Management gone wrong
I emerged from a large corporate space ship today. On the way there I changed out of my rubber slippers in the trishaw, what to satisfy the corporate temple gods. It’s a weird place, slightly horrifying in the uniform cheer, CCTV cameras, security checks, employee surveys and obvious management, but strangely comforting as well. It’s a machine, but the machine seems to work. I’ve been in corporate machines that seem to grind for fun, so it’s actually nice to see one that grinds for a reason. It’s easy to say that middle management is like a flabby midriff, but it may actually have its place. A recent study tested if management consulting made a difference in a bunch of Indian companies. It did: ” The consultants boosted productivity by around 10 percent by improving quality, managing inventory, and speeding up production (Slate)”.
Most of my life I have worked in labor and wondered why management was so stupid. I briefly worked in middle management and wondered how management was so stupid. I have ‘consulted’ with upper management and wondered how management is so stupid. Yet, in well-oiled companies (the types that wouldn’t consult me, for example) management seems to make a difference. I have seen bad management sow bureaucratic chaos and convivial retardation, but I have also seen the absence of management and how horrible that is. But I digress, the whole article is worth a read.
“The before/after photographs of stockrooms and production lines tell pretty much the whole story (some of these photos are reprinted in the study’s back pages). Out of disarray and confusion, there arose order: In storerooms, bags of yarn were now stacked, carefully arranged, and elevated to protect against dampness. Offices previously cluttered with random stacks of paper were now equipped with charts to prioritize and track the flow of inputs and outputs working their way through newly organized assembly lines. Defects were cut in half and inventories fell by nearly 20 percent, even as output increased by 5 percent. Overall, the authors calculate that profits at each factory—assuming the new practices remained in effect—would improve by more than $200,000 per year.”
At a cost of about $250,000 for a five-month consultancy, it seems that a good middle management may be more muscle than bloat.
So when are the young and intelligent blood of SL form startups and begin new management techniques? I only see hereditary companies with hierarchical management (the ones I know). Usually the brains have not much say.
I think it has something to do with the culture over here. I’ve heard of a few old family run companies that went broke after the bright overseas educated younger generation took over because they were a tad overoptimistic or failed to read the market accurately. Our workforce too is still a little resistant to change I think, and banks are extremely hesitant in extending credit to new enterprise.
The generations of bussinessmen that JR’s policies had created are dying out. A new set of people are taking over now. And with interest rates getting cut it should be easier to start up businesses.
I’m no economist but but what my untrained eye see is that the average man’s disposable income is gradually shrinking. This may also be a disincentive to starting up new ventures. Who are they going to sell to?
I’ve always wondered why there isn’t more value addition to our traditional commodities using the freely available unskilled labour. There must be some niche export markets that we could survive in.
Oh, and the seasonal agricultural produce that goes waste for lack of buyers is a real shame. We should have canning factories and dehydration plants in every district.
The education business is one of the best to be in, I think.
There is boom in CIMA schools and rather dubious foreign universities not to mention various other training courses.
Also International Schools.
And as a subsidiary, tuition for all you’ve mentioned above. :D
agri business is the way forward. education business is saturated
Well, the only real way to get rich is marrying a rich girl. Of course there’s the risk of her father f*cking you in the ass.
Actually I’ve done the feasibility study already. Now in the process of establishing a project charter.