179 Posts found for Source: Prism (Arthur D. Little)

Technology and business are necessarily out of phase in the cycle of things. When a business is performing well, it’s based on a technology from yesterday. Unfortunately, our future activities in technology are guided by the success of today. There’s a mismatch. The seeds of destruction are planted at the peak of success. History is often the worst enemy in charting the future.

Content: Quotation | Source: Prism (Arthur D. Little) | Subjects: IT / Technology / E-Business, Success / Failure

On the basis of his research for The 100 Best Companies to Work for in America, Robert Levering has defined a great place to work as one where employees trust the people they work for, have pride in what they do, and enjoy the people they work with. Note that this definition does not equate a good workplace with specific policies or practices or with … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Robert Levering | Source: Prism (Arthur D. Little) | Subjects: Management, Organizational Behavior

Traditional approaches to addressing organizational behavior problems always focus on changing shared values. They always try to change motivators. It’s the only approach most senior managers can take because they’re using models of the problem that have no cause-and-effect built into them.

So they try to “teach teamwork,” “encourage quality,” and “inspire customer service.” But they are trying to change the symptom without changing the factors … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Peter B. Scott-Morgan | Source: Prism (Arthur D. Little) | Subjects: Management, Organizational Behavior

Any firm is a bundle of interlocking business processes overlaid by organization policies, permeated by unwritten rules of behavior, and constrained by its resource structures.

Content: Quotation | Source: Prism (Arthur D. Little) | Subject: Organizational Behavior

In a company that functions as an internal market economy, every part of the corporation that has at least one internal and one external customer operates as a profit center. All other parts operate as cost centers, each of which is part of a profit center. (This does not mean profit centers must be profitable. Most corporations maintain unprofitable units for various reasons, such as … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Source: Prism (Arthur D. Little) | Subjects: Management, Strategy

We live a hypocrisy when we pursue democracy in the public sphere but accept autocracy, often fascistic, in our corporations.

Content: Quotation | Source: Prism (Arthur D. Little) | Subjects: Miscellaneous, Organizational Behavior

Most corporate structures use inappropriately sized building blocks: jobs. Most work is either too small or too big for one job. Jobs are also very static entities – dangerous in the long run to the health of both the jobholders and the companies they work for. In many companies, jobs need to be eliminated completely – while retaining the workers.

In cases where the work … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Source: Prism (Arthur D. Little) | Subject: Organizational Behavior

A product strategy is much more than a list of specific product actions over time. It is an explicit route-map designed to guide a company in its efforts to develop and market products that build sustainable competitive advantage and meet its growth and profit objectives. A good product strategy maximizes both customer satisfaction and profits – while stating the firm’s priorities so clearly that every … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Jean-Philippe Deschamps | Source: Prism (Arthur D. Little) | Subjects: Management, Strategy

In the decades ahead, successful companies will be those that can develop products with real customer value – and do so fast, consistently, and cost-effectively. Toward this end, most forward-thinking companies have taken initiatives to improve their product creation processes. Among their new tools and techniques have been simultaneous engineering, cross-functional program teams, milestone reviews, and product strategy boards. They have had four critical objectives: … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Authors: Bruce McK. Thompson, Michael S. Rosenberg | Source: Prism (Arthur D. Little) | Subjects: Innovation, Management

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Many companies are keenly interested in learning how they can find out what their customers really want. But discovering what customers really want is far from simple. Arthur D. Little has done considerable work in this area, and from that work the authors have distilled several observations about how to classify customer needs, how to probe for them, and how to organize internally in order … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Authors: Albert C. Chen, James F. Reider, P. Ranganath Nayak | Source: Prism (Arthur D. Little) | Subjects: Customer Related, Marketing / Sales

Processes improve fastest when those involved in the improvement effort understand the whole process rather than just their piece of it.

Content: Quotation | Source: Prism (Arthur D. Little) | Subjects: Process, Reengineering

The value of know-how depends on a company’s ability to apply it to usefully differentiate its products, services, and processes from those of its competitors. Without differentiation, value perceived by stakeholders does not increase; instead, as performance improves, expectations rise and perceptions stay constant. This argument suggests that the internal development of know-how should focus on those areas in which the company generates the highest … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Source: Prism (Arthur D. Little) | Subject: Innovation

The…question is where a company should go. “Build on your strengths” is one common answer. But many companies have found that understanding their current core competencies and capabilities helps define constraints but does not provide a road map for the future.

Content: Quotation | Source: Prism (Arthur D. Little) | Subjects: Management, Strategy

As the costs and the risks of acquiring advanced technology have escalated, businesses have come under pressure to increase the value of their technology by accelerating the pace of its development and expanding its profitable application. This pressure is driving major changes in sourcing strategies and activities. Companies are concentrating internal R&D activities on core technologies and competencies while developing relations with external partners to … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Ronald S. Jonash | Source: Prism (Arthur D. Little) | Subjects: Management, Strategy

My definition of learning follows the behavioral model. That is, learning hasn’t really taken place until it’s reflected in changed behaviors, skills, and attitudes. So our approach to education and training is focused on changing the skills and behavior of employees, and our focus is not on teaching, but on learning.

Content: Quotation | Source: Prism (Arthur D. Little) | Subjects: Learning, Organizational Behavior

At the root of team and organizational learning is conversational exchange – how do we accurately communicate to each other what’s going on in our minds and what’s going on in reality? The human tendency is to assess prematurely the meaning of what people are saying or not saying and why they are saying or not saying it. There is also a tendency not to … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Source: Prism (Arthur D. Little) | Subjects: Learning, Organizational Behavior

As is obvious from the title, this is an old article (1992) but of long-lasting value. In it, Arthur D. Little lays out a strategic framework based on their High Performance Business pyramid which essentially looks at strategy as a function of stakeholders, process, resources and organization.

Content: Article | Authors: C. Everett Shorey, Tamara J. Erickson | Source: Prism (Arthur D. Little) | Subject: Strategy

Vision statements come in a variety of shapes and sizes. A corporate vision may include statements about the future business environment, technology, and expected performance. Many express some overall theme, discuss core businesses and resources, and comment on how the company will interact with its key stakeholders. Regardless of length, the best visions establish a clear statement of “what we want to be.” Several in-depth … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Authors: David C. Shanks, W. Tom Sommerlatte | Source: Prism (Arthur D. Little) | Subject: Strategy