- Hardcover: 246 pages
- Publisher: AMACOM (Feb 1 1997)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0814403484
- ISBN-13: 978-0814403488
- Product Dimensions: 23.8 x 16 x 2.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 517 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,140,239 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
What makes an organization great? After a four-year study of more than 1,000 companies worldwide, management consultant Jac Fitz-Enz says it is people--and the way they are developed and nurtured. In The 8 Practices of Exceptional Companies, he presents the top "human asset management" practices uncovered during his search and shows how other organizations can adopt them as their own. The result, he contends, will be higher profits along with more committed employees.
Book Description
High-performance companies don't get the extraordinary performers they need by tossing another fad management program on their people. Instead, they adhere to fundamental beliefs and operating strategies that pay off in the long run-both in higher profits and more productive employees.
Now the founder and president of the prestigious Saratoga Institute identifies best practices in human asset management. Based on four years of research involving more than 1,000 companies worldwide and filled with illuminating case studies, The 8 Practices of Exceptional Companies documents how the best organizations practice:
** balanced value fixation
** commitment to a core strategy
** culture-system linkage
** massive two-way communication
** partnering with stakeholders
** functional collaboration
** innovation and risk
** never being satisfied
The book shows managers and executives how to shift their primary focus away from short-term process improvement (reengineering, benchmarking, quality) and towards the enduring human asset management practices that can make these efforts long-term successes.
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First Sentence
In The Age of Paradox, Charles Handy stated that paradox is an endemic, inevitable part of life. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
In The Age of Paradox, Charles Handy stated that paradox is an endemic, inevitable part of life. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Best Human Asset Management Systems,
By Turgay BUGDACIGIL (Istanbul, Turkey) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The 8 Practices of Exceptional Companies (Hardcover)
"Although best practices and benchmarking have become intertwined topics for some people, this book is not a discussion of benchmarking. Instead, it is a discussion of our findings and opinions based on research into how effective companies manage the 'human asset'-the people whose efforts are the basis of any organization's success...This book is designed to serve two purposes. The first is to present the best human asset management practices that my organization, the Saratoga Institute, uncovered during a four-year study of over 1,000 companies. We learned that what constitutes best practice is an interactive set of eight organizational characteristics...My second objective is to expose the wasteful and misleading practices that cause three out of four improvement projects to fall short of their goals" (from the Introduction).In this context, in Chapter 1, Jac Fitz-enz identifies the eight driving forces that make up the context from which the best human asset management systems (BHAMs) and processes are derived: an interwoven human-financial value focus, commitment to a long-term core strategy, linkage of culture and systems, massive multidimensional communications, partnering within and outside the company, collaboration within functional groups, innovation through well-planned and managed risk taking, and a competitive passion that is never satisfied with less than constant improvement. Hence, throughout the following chapters, he explains each driving force and presents case studies of BHAM companies both in the U.S. and abroad. And, at the end of each chapter, he gives a short checklist. He says that "build your best practices by answering to those questions, you will have the blueprint for being one of the best human asset management organization." Finally, he writes, "Wouldn't it make more sense to accept the fact that complex problems can't be solved by simplistic programs or popular panaceas? Instead, take the time you might put into chasing the newest miracle cure and put it into: * Focusing your organization on value * Making a long-term commitment to a core strategy * Linking your culture to your systems * Communicating everything that people should know * Partnering * Being mutually supportive * Innovating and taking well-considered risks * Never getting complacent." Highly recommended.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Exceptional Guidance,
By
This review is from: The 8 Practices of Exceptional Companies (Hardcover)
