Re-engineering the sense of self: the manager and the management guru

Article Abstract:

Conventional explanations of the enormous popularity of management gurus have centered on the need for managers to find relatively quick and simple solutions to their organizations' complex problems and the gurus' adeptness with marketing technology to promote these solutions. A few writers have also recognized the role that management gurus play in responding to managers' needs to make sense of themselves. Management gurus appeal to the manager' social or externally directed esteem needs by legitimating and celebrating the manager's role in society. The spiritual and charismatic quality of the gurus' work resonates with the manager's personal or internally driven needs by providing a sense of hope and purpose. The relationship between the management guru and manager is further explored with an analysis of the rhetorical techniques employed by the two leaders of the re-engineering movement, Michael Hammer and James Champy. Adopting a dramatistic or dramaturgical perspective, I describe how these writers skillfully manipulate the managers' sense of themselves to provide a compelling rationale for launching or supporting a re-engineering initiative within their organizations. The inherent dramatic appeal of the re-engineering process is an important reason for the movement's phenomenal popularity and, paradoxically, its lack of universal success. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Methods, Self-esteem, Self esteem, Reengineering (Management), Self, Self (Psychology)

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Animating the pioneer versus late entrant debate: an historical case study

Article Abstract:

This paper examines the debate about whether early entrants/pioneers to an industry enjoy long-term advantage over their successors. While most of the research suggests that pioneers are advantaged, there are methodological problems with these studies that tend to enhance the likelihood that pioneers will be found to be more successful. Through a case study of the US animation industry, it is shown that being a late entrant was almost certainly advantageous to some of the companies concerned. The paper explores the reasons why some late entrants prevailed over others and some of the mechanisms that allowed late entrants to overcome pioneers. The factors involved in survival relative to pioneers include the limited protection of patents, complacency, the mobility of staff with expertise in a new technology (in this case cel animation), and the neglected importance of managerial and organizational factors. It is shown that the findings also have implications for the population ecology approach. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Research, Competition (Economics), New business enterprises, Startups

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Proactive versus reactive manager: is the dichotomy realistic?

Article Abstract:

The terms proactive and reactive are frequently used to describe managers. This paper examines the proactive-reactive behaviour patterns of 16 top-level managers and compares their behaviour patterns with conceptual views from the literature. The usefulness of the proactive-reactive dichotomy is evaluated and issues are raised concerning the proactive-reactive label. It is concluded that the dichotomy is overly simplistic for describing complex managerial behaviour and a more complex model is proposed for examining the proactive dimension. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Officials and employees, Behavior, Executives, Behavioral assessment, Interpersonal relations, Executive ability

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