FREE ESSAY ON IN SEARCH OF EXCELLENCE- BOOK REVIEW

IN SEARCH OF EXCELLENCE- BOOK REVIEW

In Search of Excellence is a book dealing with many different principles of economics and
what makes big business' excellent. The first idea that Peters discusses is his chart of
the McKinsey 7-S Framework. The graph is very simple but the ideas are fairly complex. In
their research, they found that their philosophies were too hard to explain and easily
forgettable. They made this Framework to deal with strategy, structure, style, systems,
staff (people), skills, and shared values (culture). This has 7 S's (easy to remember)
and a graphical representation to visualize. This shows the businessman that the
intractable, irrational, intuitive, and informal organization can be managed. For
example, anyone assuming that a new manager of a Taco Bell will perform exactly as the
old manager did is ridiculous. The organization of workers must adjust and adapt to the
new manager's way of business. 
Another more main topic of the novel is the Eight Basic Principles. Their research had
shown that the excellent companies had been based on the basics. The companies had to try
to keep things simple. Sometimes, to a big business, it might seem logical that business
should be run more complex the larger it is. From their research, this is usually not
true. The first pricnciple is a bias for action. This is basically saying Stop talking
and do something about it. When Taco Bell has a rush of customers and their supplies for
making food are low, they (usually) don't say You know what, I have no more cheese or
Could someone get me some more cheese? They take action and get the cheese, make it if
necessary, and get the problem solved as quickly as possible.
The second Principle they deal with is to be close to the customer. This means good
service and listening to what the customer has to say. If the producer, Taco Bell, is not
in touch with what the customer wants to eat, then the business will most likely fail.
Although it also refers to customer satisfaction; quality food made right and curteous
service: Have a nice day and enjoy your meal! 
The third principle is autonomy and entrepreneurship. This is the innovation principle.
3M is known for innovation and they welcome the changing and rearranging of old and new
products. For example, my dad took 3M's basic arthroscopy pump and redesigned it into an
in flow-out flow cannula. This innovation on his part temporarilly set 3M back on its
feet in that product line.
The fourth basic principle is productivity through people. This deals with the indivdual
as the best means for efficiency improvement rather than capital investment. If Taco Bell
could put everyone in the area of work they most enjoyed (drive-thru, washer,...) then
they could produce more food and maximize their utiles. 
The fifth basic principle is hands on, value driven. This is the standard setting and
enforcing values in a company. This is keeping the head honcho in touch with the assembly
line worker and projecting the company's original ideas, instead of an image of some
suited businessman lurking in a big, dark office. 
The sixth and often obvious principle is to stick to the knitting. The basically says
that if a company is in the food business, it should not branch off into the wood
industry unless they have no where else to expand in the industry they are already in. 
The seventh basic principle is a simple form, lean staff. This means leaving few people
up top to manage a company and keep the form of management simple. 
The eighth and final basic principle is simultaneous loose-tight properties. This is
another value-based principle. This could be described as the ability for a worker of
Taco Bell to do his/her job in his/her own way as they incorporate the company's values
and philosophies into their work. These values demonstrate that they don't just work
because they work, but rather because they just make sense. Peters does a great job of
explaining and giving examples of these eight principles and shows us that we would be
foolish to ignore these principles. Also, we could learn a new skill from the 7
S-Framework, which is what growth is really about: the ability to learn and teach.