Christopher Bartlett (1943- ) and Sumantra Ghoshal
(1948-2004)
Experts in strategy and global corporations .
Bartlett (born in Australia) works at Harvard Business School (pictured right above)..
Ghoshal (Indian) tragically died of a brain haemorrhage.(pictured right below).
Key books
Managing Across Borders (1989)
A global corporation should be a transnational organization with three simultaneous
characteristics:
1. Responsiveness
In every country it operates extreme sensitivity to the requirements of
stakeholders (particularly customers, employees, and governments).
Its factories are controlled by local employees to maximize their motivation.
2. Efficiency
Achieving global economies of scale (cost savings like discounts from bulk buying) by
making and selling the same products worldwide.
3.Transfer of learning
All its employees:
- learn through the spreading of knowledge throughout the organization.
- are united and co-ordinated by the same values (or corporate culture), purpose, vision and
global strategy.
- are trained to think internationally,and quickly respond to the needs of local
customers.
Key quote
Top management must obtain the personal commitment of every individual in the firm to the overall corporate
agenda.
The Individualized Corporation
(1997)
(see for more detail The Individualized
Corporation in the Business Books section)
An “individualized corporation” is best, because it puts the individual employee’s needs,
empowerment, creativity and learning at the centre of its corporate strategy.
This will help it to implement the three stages necessary to transform its performance:
1. Rationalization
- human resource strategies (like training) to improve employee performance.
2. Revitalization
- building mutual trust, support and respect (essential for empowerment).
- stretching people to achieve challenging goals.
- getting them working quickly and flexibly in teams across different parts of the
organization.
3. Regeneration
Challenging and supporting individual employees to continually learn and improve.
They will be motivated to do this if:
- their needs are satisfied.
- the organization has a moral purpose
Key quote on
empowerment
Empowerment is not abandonment.
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