Management Action is based onTheoretical Assumptions
Comparison between
Old and New Management Assumptions
The aim of this paper is to contrast our old traditional theoretical assumptions with the new concepts that have been developed throughout this century. We have identified 14 comparisons.
We have written this paper as a document to be 'browsed'. We have the list of subject areas, then a table for quick comparisons and finally a full page describing the differences. By using the 'bookmark' facility we have set it up so that you can click from the list or table direct to the appropriate full-page comparison.
Footnote: These comparisons have been gleaned from a wide range of sources, some of which are referred to in each section. We are however aware that each assumption or concept are not discrete entities. There will be considerable overlap from one concept to the next. The important consideration is how these concepts combine to give an overall theory of management.
Analytical vs Holistic Thinking
Adversarial vs Co-operative Thinking
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Securing Alignment towards the Goals of the Organisation
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Thinking, Analytical Vs Holistic
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Thinking, Adversarial Vs Co-operative
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| Principle | (McGregor’s X theory) Work is a burden which people will avoid unless driven by some external need. They also do not like responsibility. | (McGregor’s Y Theory) People like work, it is a form of self-fulfillment. People will take responsibility. |
| Manifestation | The setting of targets/budgets and subsequent monitoring of effort relative to those targets, the ready use of rewards/punishment to encourage effort and compensate for the pain of hard work. The vast majority of decisions and innovations come from senior management. Little thought is given to job satisfaction. Morale is not seen as a major contributor to productivity, cost effectiveness and profit | The Principal recognition is that the vast majority of us come to work intent on doing a good job – we want to take pride in our work. Furthermore the creativity of every employee is recognised and there are established structures within the organisation to capture everybody’s ideas. Innovation and the development of opportunities are seen as an integral part of the long-term survival strategy of the company. These ideas come from the total intelligence of the employees of the firm. From this basis the organisation can develop a feeling of mutual trust and full commitment to the aims of the enterprise |
| Losses vs Gains |
Morale is damaged in the long term. A jaundiced view of the supervised, and conversely the supervisors, becomes inbred till the limited perception of human capabilities becomes self-fulfilling. We upward delegate our responsibility. We become risk averse. Compliance rather than innovation is seen as a successful survival strategy. The responsibility for maintaining discipline is seen as an external function –i.e. inspection, audit etc which adds to overhead cost. Once over the age of 50 employees start to look forward to retirement with the subsequent decline in their commitment. Once retired their knowledge instead of contributing to the economy becomes a drain on our resources. | Greatly improved morale and hence productivity. The majority are aligned to the aims and objectives of the organisation. A good proportion of employees’ thinking time is devoted to improving the work situation. A momentum for continual improvement can be established. Far less need for supervision; increased sense of responsibility; the development of self-discipline; the recognition and nurturing of Pride. Far less pressure on the "boss" |
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Securing Alignment towards the Goals of the Organisation
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| Principle | Alignment is secured by the giving of clear and concise instructions. (Command and Control) | Recognition that people come to work wanting to do a good job – take pride in their work. The task of leadership is to build and channel that commitment. Predominate mode of communication is "Listening" The recognition that full commitment is far more valuable than simple compliance. Recognition of self organising abilities of staff |
| Manifestation | The hierarchical organisation chart that details the levels of supervision. The need for compliance. Those who are given responsibility take decisions. The primary customer is the boss. Communication is predominately telling (Team Briefing etc) | There are fewer tiers of management. Management information is widely distributed. Decisions are taken at or near the work face. Communication is predominantly listening. Management recognises that the individual does have choice, He/she can choose to fully commit to an organisation or they can simply comply with instructions. There is a vast difference in intelligent output from these contrasting attitudes to the organisation |
| Losses vs Gains |
Those within the system soon learn that survival and progress is achieved though compliance. Creativity and innovation are sidelined. The Chief Executives draw the decision making up to their level and the staff and employees allow this to happen by upward delegation. | Greatly improved morale. Less tiers of management therefore fewer overheads. A greater degree of involvement and commitment to the goals of the organisation. Increased sense of responsibility. A much faster decision making process |
