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Growing, Growing ... Gone? China's under control, Europe's finally reforming, and the global economic outlook is rosy, right? Not quite
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Follow The Stars Forget politicians and titans of industry — celebs like Bono, Sharon Stone and Angelina Jolie set the agenda at the World Economic Forum
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Davos Identity Have business élites lost touch with their national roots? The WEF annual meeting in Davos this week crystallizes the debate over globalization
Posted Sunday, January 23, 2005; 11:27 GMT
Management gurus have forecast the end of organizational hierarchies for decades. In an era of cascading technology and shifting social attitudes, they say, firms will turn into "communities," "horizontal structures" and other egalitarian forms.
Nice buzzwords, but not reality, says Stanford Business School professor Harold J. Leavitt in Top Down: Why Hierarchies Are Here to Stay and How to Manage Them More Effectively. Sure, Leavitt writes, hierarchies breed "infantilizing dependency that generates distrust, conflict, toadying, territoriality, backstabbing, distorted communication and most of the other ailments that plague every large organization." But they persist because compared with the alternatives, they are quite efficient and offer goal-oriented workers an achievement ladder to climb.
The book has lessons for middle managers who serve both the CEO and subordinates. One tip: seek informal power structures. Leavitt once worked with managers who wouldn't act until they talked to a guy named Joe. Who was Joe? The CEO's chauffeur.
:: Building Bridges Feb. 08, 2001
Much of Davos was devoted to closing the gap between the technology haves and have-nots
:: Doubts At Davos Jan. 27, 2003
At 2003's World Economic Forum meeting, misgivings about America are the talk of the town
:: What The World Needs Now Jan. 19, 2004
Smaller nations have the chance to put poverty, AIDS and the environment back on the table
:: Voices Of A New Generation Jan. 19, 2003
Eight young leaders with huge hopes for Europe and big ideas about how to make a difference.
:: Rotten At The Core? Jan. 27, 2004
Germany and France have always driven E.U. integration, but smaller states say Berlin and Paris should move over
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The War On PovertyApr. 15, 2003
In office just two months, President Lula da Silva and his team have begun to tackle inequality in Brazil
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Can't Stand The Heat Mar. 22, 2001
Global warming is making many winter-sports lovers hot under the collar
Mogadishu at 60 Miles an Hour Arms merchants are once again doing brisk business after a rapid change of power in this tough town, but so far the peace has held
The Year of The Nuke A rundown of the world's nuclear powerhouses, and what to expect in the coming months