Corporate Dna

Corporate DNA explores what happens when managers think about and run their companies as if they were living things. An organic model is at the heart of the transformation of companies like AT&T and EDS, working to redesign the bureaucracies that they were built upon. This book addresses the frustrations felt among corporations by focusing on the role of the organizational models in the transformation process. The book's key perception is that the choice of a mechanical or organic model results in an organizations developing either mechanical or organic structures. Those structures, in turn, lead to certain types of behavior. Corporate DNA provides tools with which managers can replace their old mechanical models with organic ones. Readers will discover how living things use information to create work; how they learn, develop, and govern themselves; and how prototype organic corporations such as 3M and Federal Express apply organic models to their operations. Ken Baskin, Ph.D., is a consultant on communicating quality and culture change. In addition to his own public relations business, he has worked for the US Department of Energy, the New Jersey Department of Education, and Bell Atlantic, including speech writing for CEO Ray Smith. Ken leads workshops on ¦Creating Competitive Advantage in a Market Ecology¦ and ¦Using the Principles of DNA for Problem Solving,¦ among others.

For more than half a century the developed world has been chasing productivity. It's financed our wealth but that part of output on which our continued prosperity depends - productivity growth - is petering out. The traditional scapegoat has been the dearth of worker skills. But the worker skills base has never been higher! The other explanation is that it is managers who are not giving full value to their employers. The way they're making decisions is conferring virtually no upside potential, which means they're leaving us wide open for experience-poor competitors to step into our experience-rich shoes. Exactly as Japan did in the 1960s and the so-called BRICK countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China (especially China) and Korea - are threatening now. If creeping uncompetitiveness is not to overtake us, from where are the next round of productivity gains to come from? Identifying some gaping holes in the way managers are taught to manage, this book outlines both the size of the problem and a solution. Businesses and other organizations, the author says, have to substantially raise the quality of their decision-making. For this to happen, they need to be much better experiential learners. And for experiential learning to take place, companies and other institutions have to better manage their corporate DNA, the institution-specific experiences otherwise known as Organizational Memory. OM, which characterizes any organization's ability to perform, is the single biggest influence on decision-making excellence. It is a factor of production that has already been paid for at great expense, yet is readily discarded in the backwash of the biggest change in workplace practice for more than a century - the actively-encouraged flexible labour market. Corporate DNA explains why this key component of intellectual capital should be better managed, can be better managed and, particularly, how it can be used to help organizations reduce the pandemic of repeated mistakes, rei

Corporate DNA explores what happens when managers think about and run their companies as if they were living things. An organic model is at the heart of the transformation of companies like AT&T and EDS, working to redesign the bureaucracies that they were built upon. This book addresses the frustrations felt among corporations by focusing on the role of the organizational models in the transformation process. The book's key perception is that the choice of a mechanical or organic model results in an organizations developing either mechanical or organic structures. Those structures, in turn, lead to certain types of behavior. Corporate DNA provides tools with which managers can replace their old mechanical models with organic ones. Readers will discover how living things use information to create work; how they learn, develop, and govern themselves; and how prototype organic corporations such as 3M and Federal Express apply organic models to their operations. Ken Baskin, Ph.D., is a consultant on communicating quality and culture change. In addition to his own public relations business, he has worked for the US Department of Energy, the New Jersey Department of Education, and Bell Atlantic, including speech writing for CEO Ray Smith. Ken leads workshops on ¦Creating Competitive Advantage in a Market Ecology¦ and ¦Using the Principles of DNA for Problem Solving,¦ among others.

Of the 200 largest organizations in the world, more than 80% currently have a corporate code of conduct. An ever larger number of smaller organizations also have a code or are in the process of developing one. While in the 1970s and 1980s companies had to explain why they had a code, today they are cross-examined if they don't have one. A company has to have very good arguments to convince stakeholders that they can do without a code.A business code is a measure for success: success as manager, employee, team and for the organization as a whole. Unfortunately, many codes are underutilized. And many simply fail, with serious repercussions for the organization.This short and accessible book presents a model to create, develop and embed business codes. The validated model enables managers and organizations to better manage their codes as well as their performance. The author articulates why a code of conduct is necessary, what it should cover, as well as demonstrating through practical tips and examples how to make full use of it. What is required to breathe life into a code and keep it that way? How can you live your code? Illustrated with results from an empirical study of the "Fortune" Global 200, the ideas developed are based on the worldwide experience of the consultancy firm KPMG. The author works in the field of developing, implementing and monitoring of codes, as well as conducting intensive academic research in the last 15 years in his capacity as (associate) professor of business ethics.The Living Code is a unique book and will be essential reading for those that want to make a success of their code or are considering developing one. Readers will learn just how rich and threatening a code is and what it could mean for their organization, their team and themselves.