This is a dangerous book. Why? Because those who make a total, long-term commitment to the eight practices will create great turbulence which must be overcome. Most of the wounds which organizations experience are self-inflicted...including the damage caused by ignorance and arrogance. Perils are inevitable whenever bold initiatives are undertaken. For those unwilling and/or unable to make a commitment to achieving and then sustaining excellence, their cause is hopeless. Fitz-enz insists that the best organizations are led by those who effectively nourish as well as manage human assets. Organizations grow only to the extent that those who comprise them grow. As he correctly points out, "In a knowledge company, people are the only profit lever."One final point: The best practices for any organization are often found within that organization. As a recruiting slogan for the U.S. Army suggests, "Be all that you can be." Stop looking for THE BIG ANSWER elsewhere. Look within yourself and within your own organization. Discover how to implement the eight practices in ways and to the extent that are most appropriate. Pogo once said, "We have met the enemy and he is us." Fitz-enz would perhaps accept a paraphrase of that: "We have found ways to be the best...and they are in us."ÿ
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.7 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews) 27 of 30 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Exceptional Guidance,
By Robert Morris - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The 8 Practices of Exceptional Companies (Hardcover)
This is a dangerous book. Why? Because those who make a total, long-term commitment to the eight practices will create great turbulence which must be overcome. Most of the wounds which organizations experience are self-inflicted...including the damage caused by ignorance and arrogance. Perils are inevitable whenever bold initiatives are undertaken. For those unwilling and/or unable to make a commitment to achieving and then sustaining excellence, their cause is hopeless. Fitz-enz insists that the best organizations are led by those who effectively nourish as well as manage human assets. Organizations grow only to the extent that those who comprise them grow. As he correctly points out, "In a knowledge company, people are the only profit lever."One final point: The best practices for any organization are often found within that organization. As a recruiting slogan for the U.S. Army suggests, "Be all that you can be." Stop looking for THE BIG ANSWER elsewhere. Look within yourself and within your own organization. Discover how to implement the eight practices in ways and to the extent that are most appropriate. Pogo once said, "We have met the enemy and he is us." Fitz-enz would perhaps accept a paraphrase of that: "We have found ways to be the best...and they are in us."ÿ 11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Best Human Asset Management Systems,
By Turgay BUGDACIGIL - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The 8 Practices of Exceptional Companies (Hardcover)
"Although best practices and benchmarking have become intertwined topics for some people, this book is not a discussion of benchmarking. Instead, it is a discussion of our findings and opinions based on research into how effective companies manage the 'human asset'-the people whose efforts are the basis of any organization's success...This book is designed to serve two purposes. The first is to present the best human asset management practices that my organization, the Saratoga Institute, uncovered during a four-year study of over 1,000 companies. We learned that what constitutes best practice is an interactive set of eight organizational characteristics...My second objective is to expose the wasteful and misleading practices that cause three out of four improvement projects to fall short of their goals" (from the Introduction).In this context, in Chapter 1, Jac Fitz-enz identifies the eight driving forces that make up the context from which the best human asset management systems (BHAMs) and processes are derived: an interwoven human-financial value focus, commitment to a long-term core strategy, linkage of culture and systems, massive multidimensional communications, partnering within and outside the company, collaboration within functional groups, innovation through well-planned and managed risk taking, and a competitive passion that is never satisfied with less than constant improvement. Hence, throughout the following chapters, he explains each driving force and presents case studies of BHAM companies both in the U.S. and abroad. And, at the end of each chapter, he gives a short checklist. He says that "build your best practices by answering to those questions, you will have the blueprint for being one of the best human asset management organization." Finally, he writes, "Wouldn't it make more sense to accept the fact that complex problems can't be solved by simplistic programs or popular panaceas? Instead, take the time you might put into chasing the newest miracle cure and put it into: * Focusing your organization on value * Making a long-term commitment to a core strategy * Linking your culture to your systems * Communicating everything that people should know * Partnering * Being mutually supportive * Innovating and taking well-considered risks * Never getting complacent." Highly recommended.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Personal Management,
By Mark Deo "Mark Deo" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The 8 Practices of Exceptional Companies: How Great Organizations Make the Most of Their Human Assets (Paperback)
I feel the book hits you in the gut so to speak. Needing to internalize what it is that is causing harm within you and your company. Really teaches you how to utilize the resources within your company. His 8 practices are a simple approach to get you company into shape, starting with you. Reminds me of turning service workers into knowledge workers from a Drucker standpoint, and utilizing your core competencies from a Hamel standpoint.
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