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| Principle | Once you have established the system then the Principal variable is people’s adherence to the system. The leaders primary concern is therefore not the system but the people. | Leaders recognise that at least 90% of the outcome originates from the design of the system, they, therefore, see their main role as designers of systems to enable staff to perform |
| Manifestation | Contracts, rules and regulations, audits, inspection, supervision, people are accountable, laws. Manuals and procedures (e.g. ISO 9000). In public organisations when a problem is identified the usual outcome is the laying down of yet another regulation. Telling is the primary form of communication. The concentration of improvement is to get more educated and more diligent people. | Improvement effort is concentrated in bettering the system. The systems are represented by flow maps. The capabilities of the system are determined and input is sought from those working in the system. As Leaders recognise their primary role in the designing effective systems, they see their staff & workers as the customers of their designs. They therefore spend considerable time listening to their internal customers. As people tend not to be blamed then an atmosphere of mutual trust and openness can be established. |
| Losses vs Gains |
Compliance to the rules supersedes the desire to meet the needs of the customer and the organisation. In the tendering-contract situation the focus moves from the job in hand to securing the greatest profit from the contract. These losses are further compounded by the customer having to employ staff to counter balance the manipulations of the contractor. Employees become risk averse because they can become open to criticism if they do not follow the set instructions, procedures, laws etc. When something goes wrong then it is people rather than the system that is blamed. Staff become disillusioned with the manipulation of information. Major issues become undiscussable. | Staff see the next person down the flow of work as their internal customer. From a listening mode the designer (leader) of the system is much more in touch with what is happening at the work face and is able to hear and act upon the improvement suggestions of those working in the system. As individual blame is rare then there is openness and a greater willingness to address challenging issues, major issues are discussible. |
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| Principle | Once a system is established and documented then it is fixed – static | Systems are dynamic. In the simplest form they have both growing and decaying elements. Furthermore there is a delay between actions and results that complicate any cause and effect analysis. |
| Manifestation | The establishment of lengthy Manual and Procedure documents. Auditing of these procedures by third party organisations. The delegation of the writing and design of systems. Thinking is short term and focused on events or measurable achievements. Little senior management time allocated to monitoring the effect of systems. No recognition that systems influence the behaviour of employees. No appreciation of the effect of delay between action and the eventual result. Poorly designed systems that are maintained by the initiative of those working in the system. | Recognition of dynamic systems and their diagrammatic representation. Their subsequent detailed study. Awareness that improvement leverage is often in that aspect of the system that tends to limit growth. |
| Losses vs Gains |
Extensive waste through management having poor understanding of dynamic systems especially in the context of delay. The tendency to treat symptoms rather than the cause. The subsequent loss of confidence in the leadership of the organisation. A further dip in morale. | Far superior designs of systems and hence a far greater quality and quantity of output from those working in the system. A greater confidence in the understanding of senior management, yet another uplift in morale. |
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| Principle | The existence of variation is not officially recognised in the presentation and interpretation of data. | An understanding of variation and statistics is essential if one is to gain knowledge from data and ensure that damaging misinterpretations are avoided |
| Manifestation | Data is presented in tabulated form, comparing this period’s achievement with the previous period or last year’s period. Every variation from budget or previous achievement is thought to be explainable. Our managers therefore waste considerable time trying to find a cause where none exists, other than in the variation of the system. Having found the non existent explanation they take action – usually by blaming people -and end up increasing the variation and waste within the system. (The official term used for this activity is "Tampering") The mode of thinking is backward looking, it is attempting to find out what went wrong. (or right) | Management recognises that there is variation in everything - and there are two types of variation. The one that reflects the inherent variation within the system and the other that reflects a special event has occurred. Management action is very different with one type of variation against the other. If it is inherent variation we look to improve the system. With special variation we investigate the single event. Data is, therefore, presented in graphic form so that variation and trends are readily identified. The senior executives appreciate that it takes skill and some knowledge of statistical process control to secure knowledge from data. The primary mode of thinking is to understand the system to enable future achievement to be predicted |
