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13 - Stay tuned: knowledge brokering via inter-firm collaboration in satellite radio
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- By Chad Navis, doctoral student in the Organization and Management Department, Goizueta Business School, Emory University, MaryAnn Glynn, Professor of Organization and Management, Goizueta Business School, Emory University., Andrew Hargadon, Associate Professor of Management and Director of the Technology Management Programs Graduate School of Management, University of California at Davis.
- Edited by Edward D. Hess, Emory University, Atlanta, Robert K. Kazanjian, Emory University, Atlanta
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- Book:
- The Search for Organic Growth
- Published online:
- 03 December 2009
- Print publication:
- 28 September 2006, pp 244-270
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Summary
In dynamic business environments, opportunities often arise faster than entrenched players can form a response. Many organizations have been taken by surprise, unable to see or anticipate new opportunities. For instance, in 1876 William Orton of the Western Union Telegraph Company rejected an offer by Alexander Graham Bell to sell his telephone patents because Western Union could not envision how the telephone would be successful. From 1974 to 1984 the Swiss watch industry lost 30% of the world export market because it was unable to recognize the merits of quartz and electronic technology (Glasmeier, 1991). By 1979, Xerox Corporation's Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) had developed graphical user interfaces, mice, windows and pull down menus, laser printing, distributed computing, and Ethernet, but Xerox failed to exploit these innovations because of management's preoccupation with Japan's encroachment on its core copier business (Port, 1997). UPS, Emery Air Freight, and USPS each considered the idea of an overnight delivery service like that of FedEx, but rejected the concept because they could not foresee a market need (Collins & Lazier, 1992).
In hindsight, it is easy to dismiss these unfortunate business decisions as irrational or even incompetent. Such arguments recognize the competency traps faced by established firms: that despite longer-term returns, most firms are unable to overcome (or see beyond) the short-term costs of adopting new technologies and pursuing new strategies (Christensen, 1997; Leonard-Barton, 1992; March, 1991). The Swiss watchmakers had been building watches the same way for centuries.
8 - Principled leadership: a framework for action
- Edited by Edward D. Hess, Emory University, Atlanta, Kim S. Cameron, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
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- Book:
- Leading with Values
- Published online:
- 06 July 2010
- Print publication:
- 03 August 2006, pp 151-171
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Summary
In this chapter we address a question that is fundamental to principled leadership: How can leaders lead with their principles in organizational situations that challenge their ability to act on those principles? Principled leadership is not simply about having the right values or principles, but also about being able to act on these principles when leaders find themselves in situations that may work against those principles and values.
To introduce these ideas, we offer an example that some might see as curious or even ironic: that of Kenneth Lay at Enron. Enron's recent collapse and scandalized image, along with the impending trial of its former CEO (Lay), suggest that it may not always be easy for leaders to put their principles into play. According to voluminous news reports, books, and articles about Enron, Lay's tenure with the company seemed to have been marked by his repeated attempts to communicate to both internal and external stakeholders that he was a “good” and “thoughtful” man. Likewise, he repeatedly expressed that part of his role at Enron was to guard and embody the central values of the company, namely respect, integrity, honesty, and sincerity. He claimed that, in his role of leader, he expected that Enron would reflect some of his own values and principles, particularly that of the “Golden Rule,” i.e., Enron would “treat others as we want to be treated,” and that the company had “absolute integrity” (as quoted in McLean and Elkind, 2004, p. 89).