Who Is Top Management

Because we agree that tmi is required for success, we devote space to solidifying the concept. So here are some prescriptions for active management of the supply chain improvement cycle by top management. We begin with a clearer definition of just who is top management. 

The practical reality is that top managers must ration time and energy based on the importance of each project. All projects for change should have some level of top-management attention. The definition of top management depends on the type of project. Those projects that are strategic business unit or multicompany in scope should have the most attention and involvement from the senior business unit exeeutive. 

If discussing an autonomous business unit, this would be the president or general manager and his or her direct reports. A department-level project — whether strategic or nonstrategic — might fall under a department head with as-needed intervention by peers or the business unit senior manager. 

In Section 15.2.2 we suggest that a steering eommittee guide the destiny of each project. The senior member should represent the appropriate organizational level. In strategic projects at the business unit and supply chain levels, that should be the business unit chief executive. 

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Primarily, the designated person is the system designer for the quality system. This person may not produce the policies and procedures but operate as a system designer. He/she lays down the requirements needed to implement the corporate quality policy and verifies that they are being achieved. It is also necessary to have someone who can liaise with customers on quality issues, who can coordinate the assessment and subsequent surveillance visits, who can keep abreast of the state of the art in quality management. The person should be an adviser to the top management who can measure the overall performance of the company with respect to quality. 

What role can top management play if front-line knowledge workers make most decisions Surely, managers cannot continue to be the keepers of content as was the case in mass-production environments. At Infosys, it appears that managers are part of a larger process of mutual mentorship, a process that the founders hope will create an institution that survives them. Indeed, the philosophy of Infosys s top management is to recruit people who are brighter than themselves and then mentor them. 

The group of people at the client company who are involved in the decision on which of the several (often very many) fragrances submitted for a product launch or relaunch should be finally adopted is even more varied. It may include the purchasing department, development chemists, evaluation panels attached to the development laboratories, marketing, in-house evaluation panels, the market researchers who design and interpret consumer tests, even top management—or, as the rumor often goes, the president s wife or secretary. 

Minor decisions should not be made by the top management. Considering the number of people who are directly or indirectly involved, the time spent and the cost of this time at work, a decision can be more expensive than the expenditure for the object of the decision (Witte, 1969). If the suspicion arises that this could be the case, the project organization is probably top-heavy and delegation is done without giving appropriate authority. 

In the business world, the same can be said for top management. The highest-level executives make decisions and tell others to carry them out. Ultimately the real work falls on the shoulders of a low-echelon person who carries a large burden, never seems to catch up with the day s work, and has no control over how that work is to be done. He or she goes home each night thinking about the work still on the desk and knowing that tomorrow there will be even more. 

At the top of Figure 5.3 is the senior manager or cUent who has requested and who is paying for the analysis. The team must understand this person s needs. For example, some clients just want to be sure that they are in regulatory compliance, others want to identify major events only, and others want a detailed equipment analysis. The PHA must be structured appropriately. 

The shareholders (the people who bought the stocks) are the owners of the corporation. The shareholders elect a board of directors to represent their interests in the company. The board is responsible for making sure the company is run as efficiently as possible and makes a profit. The board of directors hires the top manager of the company, often called the chief executive officer (CEO). 

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