76 Business Spotlight 3/2020 CAREERS & MANAGEMENT
Fotos: Johnny Greig, KevinHyde/iStock.com; privatCAREERS & MANAGEMENT
EXECUTIVE EYE“Most alternative
management consulting
is bogus and fraudulent”
Viele erhoffen sich durch alternative Heilverfahren eine
Linderung ihrer Gesundheitsprobleme. Könnten alternative
Managementmethoden gestressten Managern helfen?
ADVANCEDJ
ust as we are constantly bom-
barded with “miracle” alternative
medical therapies, so the poor
stressed manager is frequently of-
fered new management methods.
Corporate nirvana, they are
told, can be achieved through “lib-
eration management”, “organiza-
tional re-engineering” or even by follow-
ing the “Zulu principles”. An acceptance
of the new seems to demand a complete
rejection of the old.
Most people are not pulled by the
attraction of the alternative — they are
pushed by the failure of conventional
methods. The soothing balm and personal
touch of the alternative practitioner stand
in strong contrast to the cold, technical,
all-too-brief interview with the GP.
Consider now today’s stressed CEOs.
They know that it is only through good
management that survival and success
are possible. And yet the traditional man-
agement tools of carrot and stick, even of
performance management, don’t seem to
be working.
So, when the guru of alternative man-
agement comes along, the desperate
manager pays attention. Today’s alter-
native management gurus are polished,
well dressed and sophisticated. In fact,
they ape many of the practices of their
traditional colleagues. But, like alterna-
tive doctors, they are interested in the
“whole” picture. They encourage the ex-
asperated manager to pour out their woes
about every aspect of the business. TheyADRIAN FURNHAM
is a professor in
the Department of
Leadership and
Organisational
Psychology at the
Norwegian Business
School, and author
of 92 books.welcome the opportunity to counsel, and it may be some time
before they reveal their solutions.
The tarot cards, crystals and essential oils of alternative man-
agement take various forms. They may involve complete re-
structuring of the organization, “commitment workshops” or
the use of mentors.
The placebo effect works well for alternative management
advocates, but like all placebos, it wears off, and the chronic prob-
lems return. It’s a sad fact that most alternative management
consulting, like alternative medicine, is bogus, fraudulent and
wrong. The principles on which it is based simply don’t work in
the long run.
Some consultants and gurus certainly provide some wacky
ideas. Tom Peters told us to “celebrate heroes and forget zeros”.
Others demanded Japanese-style physical activity before work.
Curiously, some of the alternative ideas and recommendations
stick in the management lexicon, but others are soon forgotten.
Management must hope that the Darwinian principle of the
survival of the fittest means that what is good in new manage-
ment ideas gets picked up, and what is not good gets junked.advocate [(ÄdvEkEt]
, Verfechter(in)
alternative practitioner
[O:l)t§:nEtIv prÄk(tIS&nE]
, etwa: Heilpraktiker(in)
ape sth. [eIp]
, etw. nachahmen
balm [bA:m] , Balsam
bogus [(bEUgEs]
, schwindlerisch;
hier: reiner Schwindel
carrot and stick
[)kÄrEt En (stIk]
, Zuckerbrot und Peitsche
commiment [kE(mItmEnt]
, Engagement, Einsatz-
bereitschaftcorporate [(kO:pErEt]
, Unternehmens-
counsel (sb.) [(kaUns&l]
, (jmdm.) einen Rat
erteilen
exasperated
[Ig(zÄspEreItId]
, entnervt
fraudulent
[(frO:djUlEnt]
, betrügerisch
GP (general practitioner)
[)dZi: (pi:] UK
, Allgemeinarzt/-ärztin
junk sth.
[dZVNk] ifml.
, etw. wegschmeißen;
hier: fallenlassenpolished [(pQlISt]
, hier: gewandt
re-engineering
[)ri: )endZI(nIErIN]
, Umgestaltung
reveal sth. [ri(vi:&l]
, etw. zu erkennen geben
soothing [(su:DIN]
, lindernd, wohltuend
tarot [(tÄrEU]
, [wg. Aussprache]
wacky [(wÄki] ifml.
, verrückt, ausgefallen
wear off [)weEr (Qf]
, (an Wirkung) nachlassen
woe [wEU]
, Kummer, Sorge