| What really works. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 12858710 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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When it comes to improving business performance, managers have no shortage of tools and techniques to choose from. But what really works? What's critical, and what's optional? Two business professors and a former McKinsey consultant set out to answer those questions. In a ground-breaking, five-year study that involved more than 50 academics and consultants, the authors analyzed 200 management techniques as they were employed by 160 companies over ten years. Their findings at a high level? Business basics really matter. In this article, the authors outline the management practices that are imperative for sustained superior financial performance--their "4+2 formula" for business success. They provide examples of companies that achieved varying degrees of success depending on whether they applied the formula, and they suggest ways that other companies can achieve excellence. The 160 companies in their study--called the Evergreen Project--were divided into 40 quads, each comprising four companies in a narrowly defined industry. Based on its performance between 1986 and 1996, each company in each quad was classified as either a winner (for instance, Dollar General), a loser (Kmart), a climber (Target), or a tumbler (the Limited). Without exception, the companies that outperformed their industry peers excelled in what the authors call the four primary management practices: strategy, execution, culture, and structure. And they supplemented their great skill in those areas with a mastery of any two of four secondary management practices: talent, leadership, innovation, and mergers and partnerships. A company that consistently follows this 4+2 formula has a better than 90% chance of sustaining superior performance, according to the authors. |
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Authors:
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Nitin Nohria; William Joyce; Bruce Roberson |
Publication Detail:
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Type: Journal Article |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Harvard business review Volume: 81 ISSN: 0017-8012 ISO Abbreviation: Harv Bus Rev Publication Date: 2003 Jul |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2003-07-15 Completed Date: 2003-08-07 Revised Date: 2004-11-17 |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 9875796 Medline TA: Harv Bus Rev Country: United States |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 42-52, 116 Citation Subset: H |
Affiliation:
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Harvard Business School, Boston, USA. |
Export Citation:
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| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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Benchmarking* Commerce / classification, organization & administration*, standards Diffusion of Innovation Efficiency, Organizational Humans Leadership Management Quality Circles Organizational Affiliation Organizational Culture Organizational Innovation Professional Competence Research Total Quality Management* United States |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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