Professional Documents
Culture Documents
E Um 0000000001119
E Um 0000000001119
E Um 0000000001119
James Stock, (1990),"International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management", Marketing Intelligence &
Planning, Vol. 8 Iss 5 pp. 17-18 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/EUM0000000001081
Farooq Habib, Marko Bastl, Colin Pilbeam, (2015),"Strategic responses to power dominance in buyer-supplier relationships:
A weaker actors perspective", International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, Vol. 45 Iss 1/2 pp.
182-203 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/IJPDLM-05-2013-0138
Paul J Davis, (2015),"Implementing an employee career-development strategy: How to build commitment and retain
employees", Human Resource Management International Digest, Vol. 23 Iss 4 pp. 28-32 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/
HRMID-05-2015-0066
Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by emerald-srm:545847 []
For Authors
If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service
information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit
www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information.
About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.com
Emerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of
more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online
products and additional customer resources and services.
Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication
Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation.
S
uccessful companies will always make dynamic assessment of these key questions in this
competitive advantage their primary goal. exceptionally well-written, insightful, and thought-
provoking book.
Physical In the first two chapters, Lester Thurow sets the stage
for the book. Immediately after the Cold War and on the
In chapters 3, 4, and 5, citing numerous striking statistics game as defined by the Europeans and the Japanese, even
and evidence, Thurow provides an in-depth assessment at the expense of short-term sacrifices, to stay in and
of the strengths and weaknesses of each of the three eventually win the new competitive game. Interesting
economic superpowers and their prospects of recommendations are made in areas such as savings and
scoring in the new game. According to Thurow, because investment, education and training, business groups, and
of its potential size, the integrated EC markets will allow national strategies.
Europeans to write the trading rules for the twenty-first
century, which will have to be followed by all others Like all other books which attempt to predict the future,
including the USA. As for the middle and eastern one major weakness of the book is that the data and
European countries, some will join the First World, while evidence used to substantiate the author's positions
others will fall into the Third World. appear anecdotal and that some predictions may appear
very radical. However, given that the major goal of the
Thurow attributes Japan's success to its producer book is to convey a message, to force people to confront
economics which are characterized by a goal of strategic reality, and to motivate people to adapt to the new game,
Downloaded by The University of British Columbia Library At 06:59 24 February 2016 (PT)
conquest, an institution which pushes investment up and this weakness does not seem to undermine the merits
consumption down, a long-term orientation supported by of the book.
business groups, investment in human skills, and national
strategies. While the momentum of Japan will probably We strongly recommend this thought-provoking book to
make her the largest economy, Thurow feels that Japan's anyone who is concerned about the future outcome of the
unique culture, in which other cultures are resisted, will new economic game, who is interested in competing in
be unlikely to make Japan the "manager" of the new the new global economy, or who is researching the route
economic system. to success or formulating public policy.
Shaoming Zou and S. Tamer Cavusgil
As for the USA, Thurow uses some surprising evidence Michigan State University, USA
in an effort to send the message that the USA has to
change drastically in order to stay in and win the new
competitive game. The ' 'game analysis'' of the USA's
position in seven vital industries of the future reveals the Logistical Excellence: It's Not Business as Usual
conditions of the industries, the lessons to be learned,
and the future prospects for success. These industries Donald J. Bowersox, Patricia J. Daugherty, Cornelia L. Droge,
include semiconductors and computers, commercial Richard N. Germain and Dale S. Rogers, Digital Equipment
aircraft, consumer electronics, materials, chemicals, motor Corporation, Burlington, MA, 1992
vehicles, and machine tools. Thurow contends that the Many firms are utilizing logistics excellence to give them
USA's success or failure in the new game will depend on a sustainable competitive advantage. However, logistics
the extent to which it learns to play the new economic management has changed significantly during the last few
games defined by the Europeans and the Japanese. decades, and "doing logistics the old way" no longer
works the way it once did. The decade of the 1990s calls
In chapter 6, Thurow discusses the difficulty for a country for managers to manage logistics operations in new and
trying to become rich, and the various routes via which innovative ways. As a result, logistics managers must
a country can become affluent. The prospects of various "grasp leadership of the change process" and successfully
regions of the world becoming rich in the next century implement the necessary changes within their firms.
