How does each try to be entrepreneurial, while operating in highly challenging markets - Essay Example

Here Here Here Here Being Entrepreneurial in Highly Challenging Markets Ricardo Semler (n. p instituted some very unconventional management techniques while bringing his company Semco into a strong position in the manufacturing sector. Essentially, the approach was to let the workers do whatever they pleased, and to reinforce productive/profitable behaviors so that the workers were more likely to be personally invested in how their actions affect the company. Semler’s methods involved the identification of three fundamental values on which the operations of the company were based.

Democracy ensured employee involvement in the major decisions of the company (giving employees control of their work), freedom of information to the point of company transparency (so employees know how things are performing), and the institution of profit sharing (so employees care about maximizing company profits). The management systems developed from these values resulted in a company in which the employees were treated as adults who were responsible for setting their own hours, who determined their own salaries and bonuses, and who essentially became their own managers.

Apple’s recently passed founder Steve Jobs brought his company from near extinction to cultural phenomenon by using tactics that appeared to be horribly out of date. According to a Fortune Magazine article (n. p.), Jobs went completely against the grain of the Silicon Valley employee-management norm by being the tyrannical boss often associated with industrial times. While other companies were getting in touch with their employees through egalitarian programs and increased freedom in the workplace, Apple was constantly under the scrutiny of the notorious micromanager Jobs (his time away from the company not withstanding) who was not above tearing a strip off an employee for any reason he saw fit.

Apple employees feared for their jobs, but stayed loyal to their leader as he often made them feel as though their task (no matter how menial) was as important to the company as any other. Additionally, seeking Jobs’ approval may have paralleled a paternal relationship, adding to the motivation felt by employees. Steve Jobs was also very old school in the way he kept the company’s operations secret. Some may liken Jobs’ preferred level of information opaqueness to that of a government’s military.

This technique also aided in Apple’s resurgence while operating under the odd but undeniably effective management techniques of Steve Jobs. Google is an extremely profitable business, but it has faced many challenges. A string of employees have left the company, at least partially due to its immense nature. Google now encompasses many online services that are not search related, which has stretched the company’s focus and may pose a threat to future profits. This problem may be due to the relaxed to non-existent resource allocation process within Google’s operations.

However, these endeavors are also potential paths for success, and should be considered as a risk to reward scenario. The risk for each service may be relatively small compared to the collective profitability of the company. It is in fact this risk taking system that has allowed the company to grow to become the machine that it is today, and to switch the methods to a more conservative system may prove to be more harmful than helpful. Works CitedKahney, Leander. “How Apple Got Everything Right by Doing Everything Wrong.

” Wired Magazine 16.4 (2008): n. p. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/techbiz/it/magazine/16-04/bz_apple?currentPage=allLashinsky, Adam. “Where Does Google Go Next?” Fortune (2008): n. p. Retrieved from http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/09/technology/where_does_google_go.fortune/Semler, Ricardo. “Managing Without Managers.” Harvard Business Review Sept.-Oct. (1989): 76-84. Web.