Management by Values: A New Management Approach

Management theory has developed based upon the success of companies. Through these examples researchers can better understand how successful techniques can be used to improve upon other organization. New techniques may provide a framework for developing companies in a highly competitive international market. The development of Management by Values offers a potential way to view and see organizations.

It is beneficial to understand how these techniques contributed and grow from each other in a natural progression. Starting at Scientific Methodology each method contributed to concepts of administrative approaches, decentralization, strategy orientation, core competencies, innovation, and values. Each technique provided some level of strength at the time they were implement. However as the world environment becomes more complex it is important to continue and develop economic approaches. New methods must be forthcoming.

According to Zhen (2012) the development of thought on modern management techniques has grown throughout the past century:

Management by Scientific Method (1911, Bethlehem by Taylor)

Management by Administration Organization (1916, Fayol)

Management by Decentralization  (1946, Drucker)

Management by Strategy  (1964, Drucker)

Management by Core Competency (1990 NEC vs. GTE)

Management by Innovation and Leadership (2000’s, Apple & Jobs)

Management by Values (Alibaba, 2010).

Management by Values can help to develop stronger and more effective cultures by using values as guiding principles to competitive advantage.  To be a competitive advantage an organizational culture should 1.) contribute to the financial development of the whole; 2.) is unique to other organizational cultures; and 3.) is not easily copied (Barney, 1986). When a culture is developed that works, it will continue to provide benefits as long as it is unique and not adapted by other organizations to achieve the same advantages.

The development of strong organizational culture based in value premises can help hold members together. Through this development, each member has appropriate value assumptions that help in guiding their decisions. Such values become further solidified the more people join the organization and reinforce this value system. Each organization has their own unique approach to the market through their value assumptions.

Guiding organizational values help determine the overall strategic approach. An organizational culture is based upon those root value systems an organization deems as the most important vantage points in order to navigate the economic environment (Zairi and Jarrar, 2011). All decisions are filtered through these values, which create guiding principles for the rest of the organization.

Business leaders can develop strong value systems to guide both their actions as well as those of their employees. Through these value systems, the organization can help guide people to appropriate decisions that further both the groups and the organizations interests. When such value systems are beneficial, and based upon mutual self-interest, they can encourage group navigation through difficult economic times and create a more competitive workplace by aligning individual activities through a cultural lens.

Barney, J. (1986). Organizational Culture: Can it be a Source of Competitive Advantage?. Academy of Management Review, 11(3), 656-665.

Drucker, P. F. (1958). Business Objectives and Survival Needs: Notes on a Discipline of Business Enterprise. The Journal

of Business, 31(2), 81-90.

Zhen, L. (2012). Management by Values: A case study. International Business and Management Vol. 4, ( 2), pp. 75-91

Zairi, M., and Jarrar, Y. (15 July 2011). Impact of Organizational Values on Business Performance. Retrieved February 3, 2013 from http://www.meqa.org/resources/MEQA_report_2

Personal Definition of Leadership

The transformational leader who is passionate about distance learning has an opportunity to be a part of a societal change process.  America and the global community are going through a paradigm shift in regards to public perception of distance learning.  Alone, one person cannot initiate and coordinate a national or global societal change, but individually, a transformational leader can establish a vision, create a passion, and develop a leadership plan.  As I reflect on my own personal leadership plan in the field of distance education, a three-step approach was taken.  Self-reflection, honest feedback, and continual learning were the components that I used in designing my personal leadership plan.

Bennis, leadership author and guru, defined leadership as “the capacity to create a compelling vision and translate it into action and sustain it” (2003, p. 1).  Leadership can be learned.  If one has the desire to be a leader, one can be.  "Like John Kotter, Prof Bennis believes leadership is not necessarily an inborn skill and can be taught ... through personal coaching rather than group training" (Bennis, 2003, p. 1).  Throughout history leaders come to mind that were not born leaders, but learned it through their education, tenacity, and personal effort.  "Abraham Lincoln, Harry S. Truman, Sam Walton of Wal-Mart, and Gen. Ulysses S. Grant" were not born into leadership, but had undying purpose and vision to achieve their goals (Mohr, 2000, p. 76).