are also assessed. In chapter 7, a number of festering
problems which have affected, and will continue to affect, A recently published book entitled Logistical Excellence:
the world economy are discussed. Global environment- It's Not Business as Usual, does an excellent job of
alism, structural trade imbalances, foreign exchange discussing this new environment and examining its
stability, and the lack of a "manager" for the new implications and ramifications for logistics executives and
economic system, are among the problems discussed. logistics strategies. Based on empirical research, coupled
with the industry experiences of the authors and several
In chapter 8, Thurow predicts the most likely winner of industry executives, the book presents the elements of
the twenty-first century by synthesizing the discussions the new environment and the practical ways in which
of previous chapters. While both Japan and the USA have managers must respond to the challenges, problems and
very good prospects for success, and there will be no clear opportunities which face firms entering the twenty-first
winners in the 1990s, the twenty-first century is likely to century.
belong to the House of Europe, which will be the writer
of the new rules. In chapter 9, the last chapter, Thurow Managing logistics activities during the 1990s and beyond
elaborates on how to make the USA the competitive leader will be affected by several significant factors, the most
in the new game. Essentially, the author proposes that important being speed, quality and structure. The issue
Americans must accept and adapt to the new rules of the of speed results from the significant technological advances
14 MARKETING PANORAMIC REVIEW IV
which have taken place during the 1980s and early 1990s. Competitive Positioning for the 1990s. However, there is
All aspects of logistics will "speed up". The authors much more detail presented in the first book, which
identify three areas of logistics operations where speed readers may find useful in supplementing the discussion
will have the most impact, namely, logistics processes, presented in this newest book.
information, and decision making.
The book has slightly fewer than 250 pages and is
Quality issues have become vital in recent years, as organized into eight chapters and four appendices,
evidenced by the widespread recognition of quality including: Chapter 1, The Setting; Chapter 2, Change Is
excellence through such awards as the Malcolm Baldrige Everywhere; Chapter 3, Logistics: 1990s Style; Chapter
National Quality Award and the Deming Award. During 4, Assessment; Chapter 5, Moving the Mountain; Chapter
the remainder of the 1990s and into the twenty-first 6, The Keys to Success; Chapter 7, Developing Strategic
century, high product quality will be a prerequisite for Alliances; and Chapter 8, The Day after Success. Four
doing business, that is, it will merely be the price of appendices follow the eight chapters: Appendix A,
admission into the customer's set of options. Most Logistics-related Sources; Appendix B, Statistical Tools;
Downloaded by The University of British Columbia Library At 06:59 24 February 2016 (PT)
competitors will be producing quality products. The firms Appendix C, Statistical Analysis; and Appendix D,
which will be winners will be those which are able to Examples of Strategic Linkage.
deliver high levels of customer service in addition to high
product quality. With respect to logistics, quality will mean
zero defects, continuous improvement, and sustained
performance.
Structure refers to the organizational response to The Link between Benchmarking and
technology, industry, and economic conditions. During the Shareholder Value
1990s, organizational structures will evolve to meet the
increasing changes in these conditions. Especially Jeffrey A. Schmidt, Journal of Business Strategy, Vol. 13 No.
noteworthy, according to the authors, will be higher levels 3, May/June 1992, pp. 7-13
of networking, outsourcing, and ethics. Numerous articles as well as books have been written
during the past decade on various aspects of
The vehicle used by the authors to address the question benchmarking. Certainly, benchmarking is an important
of how a firm should go about developing leading-edge activity of business enterprises and one in which the
logistical competence is a mythical logistics manager majority of successful companies engage to some degree.
