Adhocracy - Softcover

Waterman Jr., Robert H.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0393310841 ISBN 13: 9780393310849

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, 1993

Synopsis

"It is, make no mistake, the best management answer for our chaotic times." ―Tom Peters

Adhocracy: Any form of organization that cuts across normal bureaucratic lines to capture opportunities, solve problems, and get results.

In an era of accelerating change, organizations, and national economies, most likely to succeed are those with the ability to adjust and adapt. Robert H. Waterman Jr., coauthor of the best-selling In Search of Excellence, shows how and what this sort of innovation must become a way of life for business organizations across the board. What is needed is an environment that fosters the use of an ad-hoc problem-solving technique, in effect an "adhocracy" that functions outside the often initiative-stifling bureaucracy.

Drawing on twenty-five years' experience in management consulting, Waterman offers clear instructions on how to establish adhocracy and make it work: creating task forces and independent business units, even two people meeting in a hallway to solve a common problem. A lively and insightful work, this should become an essential handbook for managers at all levels who recognize the need to redefine the rules for success.

About this title

About the Author:

Robert H. Waterman Jr. is author of The Renewal Factor: How the Best Get and Keep the Competitive Edge and coauthor of the New York Times bestseller In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America's Best-Run Companies.

From Publishers Weekly:

Waterman ( The Renewal Factor, etc.) defines adhocracy as an "organizational form that challenges the bureaucracy in order to embrace the new." The author, who worked in Japan, claims in this clear and concise study that well-led ad hoc project teams and task forces are the most effective means of bringing about change. The companies that practice adhocracy are Hewlett Packard, Ford, General Electric and McKinsey. By way of example, Waterman cites the swift execution by Chevron of its 1984 merger with Gulf--involving 37 project teams operating across the globe. Team members working under a project leader who is selected for skill in processing rather than for special expertise, the author stresses, should represent disparate parts of the company and include agents and clients. Above all, he emphasizes the need for strong executive interaction and support with the ability to manage adhocracy "in tandem with bureaucracy."
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0393310841
• ISBN 13: 9780393310849
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 130