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that can be best understood if thought of as being parts of a pyramid。 （See
Figure 4。8。）
Figure 4。8 The purpose pyramid
Action plans
Key tasks
Objectives
Mission
Start the
planning
process
Derive
from the
planning
process
Vision
A vision is about stretching the organization’s reach beyond its grasp。 Few
now can see how the vision can be achieved； but can see that it would be
great if it could be done。
Organizational Behaviour 145
Microso。。’s vision of a puter in every home； formed when few offices
had one； is one example of a vision that has nearly been reached。 As a
mission statement in 1990 it might have raised a wry smile。 A。。er all； it was
only a few decades before then that IBM had estimated the entire world
demand for its puters as seven！
NASDAQ； the entrepreneurs’ stock market； has as its vision： To build the
world’s first truly global securities market。 ‘A world…wide market of markets
built on a world…wide network of network linking pools of liquidity and
connecting investors from all over the world thus assuring the best possible
price for securities at the lowest possible costs。’ That certainly points to
beyond the horizon envisaged by business today。
Having a vision will make it easier to get employees to buy into a longterm
mitment to a business – they will see that they could have career
opportunities and progression in an organization that knows where it is
going。
Mission
A mission is a direction statement； intended to focus your a。。ention on the
essentials that encapsulate your specific petence（s） in relation to the
market/customers you plan to serve。 First； the mission should be narrow
enough to give direction and guidance to everyone in the business。 This
concentration is the key to business success because it is only by focusing
on specific needs that a small business can differentiate itself from its larger
petitors。 Nothing kills off a business faster than trying to do too many
different things too soon。 Second； the mission should open up a large
enough market to allow the business to grow and realize its potential。 You
can always add a bit on later。
In summary； the mission statement should explain：
。 what business you are in and your purpose；
。 what you want to achieve over the next one to three years； ie your
strategic goal；
。 how； ie your ethics； values and standards。
Above all； mission statements must be realistic； achievable – and brief。
Objectives
The milestones on the way to realizing the vision and mission are measured
by the achievement of business objectives。 These objectives ‘cascade’
through the organization from the top； where they are measures of profit；
through to measures such as output； quality； reject rates； absenteeism and
so forth。
146 The Thirty…Day MBA
Objective se。。ing is a primary process in which clear performance measures
are agreed with every employee。 The achievement of specific objectives is
the ultimate measure of effective leadership。
MANAGEMENT
Leadership and management are not the same thing； but you need both。 A
leader challenges the status quo； while a manager accepts it as a constraint。
A boss usually has to be both a leader and a manager。 Dozens of catchy
titles such as bo。。om…up； top…down； management by objectives and crisis
management have been used to describe the many and various theories as
to how to manage。
Judy Lever and Vivienne Pringle started Blooming Marvellous over 20
years ago when they were both pregnant。 After searching for the kind
of fashionable clothes they used to wear and drawing a blank； they
guessed they had found a gap in the market。 They stated their purpose
and goals as follows：
Arising out of our experiences； we intend to design； make and market
a range of clothes for mothers…to…be that will make them feel they can
still be fashionably dressed。 We aim to serve a niche missed out by
Mothercare； Marks & Spencer； etc； and so bee a significant force
in the mail order fashion for the mothers…to…be market。
We are aiming for a 5 per cent share of this market in the Southeast；
and a 25 per cent return on assets employed within three years of
starting up。 We believe we will need about ￡25；000 start…up capital to
finance stock； a mail order catalogue and an advertising campaign。
They kept on their day jobs and would meet after work every day
at Judy’s house to answer enquiries； send out leaflets and dispatch
products in the post every day。 They outsourced work to a pattern
cutter； a small factory； some fabric suppliers； and eventually a small
distribution centre。 After a year or so of modest sales they felt confident
enough to set up their first business premises – a 1；200 sq ft warehouse
on a business park staffed by four of the women who had been working
in their distribution centre。
The pany now employs 150 people； has 14 shops and has
extended its range to include nursery products； toys； themed bedroom
accessories and a separate brand called Mini Marvellous that caters
for children aged 2–8 years。 Over a third of sales e directly via their
website （bloomingmarvellous。uk）。
Organizational Behaviour 147
American engineer Frederick Winslow Taylor （circa 1911）； who is credited
with coining the phrase ‘time is money’； was one of the pioneers of the
search for the ‘one best way’ to execute such basic managerial functions
as selection； promotion； pensation； training and production。 Taylor
was followed by Henri Fayol （1919）； a successful managing director of a
mining French pany； who developed what he called the 14 Principles
of Management； recognizing that his list was neither exhaustive nor universally
applicable。 He also set out what he saw as the five primary functions
of a manager。 Nearly a decade later； Luther Gulick； an American；
and Lydnall Urwick； a founder of the British management consultancy
profession； expanded Fayol’s list to seven executive management activities
summarized by the acronym POSDCORB：
。 Planning： determine objectives in advance and the methods to achieve
them。
。 Organizing： establish a structure of authority for all work。
。 Staffing： recruit； hire and train workers； maintain favourable working
conditions。
。 Directing： make decisions； issue orders and directives。
。 Coordinating： interrelate all sectors of the organization。
。 Reporting： inform hierarchy through reports； records and inspections。
。 Budgeting： depend on fiscal planning； accounting and control。
By 1973 Canadian academic Henry Mintzberg； now professor of organizations
