The Working Leader by Leonard R. Sayles

Author:Leonard R. Sayles
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Free Press

IMPLEMENTATION TRADE-OFFS

Of course, the manager does more than conceive of strategic solutions; they have to be implemented. What may sound like a simple, straightforward change in direction may have manifold repercussions at the operating level. And, of course, the failure to integrate effectively the great numbers of modifications of current practice will spell failure for the new strategy.

It may be instructive to look closely at the impact of a strategic change as it played itself out deep in the organization. What follows is a relatively simple example.

Exxon had been involved in three oil spills in the waters surrounding New York harbor during the 1990s. Given the economic and public relations cost of the Valdez tanker disaster in Alaska and the outcries from city officials, Exxon committed itself to improving its practices for unloading and loading oil. Essentially, it shifted its strategic emphasis from cost-effectiveness to safety (that is, eliminating the likelihood of an oil spill almost regardless of cost).

A company study disclosed that changes such as these had to be made in day-to-day operating procedures:

• Ships in poor condition are not allowed to dock at their terminal (a procedure was established to check out the ship’s condition while it was approaching).

• Mooring lines are checked more frequently, because “snapped lines” can cause a spill.

• Hoses through which petroleum products are transferred must be less than three years old.

• Hoses that will carry hot asphalt cannot be in use for longer than six months.

• Incoming ships have to give seventy-two hours notice before they dock, so that the compatibility of their unloading equipment and the terminal’s equipment can be assured.

• Whenever petroleum is being transferred, one member of the crew must be assigned to activate a warning alarm every twenty-five seconds. The shrill sound helps keep crew members alert and therefore more likely to spot the beginning of any spill.

• Three tugs (on either side and astern) “guard” the tanker, and a tug is assigned to guide each tanker through the channels leading to the Exxon terminal. Another always stands by in case the tanker has trouble docking. (Apparently, in the past, it was not unusual to have tankers bumping into each other and into other obstructions that could cause the hull to spring a leak.)

• Various vessels now carry containment booms, so that spilled oil will not spread. 9

All this minutiae and detail helps emphasize how something like improved safety (or quality or service) ramifies through a work system. Almost every work step needs modification, and many parts of the organization, as well as outside organizations, also have to be brought into alignment. Many functions will have to contribute to assessing what needs to be done. A large number of changed practices have to be designed and imposed. In many instances, this will require consensus building in addition to direct orders.

One can make explicit the leadership skills required of a middle-level manager who sought to initiate this kind of strategic change, and deal with the large number, cost, and dispersion of the required changes.

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