With everything, there is a beginning; the vision, passion, and plan must begin somewhere. Blanchard (1999) asserted, “If you don’t take time out to think, strategize, and prioritize, you will work a whole lot harder, without enjoying the benefits of a job smartly done” (p. 25). Considering Blanchard’s words, anyone who desires to be a leader should outline a plan to outline a plan with specific goals.  All one needs is the desire to be a leader.  In fact, no less an authority than Peter Drucker (2001) has placed personal energy at the very forefront of leadership qualities: "Your first and foremost job as a leader is to raise your own energy level and then to help raise and orchestrate the energies of those around you” (Cooper, 2001, para. 1).

Personal Leadership Philosophy

Self-reflection

“Leaders know themselves; they know what they can do well” (Bennis & Goldsmith, 2003, p. 81).  The transformational leader who has completed self-reflection and assessed one’s strengths and weaknesses should next ask people for constructive feedback.  Do not shy away from the good and bad feedback that you might receive.  Avoiding the pain of receiving negative feedback does nothing for your growth.  Be willing to look at your weakness with the potential to create behavioral changes.  Nothing feels better than taking a misstep and turning this into a success. 

Organizations are often hiring leadership coaches.  Typically an organizational leadership coach may work with newly promoted managers to help them be successful.  If one is not available within your organization, seek a professional leadership coach.  "With the help of leadership coaches, leaders gain perspective on the familiar while encountering alternative ways to view self and one's role as a leader" (MacPherson, 2009, p. 46).

Honest Feedback

In terms of being an effective leader, one must seek out honest feedback.  Seek a mentor.  Kelling, Barling, and Helleur (2000) conducted extensive research on the effect of training and constructive feedback on leaders.  "Results suggest that both training and feedback are effective means of changing leadership behaviors" (Kelling, Barling, & Helleur, 2000, p. 145).  After reviewing several leadership coaching websites, the need for feedback to the leader was stressed.  "Eight ways to get honest feedback", "Five proven tips to get honest feedback", and "Honest success" are examples of just a few of these websites.  Bozeman and Feeney (2007) defined mentoring as...

...a process for the informal transmission of knowledge, social capital, and the psychosocial support perceived by the recipient as relevant to work, career, or professional development; mentoring entails informal communication, usually face-to-face and during a sustained period of time, between a person who is perceived to have greater relevant knowledge, wisdom, or experience (the mentor) and a person who is perceived to have less (the protègè). (p. 719)

Continual Learning

Think outside the box, challenge all assumptions, and continually seek new information.  Reading new literature will not be enough, consider innovative changes that may be outside the norm of the organization.  Daniel Pink has looked into the future and considered what it will take to make change happen.  In his book, A Whole New Mind, Pink (2006) addressed six thought processes to generate innovative thinking.  Pink(2006) incorporated both the left and right brain by mastering the six human abilities of design, story, symphony, empathy, play, and meaning.  Using these natural abilities can get you continually learning, planning, and changing.

Fundamental to my personal leadership philosophy are self-reflection, asking people whom one works with for constructive feedback, and continually seeking new information (Bennis & Goldsmith, 2003, pp. 81-82).  Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “No one can make you feel inferior without your permission” (Blanchard, 1999, p. 12).  Struggling with low self-esteem or constant negativity can hinder effective leadership.  Reevaluating the white water that exists in our world, challenge the false assumptions will enable you to overcome any self-doubt.  Norman Vincent Peale believed that one can look at each day in two different ways.  One’s day is either going to be good or bad, so why not look to the good there is in life and seek the positive (Blanchard, 1999).  “As a leader, the most important earthly relationship you can cultivate is your relationship with yourself” (Blanchard, 1999, p. 152).

Conclusion

Rudy Giuliani, former mayor of New York City during the tragedy of September 11, 2001, proposed there were three critical stages of leadership.  “First, you must develop beliefs. Next, you have to communicate them. Finally, you must take action” (Giuliani, p. 80).  A plan will enable you to begin the journey to become a leader.  Having a guide to mentor you along the way is crucial to your success.  “Leadership is not something you do to people. It’s something you do with people” (Blanchard, 1999, p. 140).

