2012

BOOK REVIEW AS THE CROW FLIES JEFFREY ARCHER

INTRODUCTION In all its 800-Page glory, As the Crow Flies by Jeffrey Archer is essentially a classic Rags-toRiches Saga, which revolves around the life of protagonist, Charlie Trumper. Initially, the Grandson of a Fruits and Vegetable Vendor, Charlie is driven by a mighty ambition - to own the largest Retail Chain in the World, which he refers to as The Biggest Barrow in the World. En route to realizing his dream, he is confronted by a number of personal and professional obstructions that complicate his journey and impart an air of thrill and adventure to the story. Spanning several decades and consisting of a multitude of POV (Point-of-View) Characters, As the Crow Flies is a truly epic account of ambition, envy, revenge, determination and lust. What makes this Novel relevant to my purpose in HRM is its predominant business undertone, mingled with the more thrilling, personal elements, which, in such a novel, are indispensible. Being a business-centric story, it provides a number of Management Lessons, which I, as a Business Student, can relate to and apply in the real-life scenario. A BRIEF PLOT SYNOPSIS The story opens with a young Charlie Trumper, who wants nothing more than to follow in his Grandfathers footsteps and take over his Fruits and Vegetable Barrow. The dream is realized all too soon, when his Grandfather dies when Charlie is still quite young, leaving him to the care of an inept father and three sisters. Nevertheless, he takes over the barrow and while he tries his best, he isnt able to maintain the profitability. During the course of this endeavor, Charlie strikes a partnership with Rebecca (Becky) Salmon, the rich daughter of a Baker, who becomes his financial savior and ultimately engages him as partner in the bakery business. With the onset of the First World War, Charlie enlists to go fight in the army and advises Becky to liquidate the

business if necessary. Though being severely injured and having made a most deadly enemy in the form of Guy Trentham during the war, Charlie escapes death and return to the East End to find a Shop, bearing his name, purchased in his absence by Becky and her affluent friend Daphne using the proceeds from the Bakery. Given a second chance, Charlie turns the shop around, making it one of the most coveted greengrocers in the locality and armed with this success, begins to dream of owning the entire Chelsea Terrace. In a weird twist of fate, Becky becomes involved with Charlies nemesis from the war, Guy Trentham, an episode which ends badly upon Colonel Trenthams (Guys Father) intervention. He shuns Guy to Australia, whence he eventually dies, leaving his mother (Mrs. Trentham) thirsty for revenge. Charlie, meanwhile, marries Becky. Using his new-gained reputation and several strategic acquaintances, he also resorts to acquiring a number of properties which would contribute towards the realization of his Department Store Dream. Mrs. Trentham poses a significant barrier here. When the company finally goes Public, her other son, Nigel, acquires a major shareholding in the company, threatening a hostile takeover, using his inheritance money. Eventually that problem is solved with the coincidental emergence of another character, Cathy, who turns out to be Guys daughter from his exile in Australia. Nigel loses his claim to the money, which becomes Cathys (being Guys Daughter) and no longer remains in a position to threaten the company. Charlie and Becky appoint Cathy as the companys Chairman, following which, they lead a peaceful, content life. When seventy, Charlie no longer concerns himself with the finer details of the corporation; one activity that he does engage in is the selling of fruits and vegetables from his stand, which was where he initially began. Thus the story ends, depicting Charlies inspiring journey from a Barrow Boy to a Successful Entrepreneur, who nonetheless stays true to his roots.

MANAGEMENT LESSONS FROM THE NOVEL Albeit fiction, the story reveals several points, which can be generalized and applied to ones professional life, to make for more effective management. The following Management Lessons can be derived from the Novel: Think Big, but Proceed in Small Steps Probably the most important lesson, which this novel yields, is that thinking big, itself, is not an issue, as long as it is pursued in small, calculated steps. By proceeding in small steps, I mean that the entire exercise should be well-thought-out, a sequential path to the ultimate goal must be roughly outlined and each step of the way must be accompanied by an intelligent, calculated plan. As illustrated in Charlies saga, he is a Barrow Boy with a dream of owning the largest departmental store in the world; his dream, with reference to his standing is certainly big (impossible, even, some might say). Nevertheless, he proceeds to fulfilling his ambition in small, well-planned steps. It begins with taking over his Grandpas Barrow, then the Greengrocers Shop which Becky buys followed by a series of shops on Chelsea Avenue, leading all the way to the Department Store itself. Specifically applied to Human Resources, the principle implies that in some cases, it is pertinent and, even, beneficial for a manager to break-down the employees long-term strategic objectives into more manageable and meaningful short-term objectives or tasks. A Fine Line between Personal and Professional Life is Necessary Charlies example also illustrates the fact that going through a difficult phase in ones personal life doesnt entail that ones professional work life must also suffer. Charlies personal life was rife with difficulties his father was more burdensome than supportive, his grandfather died

when he was still very young and one of his children, died, later on as the story progressed but these didnt stagnate his ambition or quell his passion because he didnt let the former interfere with the latter, in other words, he was highly motivated. This contains a lesson of import of Managers. Ideally, in the workplace, there must be a mechanism in place that allows individuals to detach themselves from their personal problems to an extent that is practically possible. One way a manager can ensure this is by keeping the motivation of the employees at a high, engaging them emotionally with the organization, and inculcating an atmosphere/culture of healthy competition, rather than one of high stress. Effective Utilization of Resources One factor, which is integral to the success of any businesses, is the effective utilization of the resources available to the manager/owner. Charlie, being from an impoverished background, didnt have a multitude of resources at his disposal; hence whatever came by him, he utilized with the utmost efficiency, getting the most out of the situation. He bloomed in business when Becky and Daphne bought the greengrocers shop, taking every advantage that the scant resource had to offer. Not only had his material endowments been used, Charlie used the influence and rapport of his army acquaintances to get bankers to advance more credit. An effective manager, doing the same, must get all he can out of his resources, material or immaterial. This also extends to Human Resources, entailing that the manager must use effective techniques to channel his employees finest capabilities towards the achievement of organizational Goals.

CONCLUSION In a nut-shell, the story yields several important Managerial Implications, which can be applied to better manage the people in an organization and to utilize their capabilities to their best. The first implication is to break down the employees responsibilities into smaller, meaningful tasks, reducing ambiguity. The second is to motivate the employees to a significant extent, whence they can detach (to an extent) their work life from their personal life. Finally, managers must make the most out of their resources and opportunities, so as to maximize the firms and the employees utility.