| Losses vs Gains |
We secure little knowledge from the data collected and hence lose major opportunities for improvement. This is compounded by the distortion of data to meet arbitrary targets, budgets etc. | Variation is understood and misinterpretations are avoided. Hence improvement investigations are much more focused. And the concentration of effort tends to be directed to reducing upstream variation and conflict. System stability is the goal. Stability (or the absence of crisis) releases time and effort for further improvement. |
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| Principle | It is possible to isolate the one cause of a failure – each person can be made accountable. You can measure the major aspects of an organisation | Variation, randomness and complexity are admitted and it is recognised that results are outcomes of a whole range of influences, few of which are in the control of the individual. We cannot with certainty identify the cause of a result. Recognition that the major issues within an organisation are unmeasureable. |
| Manifestation | When a problem occurs then investigations tend to focus on the individual that has been made accountable. Blame ensues - even to the threat of liability, of being sued for negligence. We appraise staff in the belief that if an organisation can train, attract and promote good people then profit and cost effectiveness would follow. A typical phrase would be "if you cannot measure it you cannot manage it." The objective of each team member is localised into meeting his/her target or budget. | Leaders are concerned with the system, they recognise that the system can only be improved not optimised. Improvement thinking is directed both "upstream" to likely causes and downstream to the needs of customers. The aim is to reduce variation, conflict and instability to the inputs to the system. Leaders recognise and pay due cognisance to the unmeasureable and unknowable. Recognition of self managing systems. The aim of the whole is clearly recognised and actions are taken in context of the whole. |
| Losses vs Gains |
Blame and the fear of blame destroys innovation and creativity. Considerable time is lost covering’s ones backside and playing "politics." When one is made accountable then there is a very strong temptation to distort data to make one look good. Subsequent decisions are then made on poor quality information. Meeting ones own target predominates the needs of the organisation. The vast sums spent on litigation. The even greater loss from fear of litigation | Recognition of all the variables that contribute to a system, therefore improvement thinking is all encompassing. Communication is across the organisation with full recognition of internal customers. Opportunities for improvement are sought out before they become complaints. There is little blame. Views and suggestions are seen to be very valuable. This has enormous benefits in morale, creativity and innovation. Through accepting the concept of self organising systems there is less requirement for leaders to demand to be kept informed and less temptation to interfere. |
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| Principle | Management/Leadership is an art, it is god given ability. One develops knowledge through experience. | Knowledge is developed though scientific method. It is acquired and developed through the disciplined application of a cyclical process of - propose a theory or prediction (plan)– experiment (do) – study the results (study) – amend or confirm original theory. (Act) (Commonly known as the Deming Wheel - Plan(P), Do(D), Study(S), and Act(A) - the PDSA cycle. This is how science has developed over the centuries) |
| Manifestation | There is little leadership training given especially for those at the top of an organisation. Management training is predominately about methods – i.e. accounts, project management, time management, etc rather than the theories of human behaviour. Development is subject to flavours of the month (Quality Circles, TQM, ISO 9000, PBR, Team Briefing, IIP, EFQM etc). Little management time is devoted to learning from past predictions. The mode of management is "Crisis Management" of " Firefighting." | Organisations recognise that learning is an ongoing function for the whole company and must be addressed in a disciplined and cyclical structure. Learning is based on sound theory. Predictions from theory are made and there is a careful review of the results to confirm or contradict the initial theory/prediction. Managers are thinkers and will allocate considerable time to think through problems. Senior executives do the most training. |
| Losses vs Gains |
The West has funded considerable research into the theories of management throughout this century but little is actually applied in our organisations. Conversely we copy methods without understanding that they may be based on different perceptions/theories/mental models. (E.g. Quality Circles, TQM, JIT etc) Reliance on experience, which is acquired through our mental models or paradigms, slows development of new thinking. | Personal and organisational learning is seen as a vital ingredient for survival. There is an all round willingness to challenge our mental models. Humans are naturally curious – they enjoy learning, especially when they can see an application for their learning. |
