May, Puffer and Puffer (2005)

Management > Comparative Management > Lectures > Independent Research > May, Puffer and Puffer > Lessons

Lessons

Managers and employees were put into a committee which had to achieve in certain projects, designed to facilitate the transition from a socialist to a capitalist economy.

1. Check the DNA (Denial, Naivety and Acceptance). The first priority is to choose recipients who are genuinely willing to change.
2. Appreciate the mindset - such as not taking responsibility or working as a team
3. Get them talking - up, down and across (they were prone to secrecy and have a high power distance). It was seen that Russians liked groups, so the success of committee was made dependent on group co-ordination, which helped overcome the Soviet barrier of no communication. The hierarchy favoured by Russians was catered for, as the knowledge-sharing exercise needed the approval of the director general.
4. Call for action - encouraged to apply to their own organisations. It is better to find blame than a solution, resulting in the hiding of mistakes in organisational inefficiency and bureaucracy. Thus personal accountability was worked into the programme. Trainers realised that a combination of carrot and stick was useful, such as the Three Strikes program, which linked individual performance to compensation and punishment systems.

Recommendations for transfer