LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT

What really works: Understanding & explaining organizational success

Tran Gia Thoai s3372716Vuong Gia Bao s3374021Nguyen Dang Thanh Hung s3221642

Lecturer: Derek Thitsanuthit

Content

Introduction of 4+2 formula

• Origin

• 8 practices

Applying to BSA - a local business

Strengths and Weaknesses of 4+2

Suggestions

• How to use

• A revised and improved formula

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The 4+2 Formula

•From Evergreen Project (1986-1996)

•Authors: William F. Joyce, Nitin Nohria, Bruce Roberson

•Methodology: mainly statistics and interviewing

•Result: 8 common practices for success

• Implication: applying 4 primary and 2 of 4 secondary practices

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The 8 Practices

Primary:

Strategy Execution

Culture Structure

Secondary:

Talent Innovation

Leadership Mergers & Partnerships

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The Leader’s Background

Ms VŨ KIM HẠNH

• Editor-in-chief of Tuổi Trẻ newspaper (1990s)

• Director of ITPC of Ho Chi Minh city until 2007

• Founder of Vietnam’s High Quality Goods

program

• Founder and Director of Business Studies &

Assistance Centre (BSA)

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Primary Practices

1. Strategy

• Clear value proposition & Good outside-in development• Developing responsiveness to external feedbacks.

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Marketmovements

Government Policies

Projects’ results

Customers’operation

INFORMATION

Figure 1: Sources of information

(Source: Reproduced from the interview with Ms Hanh)

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Draft Plan

Experts

Customers

ACTIONPlan

Figure 2: How BSA come up with services?

(Source: Reproduced from the interview with Ms Hanh)

Primary Practices

2. Execution

Services tailored to meet customer expectation.

- Standardisation

- Full time employment vs Part-time specialists

Partial empowerment

- Ms Hanh: whether a project should be conducted,

continued or changed.

- Project managers: how to use resources for the project

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Information

Networking opportunities

Supporting facilities

Finance

BSA provides

Performance 1

Performance 2

3. Culture

Finance

Passion

Recognition

Employees’ expectation

Career path

Source: Reproduced from the interview with Ms Hanh

Primary Practices

GAP

4. Structure

HR

Finance

Accountant

Communication

Project manager 1

Project manager 3

Director Experts

Project manager 2

Primary Practices

Source: Reproduced from the interview with Ms Hanh

Secondary Practices

Talent

• Plans to develop employees, but

• Unsuccessful internal promotion

• Inefficient training programs

Innovation

• First-time projects in Vietnam, and

• Terminate inefficient ones after 3 unsuccessful attempts

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Secondary Practices

Mergers and Partnerships

• Win-win approach

• Joint resources

• Focus on developing core competency

Leadership

• Performance-based payment

• Relationship-development focus

• Ability to realise and respond to changes

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Conclusion from the interview

Practice Policy Implementation

STRATEGY good good

EXECUTION good average

CULTURE good poor

STRUCTURE good good

TALENT good average

LEADERSHIP good good

INNOVATION good average

MERGERS & PARNERSHIPS good good

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2 + 2STRATEGY

STRUCTURE

LEADERSHIP

Mergers & Partnerships

Strengths of 4+2

• Based on statistics.

• Easy to understand and get the points.

• Some practical examples provided.

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Weaknesses of 4+2

• Credibility of theory (correlation & causal relationships

problem, methodology, qualitative issues, narrow

definition of success).

• Not action-oriented

• LEADERSHIP is more important than stated in 4+2

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Suggestions

• Only a tool - not a definite answer

• Reference only

• Still useful to reflect on performance

• Consider other theories to build holistic action plans.

• To sufficiently emphasize the vital role of Leadership, the formula

should be changed to 1+4+1, with Leadership at the core of an

organization's operation.

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1+4+1 formula

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LEADERSHIP

Conclusion

• In general, 4+2 formula apply to our interviewee

but not all of them.

• Most people know but not everyone can do.

• Framework to evaluate how a business is being

managed.

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References

• Nohria N., Joyce W., Roberson B. 2003 What really works? The 4+2 formula for sustained business success”, HarperCollins, New York

• Nohria N., Joyce W., Roberson B. 2003 ‘What really works?’ Harvard Business Review, July, pp43-52

• The Complexities of Business, BUSM2411_4000 Leadership and Management (MBA), RMIT International University, unpublished.

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