After nearly three years (1993-1995) absence (mostly spent on work relating to Central and Southern Asia) this Blog is being commenced to develop and promote thinking in Management and related areas in which Couch & Associates Pty Ltd has been extensive involved. 

`Why this blog?

To outline, disseminate, explore and develop the C&APL approach to sound management: 

  • Emphasis on practical, streamlined thinking, and action, while retaining consistency and rigour.

  • Available for Clients and Associates to reflect on, and to apply in the course of assignments.

  • Original / novel  features include understanding, as a whole: 

    • The hard and the soft - Bringing together the (usually separated) "hard" technical aspects of management and its "soft" human / culture considerations, combining:

      • rigorous decision making and treatment of risk and uncertainty

      • people development, including management development through learning and doing 

    • Real-world behaviours - a Complex Adaptive Systems or socio-technical systems perspective, to reflect real-world behaviours, rather than conventional simplistic management models

    • Management as a network of decisions, and characterising what makes for sound, implementable  decision making

    • The scope of human / business endeavours extending across organisational boundaries and including commercial and non-commercial endeavours

    • A concept of "resources" and their treatment, extending from just people and assets to include relationships, operations, investments, information and knowledge,  

    • Integrated management of resources with strategies, governance, decision making 

    • Ubiquity of management operating at all functional levels in an endeavour, and involving all who have custody of or responsibility for development, utilisation or operation of "resources"

The essence:

Success in any human / business endeavour is based on:

  • All its people (participants whether workers directly or other stakeholders) learning, developing, and driving value

  • All resources (potential and actual, tangible and intangible), developed and employed  to their full useful capacity 

  • Sound strategy and governance, efficient operations, and effective integration with the endeavour's people and other resources 

  • Elimination of waste - inefficient costs, unnecessary risks, unintended consequences, and foregone opportunities

Key concepts:

  • The essence of management - management as a network of decisions for driving success

  • "Value" as the anticipation of success, however defined, in any human/business endeavour 

  • Everyone as a manager, for their areas of responsibility in the endeavour

  • Action learning - Development through combined learning and doing

  • The business / human endeavour (or parts of it), for which managers have responsibility (across organisation boundaries) 

  • The endeavour's environment as it relate to managers' responsibilities

  • Complex Adaptive Systems - how things work and connect in the real world

  • Information, knowledge, risk, and uncertainty in management

  • Sound decision making  steps and structures 

  • Focus on 

    • Strategy -  informed betting on the future, with its risks & uncertainties 

    • Governance - setting directions and ensuring integrity of operations and resources management  

  • Integrated management of people and other resources, operations, strategy, and governance.  

The key concepts support management of:

  • Functional areas - e.g. for business, sales & marketing, production, and procurement functions

  • Critical drivers of value, risk, quality, value chain performance  - and their factors

  • "Resources" 

    • People  resources - fostering work skills, knowledge, attitudes,  for learning, managing and doing

    • Assets - tangible and intangible, 

    • Operations - Production & service delivery, transactions, projects and investment

    • Critical relationships, organisation, communications, accountabilities, and processes - covering service (customers and suppliers), regulatory, industry/institutional, public and management / investor relationships

    • Information - internal (systems, procedures, data, knowledge), and external (competitive intelligence and the environment)

 
Recurring  Themes:

The C&APL approach to management emphasises the importance of: 

  • Understanding - Understanding the present to manage the future

  • Learning and Action - Making the leap from Passenger Seat to the Driver's Seat

  • Strategies and decision making - Before detailed planning and action, start managing strategically

 
Illustrative Current Affair Themes  When opportune, the Blog will highlight and comment on current affairs and thinking that generally illustrate and promote understanding of key management concepts and systems, e.g issues concerning:
  • The conflict of private benefit and public good 
  • When winning is everything - at the cost of social well-being
  • Colliding cultures 
  • Getting what you wish for and unintended consequences
  • The role of government
  • Social responsibilty in private endeavours
  • International relations and welfare
  • No free lunch
  • Trends and projections in business, government and management
  • etc.

 

List of Entries: (At this stage, the items are being developed as initial examples to give a glimpse of the scope envisaged for this Blog.) 

Theme Note
Management CAS Current Events

Essence of management

     Management is understood as a fabric of decisions made in the context of a network of relationships 

Too much theory, and other compliments

     Simplicity is a goal, and constructing a useful framework for managing is the task.
Strategic management     Remeber six essential aspects - context, focus, perspectives, positioning, execution, process 
       

Throw out the manuals & ask the right questions

     Time to throw out the complicated manuals that no one really reads (or understands), and to start asking the right questions.

How leaders learn

     Through action, connection, decisions, reflection
  Complex Adaptive Systems & Management  
  • Indicates some of the multiple ways in which complex adaptive systems may occur or be perceived; 
  • Outlines a framework of thinking for complex adaptive systems management

 

       

 

   So what is the role of government?

Without consideration of Government's essential role, debate is weakened on issues such as how the government should perform, be formed, the difference between good and bad government, and sound decision making in government 

 

   

Crises ratchet government growth

"Crises operate as ratchets in the growth of government" 

"Every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under" (or is he?)

    Locals go overseas for growth Will Australian investors go  abroad for growth this year to hedge their exposure to the boom-weary domestic market?
   

Who will become the next economic super-power - India or China

 India will eventually come out on top, or will it?. 
High Achievers  

what makes them tick - and how can you wind them up?
   

Australian Economic Growth

 Leading Index of Economic Activity indicates likely pace of economic activity six to nine months into the future

These  items barely cover the potential field. Others to come will include:

Decision making processes and structure - for getting results
Using models in management - the service provision model 
Organisation design

Accountability

Governance in business and other endeavours

Knowledge management

Resource management - tangible and intangible
People resources - well-being, capabilities, value 
Sales & Marketing
Procurement
Performance and projects management 

Innovation
Strategic management (under development)

Complex Adaptive Systems simulation

Tribalism and conflict

The place of ritual in society and organizations

The need for economic reform

Infrastructure and its management

Work choices

Corporate philanthropy

Globalisation

Greed is good?

International assistance

Emergent disease - The bird flu

Competition and the unintended consequences

Not in my backyard

The limits to freedom

Corruption

Security