The MUA Library

Hardcover.

Record breaking economic growth. Rapid global expansion. Dizzying technological innovation. As we head toward the new millennium, it seems as if there are more opportunities than ever for your company to create new value, satisfy customers, and make money. But, given today's bewildering array of management methods, how do you determine which path to follow--and how do you adapt your company for the journey? With Invented Here , authors Victor and Boynton argue that to succeed in a market where consumers increasingly demand customized goods and services, you cannot rely on any one formula. Instead, you must look within your own organization to invent, develop, and deliver the distinctive competencies that ensure growth and profitability. The authors conclude that there are distinct patterns in the way that successful companies manage their internal growth--patterns found in the evaluation and application of organizational knowledge. More importantly, they provide a workable strategy for emulating these patterns; arguing that any company, in order to more closely satisfy the needs of its customers, can develop the capabilities necessary to evolve from craft work to mass customization, and beyond. With examples from companies such as Beretta, Taco Bell, Dell Computer, Xerox, and Merrill Lynch providing a real-world context, Invented Here reveals how managers can determine the best path of change for their company by regularly assessing its existing knowledge base. Invented Here is a guidebook to building on the capabilities you already have in order to create more value today, for tomorrow. It's a process that involves identifying what customers really want, determining what distinctive capabilities the company needs, and then driving the transformation to build those capabilities. The authors then look beyond the current state of mass customization, offering a breakthrough perspective on the future of work and corporate design. Invented Here represents the hard-won experience and inspired creativity of managers who have been down the right path before. Here's a pioneering guide to using the knowledge that resides within your company in the actual transformation of work: the nature of what you do, the value that you can create with your customers, and the organizational knowledge to be mined along the way.