Author: Andree C. Swanson, EdD

Bennis, W. (2003, Aug 14). A leader on leadership: GURU GUIDE WARREN BENNIS: The prolific writer argues that trust and openness are key to success, says Morgen Witzel: Financial Times. 

 Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/249595457?accountid=32521

Bennis, W., & Goldsmith, J. (2003). Learning to lead: A workbook on becoming a leader. Cambridge, MA: Basic Books.

Blanchard, K. (1999). The heart of a leader. Tulsa, OK: Honor Books.

Bozeman, B., & Feeney, M. K. (2007). Toward a useful theory of mentoring: A conceptual analysis and critique. Administrative and Society, 39(6),719 - 739.

Cooper, R. K (2001). Excelling under pressure: Increasing your energy for leadership and innovation in a world of stress, change and unprecedented opportunities. Strategy & Leadership, 29(4), 15-20. 

Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/194375461?accountid=32521

Giuliani, R. (2002). Leadership. New York, NY: Hyperion.

Kelling, K., Barling, J., & Helleur, J. (2000). Enhancing transformational leadership: The role of training and feedback. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 21(3), 145-149. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/226914723?accountid=32521

MacPherson, M. (2009). Self-reflection: A primer for leadership coaches. T + D, 63(12), 46-49,6. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/227025166?accountid=32521

Mohr, B. (2000). Leadership - Genetic or learned? PM,76-78. Retrieved from http://www.dau.mil/pubscats/PubsCats/PM/articles00/mohrjf.pdf

Pink, D. (2006). A whole new mind. New York, NY: Riverhead Publishing.

57 Degrees Wine Bar in San Diego

The 57 Degrees Wine Bar, located in Mission Hills, of San Diego provides a relaxing and eclectic environment to search out those wines that suit your fancy.  With over 16,000 square feet of space, it hosts a wine retail store, a wine storage facility, wine bar and numerous events.  At the time of attendance, an art program was underway through one of the local social networks creating a more inviting environment.

 The wine retail section carries both domestic and important wines. The range can be anywhere from under $20 to over a few thousand dollars a bottle. There is lots of variety for those who have various degrees of interest and resources to try out new blends. If you are planning an event and need to store your purchases there is up to 600,000-bottle storage facility for your needs.  

The store also holds a wine club on the 14^th of each month. Membership is $29.95 per month paid on a monthly basis. Members will receive one red wine and one white bottle of wine to try each month. If you are attempting to try different tastes from around the world this may be the type of club you want to join. The club is focused on novice wine tasters that desire to understand the varieties of different wines available on the market. 

 

57 Degrees also hosts an open bar where people can visit and try out the wines available while they browse and shop for their interests. In addition, there are a number of events every month on their website that affords people an opportunity to socialize with others of similar interests and tastes. The store appeared to be clean, well laid out, appropriate levels of light, and eclectic wall art for people to browse and purchase. It appears to have some cultural influence in the area and is a strong location to visit on reoccurring occasions. 

57 Degrees Wine Bar

1735 Hancock Street,

San Diego, CA. 92101

619-234-5757

Website

Monday: 11am to 5pm
Tuesday – Saturday: 11am to 9pm
Sunday: Closed

The Cost of Embedded Group Networks within the Workplace

Workplace groups create their own values over time through social and economic associations that can damage the efficiency and financial viability of any organization. When organizations develop their own group standards, that lay in productive and accurate perceptions, their premises can encourage higher levels of organizational performance. Inappropriately socialized members often develop their own groups which influence the organizational culture and costs of transactions throughout their networks.  Left untouched the groups’ decisions become less logical and more damaging to the financial success of the total organization. It is important for executives to understand how they groups form and the potential wide reaching problems they can create.

It is first beneficial to define what a group is. Groups perceive themselves as belonging to the same social unit (Lawler, Thye, and Yoon 2008). Their place in society is defined by their shared experiences and understandings. To change a group member’s identity and perceived station in life requires the ability to change both self-perception and the members of their social group. This is one of the reasons why a poor organizational culture can be improved by moving employees to new locations and bringing in fresh members with outside perceptions.

