2A. How Do You Handle the Information Overload in Your Life?
In a survey, 2,096 employees categorized their workspace habits as follows:

Neat freaks	33%
Pilers	27%
Filers	23%
Pack rats	12%
Slobs	2%
Don't know	3%

Data from Cheryl Comeau-Kirschner, "Neatness Counts for Many Employees," Management Review, 88 (April 1999): 7.

Questions: Are you on information overload? Which category best describes your handling of the informational clutter in your life?

For further information about the interactive annotations in this chapter, visit our Web site (/business/kreitner/management/9e/students/annotations).

Author Notes 2-A: How Do You Handle the Information Overload in Your Life? I've often said that I would have a spotless house if only I couldn't read. Instead, books, magazine articles, files, newspaper clippings, and various and sundry written and printed matter accumulated through years of information collection hover uneasily around both my home and office. Lateral file cabinets and book shelves are only temporary solutions. The best approach is planning regular "cull and destroy" missions. One author's advice on office management suggested putting anything you use almost every day within your reach while sitting at your desk. Things you need once a week or less should be in your office, within a few steps of your desk, and those items you use less than once a month can go somewhere other than your office, such as a storage closet. She didn't have any suggestions for those files you've kept for 15 years and haven't opened for the last ten. Possibly she prefers not to think of people who keep files that long. When I was in school, it was easier. I simply kept the things I created or those materials I thought might come in handy in future classes. Everything else got tossed. How about you? Are those notes from your freshman-year Introduction to English Literature still hovering around your workspace? As someone who just moved both home and office, take this advice from me while you still have a chance--throw them out!

2B. Back to the Opening Case
Which of Fayol's 14 universal principles of management in Table 2.1 are evident in the Burger Boat case? Explain your reasoning for each principle selected.

Author Notes 2-B: Back to the Opening Case Unity of command: No more absentee owners--Ross committed to being an on-site leader. Unity of direction: A commitment from every employee to build the boats. Subordination of interests: People left other good jobs they had found to come back to Burger. Stability and tenure of personnel: Families had worked for Burger Boats for generations. Initiative: Employees breaking into the plant to get their tools and finish an unfinished craft. Esprit de corps: These people clearly love their company.

2C. Piece-Rate Puzzle
Suppose you were a college student about to take a part-time job in the school library. The job involves taking books and bound periodicals from the sorting room and returning them on a hand cart to their proper shelves throughout the library. Library officials have observed that an average of 30 items can be reshelved during one hour of steady effort. You have the option of being paid $9 an hour or 30 cents per item reshelved. The quality of your work will be randomly checked, and 30 cents will be deducted from your pay for each item found to be improperly shelved. How do you want to be paid? Why? Which pay plan is probably better for the library? Why?

Author Notes 2-C: Piece-Rate Puzzle What kind of a worker are you? Do you tend to stay focused until a task is done, or do you work in spurts followed by periods of unproductive behavior? How long can you concentrate before needing to take a break? Do you tend to work faster than average, or are you the slow and steady one who wins the race? How accurate do you tend to be? Are you good or bad with details? The answers to these questions affect which pay system you would prefer. For the fast and focused worker who tends toward accuracy in details, the piece rate would be much more favorable for you. If you need to take your time to be accurate, you would probably benefit more with a straight hourly rate. In terms of library goals, the piece rate is probably the best bet for ensuring both productivity and accuracy.

2D. Juran on Quality
Just before his 94th birthday in 1998, Joseph M. Juran made this observation in a Fortune magazine interview:

There's a lot of confusion as to whether quality costs money or whether it saves money. In one sense, quality means the features of some product or service that make people willing to buy it. So it's income-oriented--has an effect on income. Now to produce features, ordinarily you have to invest money. In that sense, higher quality costs more. Quality also means freedom from trouble, freedom from failure. This is cost-oriented. If things fail internally, it costs the company. If they fail externally, it also costs the customer. In these cases, quality costs less.

Thomas A. Stewart, "A Conversation with Joseph Juran," Fortune (January 11, 1999): 170.

