Paul Pietersma - 25 need-to-know management models

We are currently in the midst of a dynamic, disruptive period. Virtualisation and digitalisation are on the rise and business models based on physical bricks are under siege. Unfortunately, no management model, or group of models, can guarantee a manager or consultant the perfect solution to an organisational problem. At best they will provide a new way of seeing a situation that will enable positive change to take place as a result.

Although this book is about management models, in our consulting practice we often hear phrases like, We were well prepared to face this competitor, as our analysis with the Porter model has shown us that , or, We have been very busy lowering our prices to keep up in this climate of stiff price competition, but according to the BCG analysis, we , or even, The strategic dialogue model helped us to get strong support for this decision. When events put the survival of the organisation at risk, and management is stuck running the day-to-day operational business, many people turn to management models for some common sense and information on why things turned out they way they have as if management models provide the sole truth and the ultimate solution. To us, management models are nothing more and nothing less than useful tools useful for problem solving, for analysis, for supporting and facilitating decision making and/or for improving efficiency and the effectiveness of organisations and teams. In short, management models are, in our opinion, tools for resolving common problems and challenges in business.

Models can provide valuable insights and a sound framework for making appropriate business choices. Management models and theories can help managers and consultants to gain clarity in business by reducing the complexities and uncertainties involved nothing more, but definitely nothing less.

The 20072014 crisis has made that very clear. Everybody knew that the crash in the financial system, the worldwide economic crisis, ongoing globalisation and the fact that the internet was here to stay, would mean huge challenges: different businesses, different business models and different demands on authenticity (practise what you preach), transparency (proof that you practise what you preach) and flexibility (be able to change your practice quickly). With the right type of management models, these events and their impact might have been seen upfront, and analysis and assessment of the underlying threats and possibilities of these events might help to identify what options and solutions are available to your organisation to deal with them.

However, the vast array of management models on offer can be bewildering, for managers and consultants alike. Being so commonly available, management models are used frequently. But all too often only a handful of worldwide well-known models are used for instance, models from famous authors like Michael Porter or from large firms like McKinsey & Co or Boston Consulting Group. What about all those other models. Are they unknown? Probably not, but perhaps their application is unknown. Or it might not be clear what their purpose is or in which context they can best (or cannot) be used?

Based on our book Key Management Models (Pearson, 2014), we have selected 25 need-to-know management models for you. Each model is introduced with a description, followed by an explanation of why and when to use it, what the model does and what question(s) it helps you answer.

To put it clearly: this book is intended as a top 25 of popular management models, not as a prescription for good management and organisation. It is intended as a selected anthology showing useful management models that have proven their value in practice to cope with the described challenges of our times.

It is again with both pleasure and pride that we present this compilation. We are confident that the managers and consultants who use it will possess the necessary maturity, intelligence and discernment to place the models we have included into perspective, and will use them to act on sound, creative, consistent management and advice.

We view this book as a means of giving expression to complexity, but also of making it more manageable, by providing 25 need-to-know models to simplify and visualise reality, so that management issues can be discussed based on a common language and dealt with properly and swiftly. Use the models wisely in your own specific context: structuring reality is completely different from managing reality.

To all who read this book, we wish you lots of wisdom and pleasure. Above all, we hope you achieve many constructive results from applying the models to your own organisation.