Page 16 - (DK) The Business Book

14 INTRODUCTION

adopted the Japanese philosophy of the conditions for business growth, 2000s heralded a new era for
kaizen: “continuous improvement of and the correct positioning of business. While early hype led to
everything, by everyone.” Staff at products within their market, were the failure of many online start-ups
all levels was tasked with improving considered key to business strategy. in the dot-com bubble of 1997 to
processes and products through Moreover, what distinguished these 2000, the successful e-commerce
“quality circles.” While TQM is no gurus from their predecessors—who pioneers laid the foundations for a
longer the buzzword it once was, had tended to focus on operational business landscape that would be
quality remains important. The issues—was a focus on leadership dominated by innovation. From
modern iteration of TQM is Six itself. For example, Charles Handy’s high-tech garage start-ups—such
Sigma, an approach to process The Empty Raincoat revealed the as Hewlett-Packard and Apple—
improvement that was developed paradoxes of leadership, and to the websites, mobile apps, and
by Motorola in 1986 and adapted by acknowledged the vulnerabilities social-media forums of the modern
Jack Welch during his time as CEO and fragilities of the managers business environment, technology
of General Electric. themselves. Leadership in the is increasingly vital for business.
context of business, these writers The explosion of new
Gurus and thinkers recognized, is no easy undertaking. businesses thanks to technology
Business history itself emerged also helped to expand the
as a topic of study in the 1970s. Digital pioneering availability of finance. During the
Dr. Alfred Chandler progressed Just as television and mass media 1980s and 1990s finance had grown
the study of business history from had done before, the growth of the into a distinct discipline. Corporate
the purely descriptive to the Internet in the 1990s and early mergers and high-profile takeovers
analytical—his course at Harvard became a way for businesses to
Business School stressed the grow beyond their operational
importance of organizational limits; leverage joined marketing
capabilities, technological and strategy as part of the
innovation, and continuous management lexicon. In the late
learning. Taking their cue from Business can be a source 1990s this expanded to venture
Chandler, in the 1980s and 1990s of progressive change. capital: the funding of small
management experts—such as Jerry Greenfield companies by profit-seeking
Michael Porter, Igor Ansoff, investors. The risk of starting and
US businessman, co-founder of Ben
Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Henry and Jerry’s ice cream (1951–) running a business remains, but
Mintzberg, and Peter Drucker— the opportunities afforded by
encouraged businesses to consider technology and easier access to
their environments, to consider finance have made taking the first
the needs of people, and to remain step a little easier. With micro-
adaptable to change. Maintaining finance, and the support of online