In Search of Excellence of Excellence by Peters, Thomas - Book Report/Review Example

Task Book Report and Review “In Search Of Excellence of Excellence by Peters, Thomas. /Waterman, Robert H., Jr.” Book Review “In Search of Excellence” is an inspirational blueprint of the best approach the management can adopt in deriving the best of services from its employees. It follows a set of requirements that the company has to pursue in order to achieve excellence and success in its productivity. The authors received a number of accolades for their development of a strategic management practice guidebook that enables them to achieve success and excellence in its operations. Since its publication in 1982, the book attracted various positive comments from corporate experts and other management executives who approve the approach taken by Peters and Waterman. The authors explore a number of excerpts that are imperative for the achievement of a successful management structure, as well as a cognitive organizational behavior within the company. These include the eight themes responsible for success, and the seven model elements developed by McKinsey. Significance of the Book for an Organizational Behavior Management Class Many organizations operate in pursuit for excellence and success through the productivity of its employees. As such, this book plays an imperative role in determining the success of an organization as it gives core values and strategies that the corporate management of an organization can adopt in order to ensure maximum output from its workforce. Organizational behavior refers to the manner and style by which the employees of the organization conduct themselves, their attitude towards work, as well as their productivity and responsibility at their work place. The behavioral approach taken by the workforce of the organization determines the success of an organization. The authors through the book expound on the benefits of having a functional workforce that embraces and upholds the objectives and doctrines of the organization. Furthermore, analysts argue that the most important assets that an organization can have in order to ensure a competitive advantage is its experienced, professional, and above all, dedicated employees willing and ready to give their all for the success of the organization. McKinney 7 – Model Elements for Excellence in Organizational Performance McKinsey identifies seven model elements that are instrumental for mending an exceptional organizational behavior within its workforce in order to achieve excellence in productivity. These seven elements include structure, strategy, systems, style of management, staff, shared values and skills, such as corporate strengths. The prorate structures are the structure of the organization determines the success of an organization. In most cases, the two common corporate structures are the flat structure or horizontal structure, and the vertical structure. A flat organizational structure is one, which has few levels of hierarchy within its structure. The management become closer to the workers and incorporates them in their decision-making and other major organizational activities. This makes the workers feel appreciated and valued by the organization, thereby boosting their morale and enhancing their productivity. On the other hand, a vertical organizational structure is one that has various levels of management, whereby the executives of the organization become unreachable to the common workers. As such, the workers become strangers to the organization and merely follow orders from the top without questions. This demoralizes them and makes them give a poor output of their work, hence a poor overall performance of the organization, denying them excellence and success. Strategy refers to the approach taken by the organization in pursuing its goals and objectives. The approach taken by an organization determines the competiveness of the organization within the market sphere. Furthermore, organizational strategy determines how fast the organization will fulfill its mission and vision, especially through incorporating the workers in its vision. Once the workers become part of the organizational plan and vision, they work towards the achievement of its goals and objectives, thereby leading to excellence in the output of the organization. An organization also has to set up the right systems that permit the effective productivity of its workforce. The right systems within the organization guide the workers towards the right direction in achieving the goals and objectives of the company. These systems should be flexible and accommodative to the personal needs of an employee, thereby fitting their schedule to the work portfolio and expectations of the organization. The style of management of the organization also determines if it creates the appropriate organizational behavior for its workforce. Numerous styles of management exist that the executive can adopt in leading the organization, such as autocratic, participative, as well as democratic. The management should adopt a style that incorporates the views and values of its workforce within the organization. The staff in an organization is the best assets that an organization can have. It is not enough for an organization to have the most qualified, experienced and professional workers in the field, rather it requires a dedicated team of workers willing to sacrifice and give their all to the success of the organization. The skills that an organization has, such as its corporate strengths, help in shaping its values and cultures, as well as boosting the esteem of its workers to enable them become more productive. Lastly, the organization needs to cherish the shared values within its midst. These elements bind the workforce and management of a company together. Eight Themes of in Search of Excellence Thomas and Waterman outline eight major objectives that an organization should pursue in order to guarantee excellence and success in its operations. These are the main elements that assist an organization in creating the suitable working environment for its employees that enables them to become more productive and efficient in the delivery of their work, hence guaranteeing excellence and success to the organization. These eight elements include a bias of action, whereby the organization has to adopt an active decision making strategy that allows it to get on with the implementation of its objectives. The second element requires the organization to draw near to the customer, especially to learn from them about their views and perceptions of the organization and its products. The third element is autonomy and entrepreneurship, whereby the organization has to foster innovation and nurture champions within its midst. Peters and waterman also suggest that for an organization to achieve excellence, it must pursue productivity through people, in such a way that it treats rank and source employees as a source of quality. In a competitive business world, creativity and innovation, as well as high standards of quality are the key aspects to discerning the right strategies for success. The authors also suggest that the management should be hands on, and as such, value driven. This management philosophy guides the daily practice of both the employees and the management in a way that the management team shows its commitment to the organization through their service delivery. Companies are also advised to stick to knitting. The authors suggest that some of the best companies have minimal HQ staff and as such very productive and achieving excellence in their production. Lastly, the organization should also operate simultaneous loose-tight properties. These create autonomy in shop-floor activities plus the centralized values. Conclusion In conclusion, it is evident that this book is a masterpiece in teaching about organizational behavior, as well as enabling functional institutions to develop appropriate organizational behavior structures to enjoy success and excellence. From the book, we can deduce that the essential message for in search for excellence as portrayed by both authors is people, customers, and action. People include all the stakeholders of the organization, especially the interior structure such as the workers and the management who benefit directly from an elaborate organizational behavior. Customers are the fruits that the organization enjoys for undertaking the best strategies in pursuing excellence, whilst action refers to the right decisions taken and implemented within the organization to ensure success and excellence. Work Cited Peters, Thomas and Waterman Robert. In Search of Excellence. New York: Harper & Row, 1982. Print Read More