When members see themselves as part of a group they begin to view each other as having similar characteristics and traits that bind them together. The group is a method of moderating self-interest and seeking positive perceptions of each other (Ellemers, Spears, and Doosje, 1997). Once initiated into a group, the members begin to view each other as more worthwhile and having more positive traits than those who exist outside the group.  Within an organization, in and out-group mentality can create encampment, hoarding of resources, and influence the financial success of the entire organization through poor decision making.

This can be expected as groups seek to create advantages for their individual members at the exclusion of competing organizational interests. They do this through the formation of a group network that continues to expand throughout the organization. According to Thye, Lawler and Yoon actors a) perceive the network as a group;  and , b) share rewards and resources with each other when opportunities arise (2011).  Such networks will continue to seek additional rewards and resources even at the expense of their employer and society.

Within the group certain behaviors will produce certain reactions and results from participating members. As long as these behaviors continue to produce the expected results the group members will remain entrusted to each other. The actions that become dependent on the response from other members are called social exchanges (Blau 1964). Groups live and breed these social exchanges and common rules of engagement. Outside intervention by managers and investors can be resented creating difficulty and passive resistance to requested changes.

Since such groups have social, as well as economic purposes, they create higher forms of identity the more these needs are gratified. Such relational commitment further solidifies the identity of group members which separates them from other groups (Cook and Emerson, 1984). Each group has their own relational commitment assumptions that help them define their distinct identities and existence. Outsiders may have difficulty understanding the unique set of underlining assumptions the group is using to define their identity and social interaction.

Over time the group becomes so distinct that their identity creates new realities of perceiving the world. According to social constructionists the group eventually uses their assumptions to create “objective” perceptions of the world (Berger and Luckmann 1966).  The person is thus fully embedded in the group and therefore sees their existence from the vantage point of the group assumptions and uses these assumptions to judge others and make strategic decisions. Any management team, new executive, or consulting firm is seen as an outsider attempting to intrude upon the groups identity which damages self-identity. This is one reason why outside intervention is often staunchly opposed.

Such similarity in subjective truth can define “stickiness” in economic decisions that are weighted and judged against societal norms. Independent objective thought becomes more difficult the more people define themselves based upon their distorted group identity. Such relational identities impact both the sociological and economic transactions of the members (Emerson 1981). Having two different economic approaches within an organization can damage that organizational viability through waste and inefficiency that is rooted in inappropriate premises.

At times the group identity can be so far removed from organizational and societal norms that they run counter to these wider expectations. Socially embedded market transactions can defy rational thought and logic (DiMaggio and Louch 1998). Such logic creates their own market influence based upon information sharing and thought patterns of members who interpret environment actions from a skewed lens. Changing the group identity and thought patterns requires exposing them to new people, methods of needs attainment, and ways of thinking.

Group identity can either encourage productive behavior or be destructive by nature. In organizations group identity that is stronger than organizational norms should concern both executives and investors. Such networks continue to expand their influence and waste of organizational resources by financially and socially feeding group members at the expense of more logical choices. It is through the development of strong cultural assumptions and organizational identity that more effective uses of organizational resources can be achieved.

Berger, P. and Luckmann, T. (1966). The Social Construction of Reality. New

York: Doubleday.

Blau, P. (1964). Exchange and Power in Social Life. New York: John Wiley.

DiMaggio, P. and Louch, H. (1998). Socially Embedded Consumer Transactions:

For What Kinds of Purchases Do People Most Often Use Networks? American Sociological Review 63:619–37.

Ellemers, N., Spears, R. and Doosje, B. (1997). Sticking Together or Falling Apart: In-group Identification as a Psychological Determinant of Group Commitment versus Individual Mobility.

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Emerson, R. (1981). Social Exchange Theory. pp. 30–65 in Social Psychology: Sociological Perspectives, edited by M. Rosenberg and R. H. Turner. New

York: Basic Books, Inc.

Cook, K. and Emerson, R. (1978) Power, Equity, and Commitment in Exchange Networks. American Sociological Review 43:721–39.

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Sociological Review 73:519–42.

Thye, S., Lawler, E. & Yoon, J. (2011). The emergence of embedded relations and group formation in networks of competition. Social Psychology Quarterly, 74 (4).