Michele L. Bechtell
Published: 2002-04
Total Pages: 192
Get eBook
What is hoshin kanri? A new form of karate? An innovative dish at your favourite restaurant? A new physical fitness system sold through television? No, try again. Hoshin kanri is a management methodology to reliably execute strategic breakthroughs. Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Milliken, Texas Instruments, Zytec, and Procter & Gamble are among the world-class corporations that are currently using hoshin management to link daily activity with strategic objectives. If, like many managers, you don't know the first thing about hoshin management, or if you think this is just another management buzzword, then listen up. Your customers, employees, and shareholders are waiting. A simple concept, hoshin management consists of just a few simple steps: analyse changes in the external environment; select the vital few priorities; create an integrated plan of attack; execute the plan; and regularly review progress for subsequent modifications. Yet its governing principles can be summed up in two words: focus and alignment. In The Management Compass, Michele L.Bechtell explains that the hoshin management system is a management compass; a management tool to align people, activities, and performance metrics with strategic priorities. Bechtell shows us how it can be used to communicate direction, co-ordinate activity, and monitor progress and how it enables members of the organization to work together in the most creative way to define and achieve the strategic intent.