at INSEAD in France； had further expanded the manager’s tasks
and responsibilities into 10 areas：
1。 Figurehead： performs ceremonial and symbolic duties as head of the
organization。
2。 Leader： fosters a proper work atmosphere and motivates and develops
subordinates。
3。 Liaison： develops and maintains a network of external contacts to
gather information。
4。 Monitor： gathers internal and external information relevant to the
organization。
5。 Disseminator： passes factual and value…based information to
subordinates。
6。 Spokesperson： municates to the outside world on performance and
policies。
7。 Entrepreneur： designs and initiates change in the organization。
8。 Disturbance handler： deals with unexpected events and operational
breakdowns。
9。 Resource allocator： controls and authorizes the use of organizational
resources。
10。 Negotiator： intermediates with other organizations and individuals。
148 The Thirty…Day MBA
All of these a。。empts at formulating an overarching and universal approach
to arriving at a single best definition of the role of management foundered
on the limitations of the information flow from the front line upwards。
Two management theorists； Tom Peters and Nancy Austin； suggest that
managers in effective panies get the information they need by ge。。ing
out of their offices and talking with people – employees； suppliers； other
managers； and customers。 They coined the approach as ‘management by
walking around’； or ‘MBWA’ （Peters and Austin； 1985）。
Today； the view of the role of a manager is best described as being contingent
on the internal and external circumstances they find themselves
in。 Expanded into the rather grandiose title of ‘contingency theory’； its
exponent Fred Fiedler； a business and management psychologist at the
University of Washington； first introduced what he called the contingency
modelling of leadership in 1967。
Management styles and processes
Despite the near…universal acceptance that there are no absolutes in management；
the search for a tool or technique for helping managers understand
and improve on their role as a manager goes on。 These are some of
the more practical of those a。。empts。
The Management Grid
Robert R Blake and Jane Srygley Mouton； who worked together at the
psychology department of the University of Texas during the 1950s and
1960s； developed the ‘Managerial Grid’ as a framework for understanding
managerial styles。 Their grid （see Figure 4。9） had two dimensions； concern
for task and concern for people； with management styles being described
by their position on the grid：
。 Country Club operates on the belief that as long as the people are happy
the results will follow。
。 Produce or Perish states that we are only here to deliver results。 It’s an
authoritarian style that subjugates people and their concerns to ge。。ing
tasks performed at all costs。 This is very much a Theory X （see above）
method of operating。
。 Impoverished Manager is equally disinterested in both output and
people。
。 Team Manager has a parallel concern for people and results。 This is
considered the optimal role。
。 Middle of the Road is an a。。empt to balance the concern for output
with a parallel concern for people。 In promising； neither of the
peting needs is met satisfactorily。 This style can also occur when
a manager alternates between pu。。ing people first at one stage then if
Organizational Behaviour 149
results aren’t ing through swinging the other way： this is known as
the Pendulum approach to management。
Your position on the grid is arrived at by answering a ba。。ery of questions
that can be obtained from Chartwell Learning and Development （
chartwell…learn。uk/teleometrics_instrument/management_leadership_
style）。 Alternatively； download a questionnaire from （leadership…andmotivation…
training/support…files/blake…mouton…questionnaire。pdf）。
Management by objectives
Peter Drucker first described this system in his book； The Practice of Management
（1954）。 Drucker’s proposition was that managers should sidestep
what he called the ‘activity trap’ where managers got involved in the minutiae
of day…to…day activities and set them SMART objectives：
。 Specific – relate to specific tasks and activities； not general statements
about improvements。
。 Measurable – it should be possible to assess whether or not they have
been achieved。
Figure 4。9 The management grid
Concern for task
Concern for people
or Pendulum
（1。9）
Country Club
（1。1）
Impoverished
（9。1）
Produce or Perish
（9。9）
Team
（5。5）
Middle…of…the…road
High
Low High
150 The Thirty…Day MBA
。 A。。ainable – it should be possible for the employee to achieve the
desired oute。
。 Realistic – within the employee’s current or planned…for capability。
。 Timed – to be achieved by a specific date。
Objectives； Drucker claimed； should cascade throughout the organization；
interlocking so that the overall business objectives would be achieved。
Value…based management
The value…based management （VBM） model is the management approach
that goes a stage beyond objectives and introduces the idea that organizations
are run consistently for long…term shareholder value。 That doesn’t mean
ignoring other stakeholder groups。 The three guiding principles of VBM
are：
。 Creating value： actively seeking ways to increase or generate maximum
long… term value。
。 Managing for value： colleagues； customers； munity and shareholders。
。 Measuring value： validating that long…term real value has been created
by using appropriate financial techniques such as discounted cash flow
（see Chapter 2； ‘Investment decisions’）。
Balanced score card
The balanced scorecard （Figure 4。10）； developed by Robert Kaplan and
David Norton and published in a Harvard Business Review article in 1992；
is a management process that sets out to align business activities to the
vision and strategy of the organization； improve internal and external
munications； and monitor organization performance against strategic
goals。 Its uniqueness was to add non…financial performance measures to
traditional financial targets to give managers and directors a more ‘balanced’
view of organizational performance。 Although Kaplan and Norton are
credited with coining the phrase； the idea of a balanced scorecard originated
with General Electric’s work on performance measurement reporting in the
1950s and the work of French process engineers （who created the Tableau de
Bord – literally； a ‘dashboard’ of performance measures） in the early part of
t