Questions: What sorts of product and/or service quality problems have you observed lately? How could they have been prevented?

Author Notes 2-D: Juran on Quality There is a concept environmentalists propound described as "full cost." The full cost of producing a product includes the cost of managing the waste and scrap material produced as part of that product's development, production, and distribution to the end user, as well as its final disposal after its usefulness has ended. There's an even more extensive view of full cost that includes the cost of designing and producing the product, delivering the product to the end user, the cost for the end user of maintaining the product, and the final cost of disposal. With this perspective, the full cost of cars in the 1950s to early 1970s was very high, with planned obsolescence and frequent and drastic model changes encouraging people to buy a new car every year or two. Cost also included the excessive use of gas, not to mention excessive pollutants released, per mile. The advent of the quality movement, fostered by Deming, Juran, and others, led to a dramatic difference in automobiles, with vehicles lasting for years, using fewer and lighter materials, and burning much less fuel with much cleaner emissions. That's one example of where quality has had a dramatic positive impact on the full cost of a product. With the advent of non-combustion cars such as electric and fuel-cell options in development, cars should be able to last much longer and cost much less--both environmentally and financially--to run. Who knows, maybe in the future, people will buy one car every 20-30 years. Studies of middle-class families have shown that, overall, the best influencer and indicator of total accumulated assets over a lifetime is how long people keep their cars. Those who buy new cars every few years had a much smaller total worth at retirement than those who kept cars for five or more years. So, in a way, the quality focus of today's cars may be contributing to the total wealth of today's middle class, and the changes in tomorrow's cars could make that contribution even more dramatic. Thus, quality in general--by creating the opportunity for a lower full cost for every product--could contribute to a greater level of income and wealth for every household and a better quality of life for everyone.

2E. Back to the Opening Case
Is David Ross a Theory X or Theory Y manager? Explain

Author Notes 2-E: Back to the Opening Case Ross is definitely a Theory Y manager. Burger Boats had a base of strong, skilled, and committed workers, and he acknowledged that they were the organization's primary strength. His pride in the company, and his understanding that the employees have the same pride, shows in how he handled the purchase, and their celebrating each boat's launch mirrors that understanding in everyday operations.

2F. Managing at the Edge of Chaos
Richard T. Pascale, author of Surfing the Edge of Chaos: The Laws of Nature and the New Laws of Business:

The important thing to remember is that innovations rarely emerge from systems with high degrees of order and stability. On the other hand, completely chaotic systems are simply too hot to handle. That's why it's important to find the edge of chaos, where a company can experience upheaval but not dissolution. The edge of chaos is not the abyss. It's the sweet spot for productive change.

As quoted in Alan M. Webber, "How Business Is a Lot Like Life," Fast Company, no. 45 (April 2001): 135.

Questions: Why is this true? How comfortable would you be as an "on the edge" manager? Explain.

Author Notes 2-F: Managing at the Edge of Chaos Think about parties you've been to where everything was pretty standard. A few quiet conversations, some standard snacks. If there are people there you know and like, you may have a nice evening, but nothing exciting or different. On the other hand, have you heard of or been to parties where the group has gotten out of hand--too loud, too drunk, or whatever, and property starts to be damaged and fights begin to break out? Parties like that quickly stop being fun, especially when the police show up--called by the neighbors. Then there are those parties in the middle--where the unexpected can happen, and frequently does. Where conversations are funny and people are interesting. People and groups move seemingly randomly, but the energy is constantly flowing, and even if you're the host, the evening is an enjoyable process of eager anticipation of what may come next. That's the "sweet spot" for a party, and like the concept discussed in this annotation, it's living on the edge--but not over the edge--of chaos that makes it work. The question is, could you be at home in a workplace that operated in the "sweet spot" most of the time? It would mean losing some control, but being able to pull in the reins if the situation started spiraling downward. What kind of party would you rather host? What kind of organization would you rather manage?

