Sensei Michael

I came across an interesting article by Sox on  Mao and Chinese CEOs . The researcher and the writer of the post makes connections between the way companies are run in China and the way Mao ran China. The researcher noticed “the manner in which Mao wielded power: by keeping the country in a state of chaotic flux, often playing one group against another”. It was almost like a lightbulb lit within me as I tried to understand how Chinese companies here function. Now I understand why some board meetings are like seeing the Romance of the Three Kingdoms in action. When everybody else is unstable, you can hold on more easily to your power base. Other tactics used by company CEOs: “They cement their authority by keeping even senior managers in a constant state of uncertainty, sometimes mobilizing lower-level employees to criticize and pressure mid- and upper-level executives”. Again, another light-bulb within me lighted (this one is energy saving). Obviously, not all companies work ...

I recently encountered the MacLeod's Model of Organisational Sociology from Michael O Church's excellent article . For someone who devoured plenty of literature of organisational behaviour during his MBA days, this was a new model that intrigued me, and made me think of how our organisation works. MacLeod's model classifies all people in big organisations into three types. Losers , who recognize that low-level employment is a losing deal, and therefore commit the minimum effort not to get fired. Clueless , who work as hard as they can but fail to understand the organization’s true nature and needs, and are destined for middle management. Sociopaths , who capture the surplus value generated by the Losers and Clueless. Destined for upper management. It is a pity that the terms used are so negative, perhaps because MacLeod believes that big organisations are themselves dysfunctional in certain ways. Each of these three are who they are because of another trilema at work ...

The term "Abilene Paradox" was made famous by Dr Jerry B Harvey, a Professor of Management Science at the Washington University, who lectures on organisational behaviour. It describes the story (supposedly true) of a personal experience with the town of Abilene, during one of his lectures in 1974. Below is an extract from the  Workplace Bullying Institute : Abilene is the Texas city in the Abilene paradox. It refers to the retelling by Harvey of a lousy decision by his family. On a hot summer day, the family piled into a car without airconditioning and drove too many to Abilene to try a new diner. The heat was oppressive; the food was lousy. But no one dared to speak in those terms until later that night back home. Finally, the matriarch of the family broke the silence by complaining about the food. Then everyone chimed in with their complaint–the car was hot, it was stupid to try an unknown restaurant. It turns out that no one wanted to go in the first place, but no one said...

Once, there was a lion who gave the job of watching over 10 wolves to a leopard.   Leopard started his day distributing the meat rations into 11 portion. The wolves were unhappy at the size of the portion and attacked him. A single leopard could not fight against 10 wolves and he had no choice but to surrender his portion of meat and tendered his resignation to Lion.   Lion stopped Leopard, and told him to observe his management techniques.   The next day, Lion divided the meat into 11 portions of different sizes. He took the largest one, and threw the rest to the wolves, telling them, "Divide them according to who deserves it more."   The wolves started fighting among themselves for the meat, no longer thinking of how that piece of meat was smaller than what they got in total in the past. Leopard was amazed and asked, "What kind of management technique is that?"   Lion smiled and replied, "This is called payment by performance."   The second day, Lion div...

Dear Assignment Researchers (especially those from U21Global): I am aware that this assignment has been googled (I track my site referrals). In the interest of mutual sharing and research, and to protect myself, I would like to request that you put a reference to this page if you intend to use any information within. The Prof is not stupid – if you can google this site, he can too. The team that was assigned to do this assignment originally consisted of 4 of us (one Singaporean and three Indians). Three dropped out, and eventually only I worked alone for this. It was one of my worst team assignment experience ever. It was only later that I found out that my coursemates were not doing the MBA but taking a stand-alone module sponsored by their company! Section 1: Summarise the Situation Part 1: Briefly summarise the company’s history and events leading to the current work situation. How would you characterise the current state? What is the desired state? The company began as a manufactur...

The early Greeks believe that the world is made up of 4 elements: Air, Earth, Fire and Water (interestingly, the Chinese added one more – Metal). Each of these elements have their characteristics and together makes up the building blocks of the world. In the same way, a dream management team in any company is likely to comprise people with all 4 elements. Wise is the boss who makes sure he hires people to make up for his missing elements. Air gives life to all around it, inflames Fire (making it more ferocious) and is absorbed by Water, enabling it to support more life in the process. It is shaped by Earth but unfortunately tends to weaken Earth in the process (oxidisation). The Air manager tends to fit easily into many situations, and has a quality about him that enables a lot of projects to move and succeed. Earth provides form and stability. It provides the basic building blocks of any structure, and is the basis of their being. It contains and absorbs water, provides fuel for fire ...

Dear Assignment Researchers (especially those from U21Global): I am aware that this assignment has been googled (I track my site referrals). In the interest of mutual sharing and research, and to protect myself, I would like to request that you put a reference to this page if you intend to use any information within. The Prof is not stupid – if you can google this site, he can too. Executive Summary The HR Director of Great Wall Golf and Country Club has put up her new HR plans. This report believes that the HR plans as drawn up are very good and, with certain recommended refinements, can help Great Wall to successfully maintain its status as one of the premier golfing resorts in China. Aims of Great Wall Golf and Country Club HR Plan The HR plan has very lofty aims. 1. To manage human resources effectively so that Great Wall would maintain its status as one of the premier golfing resorts in China. 2. To assess all aspects of HRM covered by the plan and rate its likely effectiveness 3....