In Search of Excellence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

In Search of Excellence - Essay Example They claimed that excellent organizations had created methods that enabled them to strike a balance between the soft-s and hard-s factors achieved in a business. Maintaining and finding an applicable balance in these business factors was a vital issue in making an organization successful. According to Peters and Waterman (1982), then, the modest slippage of commercial America was to be observed as an imbalanced product in the American approaches to organization. They went on to argue that these imbalanced products had advanced in the organization approaches that had begun in America for the period of 1950s and 1960s. According to Peters and Waterman (1982), in the post second world war period, many managers in America were obsessed upon the hard-s business factors; structure, systems and strategy. In addition, the managers had not realized the significance of skill, style, superordinate goals, and staff which were the soft-s business factors needed in breathing life into systems, str uctures and strategies. Peters and Waterman (1982) recommend a more balanced management approach. The approaches considered balanced to business would hinge upon the energy, skills and imagination of managers. They are, therefore, charged with the duty of safeguarding the productive arrangements of the soft-s and hard-s business factors. ... They also stated that these companies would have a culture showing the eight aspects of excellence as shown in their research (Frost, Moore, Louis, Lundberg & Martin, 1985). Peters and Waterman listed the eight aspects of excellence. The first one was a bias for action. Exceptional companies engaged in planning activities that were traditional. However, the traditional activities did not bind the companies from other vital managerial approaches. They went on to argue that an excessive dependence on planning done traditionally and dependence upon the hard analysis of data, delayed decision making in many companies. It also discouraged risk taking. Exceptional companies avoided paralysis by analysis (Peters and Waterman, 1982). This was by evading using committees and refusing to agree that all decisions made have to be supported by hard analysis of data. Instead of using committees, these exceptional companies preserved a bias for action which explains the willingness in trying out in novative ideas and taking risks (Peters and Waterman, 1982). Peters and Waterman (1982) affirmed that the commitment in action was preserved by exceptional companies. This is because the exceptional companies form groups of people who like to experiment and innovate. This trend to action might be compared with approaches being adapted by other companies. These companies form committees that engage in briefs talks on experimentation (Peters and Waterman, 1982). The second aspect of excellence is a company’s in proximity to the customers. The exceptional companies have to improve their strategies, systems, structures and innovation in meeting and exceeding the customers’ expectation. Incase a product or a system did not satisfy the customer, exceptional