Review by Choice Review
Simons (Harvard Business School) believes that organization design--"the accountability system that outlines responsibilities, roles, and rights throughout a firm"--is the most important factor that helps large enterprises successfully implement their business strategy. His theory is based on five years of field interview and organizational research. He recommends managers provide a foundation by defining the primary customer, measuring critical performance variables based on goals and benchmarks, balancing the tension between stability and creativity, and maintaining commitment with others. From this, managers should design jobs that best serve customers, provide measures and incentive systems to manage accountability, accentuate human communication, and match the right people with the right jobs. Simons contends these actions influence the employees' "span of attention," which describes what they pay attention to, collect data on, and react to through their actions. Managers adjust the span of attention by determining resources employees control, selecting the measures to evaluate performance, and affecting the interactions and support of others. Numerous diagrams summarize the theory. Chapters are well referenced and filled with corporate examples; they finish with the chapter theme, key chapter ideas, and action steps. A unique, practical book. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduate through professional collections. G. E. Kaupins Boise State University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
