned firms are smaller and grow more slowly than businesses owned by males.
For instance, it has been shown that forty-one per cent of positions within the US federal government that command senior levels are held by white men, while only 26 per cent are held by white women. Of the 15,308 positions, an additional 7 per cent are held by african americans, while just 3 per cent are held by Latin. Only 9 per cent roles that directly lead to senior roles are held by women.

Modern society has accustomed us with the female as a negotiator, corporation president or politician. It has also familiarized us with men interested in cosmetics, out-fits, diets and fitness. But anyways, the common mentality sees the woman as a housewife and the man as the one responsible for finances.

References:
http://www.humanresourcesmagazine.com.au/
http://www.financiarul.com/
neumann.hec.ca/chaire.entrepreneuriat/Projets%20en%20cours/GEM/Articles/CCSBE05.doc

"The biggest obstacles to innovation"

Innovation means adapting, adjusting or altering that which already exists for the purpose of adding value.

As Paul M. Cook, founder and CEO of Raychem Corporation, said “one of the biggest obstacles to success is success itself”. A truly innovative company will never stop asking fundamental questions concerning its most successful products and services, such questions as: how can we make it a little better, more sophisticated and what are the ways that might cut the costs. Also, an entrepreneur has to know the market place for his product, understand the customers’ needs and define how easy his product can be reproduced.

Another obstacle is….competitors. Usually, the entrepreneurs are repeating themes and patterns which have been noticed during the past two decades. That is why they have to deliver a demonstrably better product at the same price of the competitors’.

One more reason innovation declines over time in an organization is that the skills required by managers to run a company smoothly are very different from those of an innovative entrepreneur. Innovation is an emotional experience, and you can train people technically, but you can’t teach them curiosity.

As to conclude, innovation capability depends most of all on economic flexibility. The U.S., with its entrepreneurial culture, relaxed labor markets, and free capital flows, continues to be the most innovative economy in the world.

References:

1) The Entrepreneurial Venture, Second Edition by Howard H. Stevenson, Michael J. Roberts, Amar Bhide, William A. Sahlman

2) http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/

"The Recipe for Success"

Behind any success stands an offsAprinAg who grew up with the idea Aof becoming an entrepreneur. However, why there are only few of us that succeed?

From passion to optimism, from leadership to ambition and adaptability an entrepreneur follows his road to accomplishment.

Firstly comes passion…

For me the most eloquent example is Richard Branson, the founder of the mega-brand Virgin. The passion of this entrepreneur arises from his appetite for risk, for a new start.

With around 200 companies in over 30 countries, the Virgin Group has now expanded into leisure, travel, tourism, mobile, broadband, TV, radio, music festivals, finance and health.

Then follows the optimism…

The power of positive thinking would say Jeff Bezos, who follows the motto “each challenge is an opportunity” is the engine of entrepreneurship. Bezos is the man behind the biggest library in the world, beginning with an on-line start-up which he named “Amazon”.

Amazon.com started in July 1995, and in 30 days, with no press, Amazon had sold books in all 50 states and 45 foreign countries. By September, it had sales of $20,000 a week. Even if the end 0f ’90 envisioned a decrease of dot-com businesses, Bezos continued his way with optimism, proving his critics the opposite. Amazon moved into music CDs, videos, toys, electronics and more. When the Internet's stock market bubble burst, Amazon re-structured, and while other dot.com start-ups evaporated, Amazon was posting profits. And, due to Bezos’s positive thinking Amazon.com is now worth 5.7 billion dollars.

Another ingredient is adaptability…

Maybe the most important quality of an entrepreneur is adaptability, which is vital for the growth of a company. A business should be permanently improved, refined and individualized. The founders of Google, Sergey Brin and Larry Page knew how to react to change. Always with a step ahead from its competitors, Google exploits the available resources, becoming the most powerful internet brand.

Leadership…

Any entrepreneur has the attitude of a dreamer, the charisma, a well developed sense of morality, enthusiasm and the capacity to forecast. A good example is Mary Kay Ash, the founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, a company that helps million of women to achieve their dream of having their own business. As an inspirational and motivational leader, Ash has created that attitude of “You can do it”, ranking top 25 most successful entrepreneur of the last 35 years.

The last but not the least is ambition…

At the age of 20, Debbie Fields was a typical housewife, without any experience in business, but she had a recipe of chocolate cookies and a dream to share with others. She opened her store Mrs. Fields in 1977, even though nobody believed in the idea of a business based on selling cookies, but Debbie’s ambition transformed her little shop in a 450 million dollars company.

References:

http://entrepreneur.virgin.com/

http://www.achievement.org/

http://www.angelfire.com/

http://www.evancarmichael.com/Famous-Entrepreneurs/