George and colleagues,
Why is bigger always better? Why does a company have to go public to be a model that management educators hold in high esteem? Why can't a 'game-changing design' include measured growth by private companies that continue to value their employees as well as their customers? Is Jim Goodnight (CEO of SAS) less of a strategic thought-leader than Sam Walton because his company doesn't have as many employees?
When I read our textbooks (mine included), I sometimes wonder whether we fall into the trap that, "you must be large to be important." If we contribute to this belief, then we may be pushing the next generation of business leaders toward non-sustainable growth... toward business models that displace costs to the environment, the government, and employees so that capital is available to grow, grow, grow.... Is that a 'game-changing design,' or business as usual in the United States? Clearly, I have more questions and more doubts than answers.
Consistent with an earlier post by Ben Arbaugh, I'd like to end with a brief call for help identifying resources that have been helpful to you for understanding the current financial crisis. Charmine Hartel and I co-edit the book and resource review section of AMLE, and we are seeking books and other resources that would help our community get a grasp on the causes, responses, and consequences of the current financial crisis. What have you read, seen, or heard that has helped you make sense of this downturn? Feel free to reply to me off-line, and I will post.
Ken
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Kenneth G. Brown, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Henry B. Tippie Faculty Fellow
Associate Editor, Academy of Management Learning & Education
Henry B. Tippie College of Business
Iowa City, IA 52246
Ken,
Thank you for your recommended models. I agree that they are both worthy, but as you say SAS is private and Stonyfield Farm has been taken over. Let's see if SAS goes public and grows to the size of Walmart anytime soon and remains trouble free.
Mr. Sam went public and grew beyond all expectations. His successors sometimes took the "pass the savings on to the customer" a bit too far and pushed the envelope on corporate welfare for a while. But now they are model corporate citizens who ate the cost of community advisors to keep their corporate lawyers in check. As far as contribution to the communities, the Walmart Foundation has dispensed billions to community agencies throughout the years. I've followed Walmart closely since Mr. Sam was the game-changing director, e.g., they gave 50 million U.S.D. to the College of Business at the University of Arkansas and later 300 million U.S.D. to the University. As far as business ethics, they have one of the strongest standards of behavior of any organization anywhere. They are required to behave as Caesar's wife beyond reproach. The ethic breaches that one reads about are punished internally. Mrs. Helen Walton was the enforcer after Mr. Sam died. Most people cannot understand the "Christian culture of Northwest Arkansas". I know it took me a decade living here to understand what it supports and what it fights. The culture demands the ethics of Jesus Christ and the punishment of God of the Old Testament. Employees are selected on this basis and self-select on it. Those who don't adhere to it, don't go anywhere in the corporation. Witness the recent legal cases of executives gone wrong. I could go on for pages, but you get the point.
In sum, the culture of Walmart has been exported around the world and for an innovative giant corporation, I recommend it as among the least with exemplar implemented designs worldwide.
Cheers,
George
/jag
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