named "Charlie Change". The use of this fictitious
manager serves many purposes. As described by the Benchmarking can take one of several forms, including
authors: strategic, customer, and cost. Strategic benchmarking
...each chapter is preceded by a dialogue that flows from examines how a firm creates long-term shareholder value.
chapter to chapter. The dialogue presents the trials and Customer benchmarking considers the firm's performance
tribulations of a manager... who works through the process compared with customers' expectations. Cost
of improving the logistical competency of his firm. The benchmarking compares the efficiency and effectiveness
dialogue tracks Charlie's efforts to become fully of the firm's activities relative to other enterprises.
knowledgeable about the need for, and the potential benefits
from, improved logistical performance. Subsequent The author of this article examines each type of
episodes... illustrate how Charlie takes ownership of the benchmarking and makes the case that there is a linkage
commitment to change and tracks how he develops and between a firm's strategic performance and shareholder
implements an improvement program... The chapter
content following each "Charlie Change" episode develops value. The view espoused by the author is intuitively
the lessons to be learned in greater detail (Bowersox et al., appealing. He argues that by examining the spread or
1992, p. 12). difference between return on capital employed and the
cost of capital, a measure of corporate "success" can be
For some readers, the use of "Charlie" may be a bit determined. The arguments presented are logical, but
distracting. However, it does provide a varied method of unfortunately, no empirical evidence is presented to
presenting a large amount of material in a fashion which support his position. Nonetheless, his view is correct and
is sometimes humorous, sometimes entertaining, and all firms should consider developing such benchmarking
almost always informative. The majority of readers will measures.
find this book to be worth the time taken to read it. One
can read it quickly as a novel and assimilate only the major To "drive his point home", the author cites a very
points; or, it can be read in detail, and savoured much like interesting statistic. If a premier, or leading-edge, company
a fine, vintage wine. To get the most out of this book, is defined as one which has earned more than the cost
readers do not have to have previously read the authors' of capital every year between 1970 and 1990, only 13 of
other book on this subject, Leading Edge Logistics: the Fortune 200 would qualify. The premier companies
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL DISTRIBUTION & LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT 15
American Home Products, General Electric, Philip Based on the notion that all gaps are bad, the author
Morris, Raytheon averaged a 20.7 per cent return on argues that, when gaps exist, the firm should develop
equity (ROE) during the period compared with 12.7 per strategies to close them.
cent for the full list of firms (p. 8). The characteristics
of the premier companies included decentralized As afinalpoint, the author provides a rather simplistic,
organizational structures and business processes, lean yet useful, five-step benchmarking study which should be
corporate staffs, high levels of employee productivity, and conducted by firms. The five steps (or rules as he calls
high management continuity. them) are as follows:
When cost benchmarking, firms should examine the Rule 1 Research your company and discover
operational, organizational, and process components of what the key factors of success are.
premier companies. However, as rightly noted by the Rule 2 Establish the scope of, and basis for,
author, differences between firms in such areas as scale benchmarking (i.e. strategic, cost, customer).
economies, operating environments, and customer service Rule 3 Select the companies to benchmark.
Downloaded by The University of British Columbia Library At 06:59 24 February 2016 (PT)
goals and objectives, need to be considered so that proper Rule 4 Develop a plan for data collection and
comparisons can be made. data processing.
Customer benchmarking involves four steps, including: Rule 5 Develop findings and conclusions and
establish performance targets.
(1) identify factors which influence customer
perceptions of value; In sum, the article is worthwhile reading in that it provides
an approach for benchmarking which is often not utilized
(2) assess corporate performance; by firms. It presents some useful rules for conducting a
(3) analyse the performance of competitors and their benchmarking study and highlights the importance of
standing in the industry; comparing customer expectations with company
(4) close the gaps between current performance and performance. It is, after all, the customers of the firm
customers' expectations of performance. who ultimately determine its success or failure.