With the will of the board of directors, anything can actually be achieved within the company. Having referred to General Electrics, there were two issues that Jack Welch wanted accomplished, as mentioned in his own autobiography: removal of bureaucracy and a certain restructuring of the business. Even if believed impossible to realize, through methods and concepts such as "boundaryless" or the Six Sigma formula, Jack Welch implemented change despite the organizational size.
In this sense, Jack Welch provided the formal vision statement, but he also created the right means and the proper mechanism for this vision to be achieved. These were the strategic and tactical plans, the efficiency quotas each employee needed to reach, the evaluating mechanisms, etc.
Telecommuting is becoming a genuinely popular practice nowadays, but it brings about two important problems. First of all, not all industries can use telecommuters, mainly because some have special equipment that cannot be transported or installed in the employee's home. Generally, things that use only the computer are excellent sources for telecommuting, but this brings us to the second problem: keeping an eye on the employee. In my opinion, this problem could be overcome simply by measuring the effectiveness of the employee at home. In this sense, he will have every interest to properly follow a strict timeline and organize his schedule, even if he is not supervised.
Quick decisions generally do equate to more flexible organizations because...
In a larger company, less flexible, quick decisions may have larger implications.
Mission statements rarely change, from what I know, during the lifetime of a company. Certainly, some of the strategic goals may change, perhaps some of the means to achieve these, but the mission should stay the same, because it has little to do with the business itself, but with the creed with which the customers have already learnt to associate the company.
Restructuring implies through its very name lots of changes. In the case of a merger, the new company needs to adapt to its new status and it is often the case that some of the same positions are covered by two or more persons, in which case one or more need to go. Cultural changes also need to be taken into consideration.
In my opinion, organizing is the most important management function, because it is probably the only function without which the other wouldn't work. Many companies have, however, a tendency to overlook this aspect and pass on directly to the money making, which is like trying to build a house without a foundation.
Taking exams in an online environment can certainly prove a desirable change. Easier to correct, faster to take, more efficient- all these go hand in hand with the new environment we live in.
Welch, Jack with Byrne John A. Jack-Straight from the Gut. Warner Books. October 2003