What creates corporate reputations and how should organizations respond? Corporate reputation is a growing research field in disciplines as diverse as communication, management, marketing, industrial and organizational psychology, and sociology. As a formal area of academic study, it is relatively young with roots in the 1980s and the emergence of specialized reputation rankings for industries, products/services, and performance dimensions and for regions. Such rankings resulted in competition between organizations and the alignment of organizational activities to qualify and improve standings in the rankings. In addition, today’s changing stakeholder expectations, the growth of advocacy, demand for more disclosures and greater transparency, and globalized, mediatized environments create new challenges, pitfalls, and opportunities for organizations. Successfully engaging, dealing with, and working through reputational challenges requires an understanding of options and tools for organizational decision-making and stakeholder engagement. For the first time, the vast and important field of corporate reputation is explored in the format of an encyclopedic reference. The SAGE Encyclopedia of Corporate Reputation comprehensively overviews concepts and techniques for identifying, building, measuring, monitoring, evaluating, maintaining, valuing, living up to and/or changing corporate reputations. Key features include: 300 signed entries are organized in A-to-Z fashion in 2 volumes available in a choice of electronic or print formats Entries conclude with Cross-References and Further Readings to guide students to in-depth resources. Although organized A-to-Z, a thematic “Reader’s Guide” in the front matter groups related entries by broad areas A Chronology provides historical perspective on the development of corporate reputation as a discrete field of study. A Resource Guide in the back matter lists classic books, key journals, associations, websites, and selected degree programs of relevance to corporate reputation. A General Bibliography will be accompanied by visual maps noting the relationships between the various disciplines touching upon corporate reputation studies. The work concludes with a comprehensive Index, which—in the electronic version—combines with the Reader’s Guide and Cross-References to provide thorough search-and-browse capabilities

A new classic, cited by leaders and media around the globe as a highly recommended read for anyone interested in innovation. In The Innovator’s DNA, authors Jeffrey Dyer, Hal Gregersen, and bestselling author Clayton Christensen (The Innovator’s Dilemma, The Innovator’s Solution, How Will You Measure Your Life?) build on what we know about disruptive innovation to show how individuals can develop the skills necessary to move progressively from idea to impact. By identifying behaviors of the world’s best innovators—from leaders at Amazon and Apple to those at Google, Skype, and Virgin Group—the authors outline five discovery skills that distinguish innovative entrepreneurs and executives from ordinary managers: Associating, Questioning, Observing, Networking, and Experimenting. Once you master these competencies (the authors provide a self-assessment for rating your own innovator’s DNA), the authors explain how to generate ideas, collaborate to implement them, and build innovation skills throughout the organization to result in a competitive edge. This innovation advantage will translate into a premium in your company’s stock price—an innovation premium—which is possible only by building the code for innovation right into your organization’s people, processes, and guiding philosophies. Practical and provocative, The Innovator’s DNA is an essential resource for individuals and teams who want to strengthen their innovative prowess.

This textbook takes a refreshing approach to strategic corporate communication and provides students and practitioners with the tools needed to understand what make a successful communication strategy. It offers s a new way of understanding the way successful communication strategies are constructed and delivered. Using a unique 'reverse engineering' approach, it takes apart the components of corporate communication, examines the mechanics, then rebuilds the strategy for use by communication students and practitioners across a wide range of corporate entities including not-for-profit organisations. This textbook will be recommended reading for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students studying PR, corporate or strategic communications, either within a business school or media studies department. The book will also appeal to students studying related topics including international relations and media studies, especially those wishing to work in a communications role for a corporate or not-for-profit organisation after university.