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| Principle | It is possible to motivate staff by the use of rewards and punishment. Motivation is predominately extrinsic. We are beings that respond primarily to external stimuli. (Positive re-enforcement or behaviourism.) If we are given a reward for an action then it encourages us to repeat that activity. In a similar fashion fear of punishment concentrates the mind and ensures due diligence. We are all motivated in the same way | Observable motivation is a function of personal inner drives and the situation. The inner drives of an individual tend to be fixed, complex and related to our innermost needs, they are an intrinsic quality, we are all different. Organisations can either capture and channel those inner drives or smother them. Continued use of extrinsic motivators will markedly diminish commitment. |
| Manifestation | Bonus systems, performance related pay, commission, suggestion schemes with prizes, Staff appraisal is seen as a mechanism for securing a better performance from the individual into the next period. Non conformance reports, reviews relative to not meeting budget, league tables, etc. | The task of management is to recognise inner drive patterns and to structure work to best capture that energy. Observable motivation is seen as a function between the inner drives and the situation. The task of management is to design the situation that best compliments the inner drives. It can design a system that allows expression of inner needs and hence secure positive motivation, conversely it recognises that it can design a system can smother the desire to contribute. Recognition of Hertzberg's observation that pay and conditions are hygiene factors – if they are not right then they de-motivate but once fair enhance pay does not motivate further. Money once agreed is taken off the agenda. It is recognised that external motivators such as rewards and punishment will markedly reduce innovation. It is seen as a necessary discipline for each person to understand the inner drives of his/her colleagues. Care and understanding is taken in placing the individual in the position. Furthermore it is recognised that in teams each personality adopts unconscious roles. Teams are successful when all roles are represented and there is a free inter-relationship between the roles. There is recognition that a good sales person may not make a good sales manager and vice- versa – there is therefore minimum grading between the two positions. |
| Losses vs Gains |
"The basis of reward/punishment thinking is "Do this and you will get that" What happens in practice is that the concentration of thought goes away from the "this" – the job, and onto the "that" the reward or punishment. It reduces positive thought relative to improving the job; it encourages distortion to secure the reward. It limits the willingness to take risks. The mechanism of punishment/rewards is a controlling mechanism by the giver over the receiver. This is recognised by the receiver and resented. Fear dramatically weakens our motivation and resolve – it moves us into a self-protection mindset. When fear exists there are whole rafts of issues that are felt to be undiscussible. Undiscussible issues remain unresolved. | Fewer grades of management. Far less tendency to grade therefore far less tendency for individuals to act in a role not in sympathy with their motivational characteristic. Therefore less stress in the organisation. The emphasis is on capturing each person’s attributes rather than the individual feeling the need to compete to seek promotion, power and authority. The removal of fear makes a very positive contribution to morale and initiative. The organisation makes far better use of the abilities of its people. |
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| Principle | Survival of the fittest - Competition keeps us on our toes | We survive and progress by co-operation. |
| Manifestation | Career plans, internal competition for promotion or for even that bit of praise. The perception that if someone is pushing for your position you will work harder. The competition between departments – compounded if they have to compete for budget allocation. The move away from the ethics of character such as honesty, integrity, love, modesty etc and onto the manipulative personality techniques of how to influence people, stress management, negotiations skills, supervisor training, PR, Spin Doctors etc. It keeps at arms length its suppliers, its use of the tendering process to secure the best price (Value). Its mindset is to win relative to others. | Time is allocated to designing and developing teams. Once a team decides on a course of action then there is full commitment to that action. The organisation involves both its suppliers and customers in its search for continued improvement, it may even co-operate with its competitors. It seeks win-win solutions. |
| Losses vs Gains |
