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Strategy in Operating Decisions |
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Mark Controls Corporation |
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The University of Chicago - Graduate School of Business |
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By H. Edward Wrapp |
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Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 |
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Interview with Gary MacDougal, the Chairman and CEO (Part 2)
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"Once a year, we require that each senior officer of the company (fifteen of us) be evaluated for his managerial and problem-solving abilities by his subordinates. The evaluations are in writing, but are processed in a way to preserve anonymity. We are not a democracy, controlled by votes, but we can oftentimes get some valuable insights from these reviews.
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"All of the senior managers maintain their links to fast-track middle managers. We discuss the development of these people frequently, and I personally review the work of men and women whom we think are headed for top management.
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"I take a strong role in recruiting managers for growth. My principal task is to sell the prospect, rather than exercise a veto.
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"Although we now employ about 5,000 people, I insist on reading the exit interviews for everyone who decides to leave us. This may be the most objective information we can ever get about the company, and it’s a good influence on the manager to know my concern over losing an employee.
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"To be effective as the Chief Personnel Officer, you must really like people, have respect for the little guy even in private, be convinced there are no ‘jerks’, only people in wrong jobs.
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"It is my responsibility to communicate a code of ethics for the organization: always tell the customer the truth no matter how much it hurts; cut no corners on products; harbor no ‘friends’ with special deals, as suppliers; send back Christmas gifts no matter how modest; insist on immediate termination for lying or dishonesty, but be understanding of other kinds of weaknesses. Failures can be confronted without emotion.
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"I try to set an example for being responsive, always available and accessible. When away from the office, I call in at least once a day. I also have a rule that any time an urgent matter comes to my desk, it gets attention within 48 hours.
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"There is a time for family priorities. We never work on weekends unless there is an emergency. When a family is moving or some one is seriously ill, we expect the employee to put his family first. However, we do expect people to travel during non-work hours.
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"We constantly stress the need for a scale of priorities. The organization must understand why I select certain things for my attention. One of the keys to good management is recognizing that what you choose to work at is more important even than how hard you work.
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"Our attitude toward failure is that we are looking for good batting averages, not perfect records. There can be no real growth for the company or its people unless we accept the possibility of failure. I talk frequently about my own mistakes in order to remind people that we all make them, and reduce their own fear of making them.
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Page 4 Page 6
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