Communicating
You should not only communicate clearly what you want done,
you should also encourage people to communicate with one
another.
Avoid situations in which people can say: ‘Why didn’t some-
one tell me about this? If they had, I could have told them how to
get out of the difficulty.’ Nobody should be allowed to resort
to James Forsyte’s excuse that ‘no one tells me anything’. It is up
to people to find out what they need to know and not wait to be
told.
Controlling
If you use the processes described above, and they work, theoret-
ically you will not have to worry any more about coordination.
But, of course, life is not like that. You must monitor actions and
results, spot problems and take swift corrective action when
necessary. Coordination doesn’t just happen. It has to be worked
at: but avoid getting too involved. Allow people as much
freedom as possible to develop horizontal relationships. These
can facilitate coordination far more effectively than rigid and
authoritarian control from above.
A CASE STUDY
There is no one right way of coordinating a number of activities.
It all depends on the nature of those activities and the circum-
stances in which they are carried out; for example, the present
organization structure, the existence of coordinating committees
and the facility with which communication can take place
between those involved. Ultimately, good coordination depends
upon the will of everyone concerned – to coordinate or be co-
ordinated. Mechanical devices such as committees will not
necessarily do the trick.
An example of good coordination took place in a company
which was developing a new product in a new market. Neither
the product nor the market fitted conveniently into the existing
divisional structure and it was therefore decided to appoint one
man as project manager to get the product launched. He would
have a staff of two – a brand manager and a secretary. The work
How to Coordinate 29