The Hindu Business Line : Beyond profit, there's value in transformations

"L&T has more than 8,000 employees on its rolls. In a business oriented towards contract engineering projects, where on an average day almost 100 employees at all levels must move to a new project location, attracting and retaining human talent is a major challenge... The hallmark of L&T's employee welfare system is medical services."

This is just one of the many examples that fill Transformative Organisations: A Global Perspective, edited by Vipin Gupta, and compiling contributions from 44 experts. "A transformative organisation is one that focuses on the enrichment and development of the value of modern corporation that can be shared with people around the world," explains the book.

L&T's `transformative model' has earned ISO certification and is a national benchmark "in the new era knowledge management." Read also about: Metamorphosis at India Post, internationalisation of small-scale enterprise networks, performance drivers of corporate restructuring in Korea, 7-P model of Chinese managerial behaviour, integrated theory of Japanese management geography, change intervention lessons from Argentina, multinational ethical capability, and so forth. A useful read that has the power to transform organisations.

Skill test your leader

THIRD edition of Leadership: Theory and Practice by Peter G. Northouse has a new chapter on `skills approach' talking about technical, human, and conceptual skills. Another approach talks of attributes, competencies, and outcomes. Three components, again, of competencies are skills of problem-solving, social judgment, and knowledge. Social judgment depends on perspective taking (that is, "understanding the attitudes that others have towards a particular problem or solution"); social perceptiveness (or "having insight and awareness into how others within the organisation function"); and social performance (that shows as coaching skills, and support). Knowledge is power, for leaders with knowledge "know much about the products, the tasks, people, organisation, and all the different ways these elements are related to each other." Get lead by Northouse.

For a place on the planet

A TWENTY-FIRST century primer for brand-building is Joseph Fernandez's Corporate Communications. This calls for "a visionary look at the business's future," says the author, urging to look for "a presence on the planet". As a corporate communicator, your initiative begins with "the premise that you can make a difference to your organisation". Audience is both internal and external. Internal audiences need to have "a pride of association with their corporate organisation," while those external are central to "the future growth of the organisation".

On investor relations, the book praises what Reliance did in the late 1970s. "At company meetings every year, investors come out, all charged-up with enthusiasm and loyalty for a company whose growth they feel personally responsible for," adds Fernandez. Will that last after the brothers are up in arms? One may have to look at how the Reliance communication engine handles the crisis. Perhaps, the book can help them in their travails.

Appraisals are static

IF YOU are searching for HR tools for global competitiveness, try T.V. Rao's Performance Management and Appraisal Systems. But what is performance? It is "what is expected to be delivered by an individual or a set of individuals within a timeframe." Performance has many dimensions, says Rao. These are: output, input, time, focus, quality, and cost. There are also `some neglected dimensions' such as dyadic performance, because "the two-person (or dyad) performance is also performance".

Performance management is continuous while appraisals are static, Rao points out. You'd learn about KPAs or key performance areas; these help in reducing subjectivity. Then, there are the KRAs or key result areas. Rao discusses an important area, `potential appraisal' that goes beyond the annual routine of performance appraisal. Check why your organisation doesn't have an assessment centre — defined as "a comprehensive, standardised procedure in which multiple assessment techniques such as situational exercises and job simulation are used to evaluate individual employees for a variety of decisions." Good read.

A dozen drivers for SCM highway

SCM is a source of competitive advantage, according to John T. Mentzer's Fundamentals of Supply Chain Management. He identifies `twelve drivers' to help you take the SCM highway. These are: Coordinate the traditional business functions. Collaborate with supply chain partners on non-core competency functions. Look for supply chain synergies. Not all customers are created equal. Identify and manage the supply chain flow cycles. Managed demand (not just forecast) in the supply chain. Substitute information for assets. Systems are templates to be laid over processes. Not all products are created equal. Make yourself easy to do business with. Do not let tactics overshadow strategies. And, align your supply chain strategies and reward structures. Drive yourself to where there is supply of this SCM briefing.

Strategy down-to-earth

FRAN Ackermann and his team have brought out a `step-by-step guide' on The Practice of Making Strategy. It packs tools and techniques "developed and tested through over 200 strategy interventions in a wide range of organisations." The book, therefore, focuses on the realities, rather than taking a 20,000-feet high view of things.

Many strategic planning efforts come to nought because of two reasons, state the authors: Not directly involving the power brokers but relying on support staff; and taking an idealised view of the organisation and what it can achieve.

If senior managers devote time and energy to avoiding `possible future disasters', pursuing their own ambitions, and safeguarding reputations, without giving attention to strategy, planning becomes "an annual rain dance of no practical import". Worth getting your feet wet in strategy with this guide.

Books courtesy: Response Books (www.indiasage.com)

Tailpiece

"Do you know the difference between brother and bother?"

"Is there any difference?"

ReadingRoom@TheHindu.co.in

D. Murali

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