Conflict, internal politics, and manipulation - the individual is more concerned with personal advancement than the task or even ethics. Poor teamwork and point scoring. Poor communication across the organisation. There is a sense of stealing if someone develops an idea initiated by yourself. Other people’s proposition is met with criticism or counter proposals. Fear of losing weakens ones initiative, Suppliers provide the contract minimum. | Co-operation and the reduction of conflict contribute immensely to teamwork. As each member of staff is able to build on the ideas of his/her colleagues - innovation blossoms. The suppliers recognise that their welfare is connected to your welfare and will provide in excess of contract requirements. Similarly your customers work closely with you to give valuable feedback and provide stability from which you can invest to improve your service to the customer. A win-win situation develops for all parties. Again morale improves |
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| Principle | There are limited resources within an organisation or market such that individuals and companies have to compete to secure a fair share. | Markets can be created, increased sales are not always at the expense of your competitors. The world’s economic activity is growing year by year; there are markets for those that can anticipate the needs of future customers. |
| Manifestation | Companies tend not to work with each other. They focus on beating the opposition often at the expense of the customer. The suppliers are kept at arms length and the tendering process is used as an attempt to secure value for money. Thinking is dominated by the short term. | There is a greater willingness for companies and organisations to co-operate in the development of a market. There is recognition of the existence of win-win situations and there is active pursuit of this objective. |
| Losses vs Gains |
Unnecessary conflict, poor development of services for the customer, the hiding or distortion of information with an organisation. The adversarial relationship of client and contractor on work secured through tenders | Benefits to the customer and to the companies that are able, by joint action, to anticipate and delight the customer. The development of markets, increased welfare and standard of living for everybody, greater life expectancy |
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Thinking: Analytical Vs Holistic
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| Principle | We break down complex issues into the component parts and then study each part. The assumption is that if each part is right then the whole will be right. | The whole is not the sum of the parts. It is how the parts inter-relate that characterises the whole. To maximise the whole it may be necessary to sub-optimise some of the parts. |
| Manifestation | The breaking down of organisations into departments and then setting each department a target or budget. The limited effort expended in communication across the organisation. Communication is predominately up and down the hierarchical chain of command. The limited involvement of the customer and the supplier in the development of organisational systems | The organisation thinks in terms of systems and may draw flow maps. They create tiers of system flow maps each with the interdependencies clearly defined. When studying a system more consideration is given to inter-relationships than to each element or activity of the system. |
| Losses vs Gains |
Poor communication across the organisation. Competition between departments. Optimisation of the parts at the expense of the whole. Stifles improvement suggestions because they have to go up and down the hierarchical chain of command before they can be implemented. Improvement suggestions have a limited focus. | The aim is clearly to maximise the whole. It aids the development of a vision of the organisation that will capture everyone’s commitment. Co-operation for the benefit of the whole is the underlying ethos. Vastly improves teamwork. |
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Thinking - Adversarial Vs Parallel
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| Principle | The aim is to search for and discover the truth. We analyse any proposition by putting forward a counter proposal and through the continued debate of one proposal vs another we arrive at the truth or correct solution. We break down an idea and through critical analysis we strip it of any false assumptions. The assumption is that only sound arguments will withstand intensive critical thought. There is a judgement against each part of the argument. | |
| Manifestation | The House of Commons, the arms length customer-supplier relationships, at school we are taught analytical skills but not synthesis. Religious bodies who consider they have found the one truth. Our tendency to hear arguments from our own background conversations and contradict the one element in a whole argument in which we disagree. The criticism of half-baked ideas. | Complexity ensures that there is never one answer – a truth – The need is to design the best solution, based on sound Principles, by using everyone’s contribution. Judgement of proposals is delayed until the final design of possibilities.The use of thinking models such as Lateral Thinking, The Six Thinking Hats and Brainstorming. The progressive structuring of thinking projects through determination of facts, emotions, difficulties, possibilities and new ideas. The encouragement of half developed ideas. The discipline of not criticising suggestions. The discipline of having to explain your colleagues point of view to their satisfaction. Judgement is left till the final designed solution is to be evaluated. |
| Losses vs Gains |