2G. Words of Wisdom
Peter F. Drucker, management's elder statesman:

A decision is a judgment. It is a choice between alternatives. It is rarely a choice between right and wrong. It is at best a choice between "almost right" and "probably wrong."

As quoted in Bruce Rosenstein, "91-Year-Old Legend Shares Advice," USA Today, (August 20, 2001): 6B.

Question: How well does this statement mesh with the contingency approach? Explain.

Author Notes 2-G: Words of Wisdom The contingency approach recognizes that every situation is different, and sometimes the so-called obvious right answer may not work. It encourages people to look at every aspect of a situation when making a decision. It's easier to follow the rules, but not always for the best. As human beings, we have trouble with ambiguity. It seems that one answer should be right, good people should succeed and bad people fail, hard work should lead to success. We grow up in an environment that looks pretty black and white from a child's perspective--supported by the stories we're told and the things we learn. The reality as an adult is a lot more confusing, with people muddling through, doing the best they can with what they have. In general, most people make pretty good decisions. Later reflection and discoveries can lead to that "almost right" decision looking a lot worse than it once did. But if you're going to beat up on yourself for not knowing the future, you're going to have a lot of bruises.

2H. Still Searching for Excellence


Bill Zollars, president, Yellow Freight System, with 13,000 trucks across the United States:

During his first year at Yellow, Zollars spent most of his time in the field. "It's the only place where you find out what's really going on with customers and operations without any filters," he says. "At headquarters, you don't hear any of the bad stuff."

Chuck Salter, "On the Road Again," Fast Company, no. 54 (January 2002): 57.

Questions: Which of Peters and Waterman's attributes of excellence are evident here? Is this a good way to manage? Why?

Author Notes 2-H: Still Searching for Excellence Zollars shows a bias for action, getting close to the customer, and being hands on. He knew the quickest way to find out what was happening in his new position was to get close to the ground, where the actual business of his organization was being done. People generally attempt to soften the bad and play up the good when talking to the boss. If you're the top manager, you may have three, four, or more layers of people "cleaning up" the reality of a company before it reaches your ears. Since Zollar wanted to know what was really happening, he did the smart thing--the "excellent" thing--he talked to the folks driving the trucks.

2I. Management Wisdom: Beyond Quick Fixes
... if you look hard at the history of the Fortune 500 over the past 40 years, there emerges through all the static a set of golden management rules that have surviving power. They don't have labels--once you stick a name on something, it's fast on its way to becoming a flavor-of-the-month disappointment--but are broad management principles. They are (1) Management is a practice. (2) People are a resource. (3) Marketing and innovation are the key functions of a business. (4) Discover what you do well. (5) Quality pays for itself.

Excerpted from Brian Dumaine, "Distilled Wisdom: Buddy, Can You Paradigm?" Fortune (May 15, 1995): 205.

Question: What lesson does each of these broad management principles teach you?

Author Notes 2-I: Management Wisdom: Beyond Quick Fixes The five broad management principles mentioned here seem to be common sense, but if you think for a moment, you can probably name at least one company or remember at least one story where someone ignored these maxims, generally with less than desirable results. In the hurried push and shove of everyday business, it is easy to get distracted into a mode of "getting things done" at the expense of getting things done correctly and cost effectively. It requires vigilance to keep from sliding into bad habits that lead to mediocre management practices. Management is a practice. Many companies move people who have no training or previous experience into supervisory or management positions. These people fumble and make mistakes until they learn the ropes, and in the meantime, the company and its employees suffer. Understanding that management is a practice leads to more careful selection for promotion and support and training during and after the transition. People are a resource. Every company mission statement has this somewhere, but many companies pay only lip service to the concept. Realistically, without the employees and their expertise, most companies would not survive. Marketing and innovation are the key functions of a business. This is becoming more and more true today. Innovation is the life blood of the economy. The challenge is balancing this emphasis--needed for survival and growth--against concerns of cost control and immediate profits. Often, one side or the other loses out. Discover what you do well. Being better than the competition is the best way to build a loyal customer base.