Organisational speed of response

Most Organizations like to describe themselves in terms of the inverted pyramid – with customers at the peak and managers at the bottom, signifying the primacy of the market place in the hierarchy of Organizational importance. There can be admittedly no business without customers and appropriate markets. This is also why presumably more Organizational muscle is concentrated at the interface where ‘the rubber hits the road.’ Longevity of managerial careers is also linked to intimate, first – hand knowledge of the market place and appropriately many successful managerial careers have begun at the marketplace. The rough and tumble of the marketplace and customer insights gained first – hand cannot be replaced by classroom and text books. All these are well – established and accepted facts.
The disconnect normally occurs after the Second passage in the managerial ladder when the Managerial brains trust gets cocooned in swanky air – conditioned, well – appointed offices and substitutes first hand market knowledge with an array of technology enabled gadgets and a burgeoning managerial hierarchy. The larger the organization the more it’s distance from the marketplace and often as much the distance from their foot – soldiers that manages it’s bunkers. All that comes in are masses and masses of reports that supposedly or allegedly serve as ‘decision – support’ systems.
The customers are hostage to a mass of poorly trained, poorly motivated and often badly selected foot soldiers who are themselves hostage to frustrations, resentments and a host of such negatives bred in the heated furnaces of poor inter – actions with their first – line managers who in turn..... the cycle can go a long way into the interiors of giant Organizations. While authentic market information still trickles in through paid professional market reports, no such reports are available about the front – line that actually influences perception and patronage. Most managements are smug about the mandatory annual ‘Organizational Climate Survey’ which in a true sense is just another compilation of group angst that gets transformed into colorful bar and pie – charts and are suitably dressed up to project the flavor of the season.
Such Organizations are characterized by the emergence and existence of a sub -section of management that operates with impunity under the title of ‘Local Management.’ The ‘Local Management’ in such Organizations is the filter and often the impenetrable wall through which nothing passes. A million stories of misinformation, mistreatment and missed opportunities remain distorted, hidden and even permanently interred.
Tragically Organizations coalesce into huge behemoths that are not aware of what happens in their backyards; like the legendary pachyderms they find themselves slow – witted and slow to respond when they should ideally be as nimble – footed as the cheetah in reactions and response – time. It is imperative that Organizations invent devices that unite the head and the tail into a seamless channel where information flow is unencumbered by history or hierarchy......
Pssst ...... has anybody noticed that when organizations plan for ‘Quantum Leap’ it is the cheetah or it’s ilk that’s chosen as the mascot .......not the elephant !!!