The basis is argument and the criticism of propositions, it is a destructive rather than a constructive and building process. Because of the inherent criticism employees are reluctant to propose improvement suggestions – it builds a defensive mindset. This is compounded by the competitive nature of our organisations and the reluctance of individuals to recognise the good ideas of colleagues. | The allowance of emotional responses. The structuring of the thinking process reduces the time of meetings and enhances results. The individual can contribute relative to their own motivation and team working profiles. Encourages a positive mindset and creativity. Facilities innovation and the design of workable solutions |
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| Principle | When learning or making decisions we refer to conscious logical thought. Feelings should be controlled and denied. We are logical beings. | The subconscious retains memory not only of past events but also the feelings we had relative to those events. When judging present situations we not only refer to present logic but also to the stored memory of past events and feelings. The recognition of the infinite capacity of the brain and the benefit from developing radiant thinking and the power of association. Also the recognition that we develop thinking patterns or paradigms. These patterns assist with tasks that we have previously learnt such as driving a car but they also limit our ability to see things anew. We have a tendency to see what we believe rather than believe what we see. This leads to paradigm paralysis and the rejection to new thinking. |
| Manifestation | The subconscious is not officially recognised within the every day management of an organisation. Arguments are based on logic. | The work of psychologists in the field of mental health, and the increasing use of psychology in business organisations. The recognition of the value of a positive mental attitude. The recognition that just as physical health can be developed by psychical training so can mental health be developed by mental exercises. The use of diagrams, flow maps, mind maps, cause and effect diagrams, etc. to develop association thinking. The recognition that to learn new ideas we first have to unlearn our existing perceptions. We challenge our irrationality. |
| Losses vs Gains |
We do not recognise, and thus do not challenge, our sub-conscious mental maps. When we teach we instruct from the logic of the concept, but when we hear we listen in context to our own perceived and often sub-conscious perceptions. If they are in conflict not only do we increase confusion but we also hamper change. We do not recognise our paradigms and therefore see only what we believe. This greatly limits innovation. | Recognition of the fantastic ability of the brain and that we use such a small part of its capability – especially within organisations. The subsequent recognition of the benefit to an organisation if it can develop efficient systems to capture all employees thinking potential. Again improved morale when you are really challenging people’s creativity. The subsequent commitment to training. |
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| Principle | Our leaders require to be dynamic and action orientated. They display considerable energy and commitment. | The leaders are thoughtful people who take time to think deeply and who concentrate on the long term. |
| Manifestation | Crisis management of firefighting. Poor attention to planning. Little time devoted to analysing past achievements; management gets trapped into addressing the short-term problems. Similar problems keep recurring. The proliferation of mobile phones. Lack of time is of major consideration of most senior executives. Senior executives work long hours. | Time is allocated to studying the root causes of problems. Management listens. Leaders expose themselves to extensive training and new thinking. Plans are prepared on sound information that give an accurate prediction of the future. They are aware that to obtain clarity of thought that they may have to practice a form of meditation to clear the mind of extraneous thoughts and give new thinking an opportunity to be born. |
| Losses vs Gains |
The organisation does not learn from its mistakes. It is also in a reactive mode relative to the market and the latest crisis. A tendency to over react. Managers get hooked on the adrenaline of power when they find themselves being called on resolve the latest crisis. They often interfere when not required and are too busy to address the real long-term issues. Thinking is short term – long term issues are left to the vagrancies of the market. Instability within the work environment makes improvement difficult – there is no time for improvement or innovation. Jobs are rushed and quality suffers – "Crisis Management" is extremely wasteful of management time. | The organisation is developed on a planned basis, it is predominately in a pro-active mode and is therefore able to offer an excellent customer service. There is time to rectify problems so that they do not re-occur. It recognises that its principal asset is the creativity of its people and it ensures that this resource is developed into a dynamic competitive advantage. Because it believes in its employees it will retain them. As calmness and an ability to comprehend the whole is the goal, rather than decisiveness and perpetual energy, there will be considerably less stress on the senior executives |
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