Broken Promises

In this incisive analysis of what happened to IBM, Quinn, a professor at Harvard Business School, and Friesen, a ""knowledge manager"" at Arthur Andersen, trace the ups and downs of this ""long-term player in a short-term industry"" and offer a mixed message concerning IBM's future prospects. Theirs is the story of an icon of American business fighting for survival, not because it failed to keep up with technological advances or lacked organizational flexibility, but because it let down both its customers and its employees. Drawing from several months of on-site research at IBM's headquarters, Quinn and Friesen argue convincingly that errors by recent management dislodged the two foundation stones of IBM's past success: its compact with customers to be the single-source supplier and caretaker of their information-processing needs and its compact with employees to guarantee their job security. The lessons they draw recapitulate contemporary management wisdom-e.g., remember that the customer comes first, understand your business, struggle unceasingly against bureaucracy, pay attention to employees. Unfortunately, the authors fail to delve into some fundamental issues: How might companies resist the short-term mentality that guides the operation of our capital markets? How wise is it to place strategic decision-making in the hands of one or a very few people when the lives of hundreds of thousands of people can be affected? This omission unnecessarily limits their contribution. (June)